|
| The WIAC is hardly a one-team show, but UW-Whitewater leads the way for the best conference in Division III nearly 20 years running. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
By Greg Thomas
D3sports.com
September is gone and so is non-conference play and that means it's time for Around The Nation to re-rank the division's conferences. In years past, this space has been used to tweak rankings made in the preseason. We did not rank conferences before the season started, so this will be the first refresh to our conference rankings since about this time in 2019. And also a good time to replace the batteries in your home's smoke detectors.
A lot has happened since we last checked in with these rankings. We crowned a non-purple national champion. We lost a number of teams — including some heavy hitters that are quite significant in these rankings. We added a new team. Teams changed conferences. We also canceled a season and played an abbreviated spring schedule that, it turns out, didn't have a whole lot of impact on today's rankings.
A whopping seven out of the 27 D-III conferences do not have a team without a win — only four such conferences pulled this off in 2019. The ASC, Empire 8, and WIAC you would expect to be on that list and they are. Extra applause for the CCC, MIAA, NEWMAC, and ODAC for their Septembers to remember.
Non-conference records are not exclusive to games against other D-III opponents, but only games recognized by the NCAA are included (i.e. no contests against club teams are counted). I've also not included non-conference results against conference opponents.
Without further ado, here is your conference re-rank!
1. Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2019 ATN ranking: 1
Non-conference record: 17-4
Signature win: UW-Whitewater 31, Salisbury 14
The beat goes on for Division III's premiere football conference. By my count, the WIAC has scored non-conference wins against favorites in four leagues, maybe five if you want to consider Dubuque a contender in the ARC. Four teams are undefeated, three are ranked in the Top 25. The only thing keeping this league from bolstering its stellar record is a total unwillingness by pretty much everybody in the division to play games at Oshkosh. The depth of quality in the WIAC is unrivaled in Division III and there is plenty of daylight between this conference and the next tier.
|
| The St. John's win against Aurora was a significant result for more than one conference. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
2. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 2
Non-conference record: 13-5
Signature win: Gustavus Adolphus 27, Wartburg 18
You've got to hand it to the MIAC. They lost a Division III powerhouse to the FCS Pioneer League and ... didn't miss a beat? The Gusties win over Wartburg helped keep the MIAC in the No. 2 position as did St. John's victory over Aurora and Bethel's win over UW-Platteville. Also helping the cause? Carleton is the league's third undefeated team through September. The Knights are off to their first 3-0 start since the 2008 season.
3. American Southwest Conference
2019 ranking: 3
Non-conference record: 5-2
Signature win: ETBU 37, UW-Platteville 31
A couple of cancellations may have spared the ASC some extra losses, but things seem to on par here. The conference lost Louisiana College to the NAIA, but gained Austin — I'm calling that a push. TLU has backslid quite a bit in 2021, but Howard Payne is surging — another push. UMHB remains a reliable national juggernaut. We'd love to see Hardin-Simmons get more opportunities inside the division and outside of the ASC to see how the Cowboys measure against teams other than UMHB.
4. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
2019 ranking: 5
Non-conference record: 4-6
Signature win: North Central 64, Aurora 7
The CCIW boasts the reigning national champion as well as the current No. 5 ranked team who some of us have picked to win the next national championship. A more typical non-conference performance from the CCIW probably would have landed the conference in the top three but surprising losses by Millikin, Illinois Wesleyan, and Washington U. capped the rise to just one spot.
5. Ohio Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 4
Non-conference record: 6-4
Signature win: Mount Union 48, Westminster (Pa.) 7
For the first time since 1991, the Division III quarterfinals did not include at least one team from the OAC. Mount Union has been the gold standard for this conference, and indeed the Division, for a generation. While the Kehres blueprint remains the foundation of this program, it is significant that the Purple Raiders are moving into a new, post-Kehres era. November and December will tell us if this new era at Mount Union will be markedly different than the previous. While John Carroll is the conference's other ranked team, Baldwin Wallace holds the best shot for a second OAC playoff team.
6. Centennial Conference
2019 ranking: 6
Non-conference record: 6-4
Signature win: Susquehanna 41, Lycoming 10
The River Hawks' win in the Stagg Hat game might not move the needle nationally, but that is the lone loss Lycoming has been dealt in 2021. Susquehanna is also on a 12-game win streak dating back now to over two calendar years. Johns Hopkins has rediscovered the form that took them to the semifinals in 2017, Muhlenberg was a semifinalist in 2019, and Ursinus has announced their preseence as a CC contender this year. The rest of the CC is a step behind and really holds the Centennial back from being in the top two or three- that's how good the top three of this conference have been in the last few years.
7. Liberty League
2019 ranking: 7
Non-conference record: 19-6
Signature win: Ithaca 23, Brockport 8
The Liberty League really could not have had a much better start to 2021. The top five teams in the league have gone 18-1 and three of those teams are currently ranked in the Top 25. Are some of these undefeated September records illusions or does the Liberty League have serious depth of quality? I'm leaning toward the latter, particularly with seasoned quarterbacks like Will Bellamy (Union) and George Marinopoulos (RPI) leading their teams.
8. Southern Athletic Association
2019 ranking: 9
Non-conference record: 11-11
Signature win: Birmingham-Southern 48, Huntingdon 8
What Birmingham-Southern did at Huntingdon, seven days after the Hawks took UW-Oshkosh to the wire, is one of the more impressive results by any team this season. The Panthers are one of three undefeated teams in the SAA. The defending champion, Berry, is not undefeated but has only been beaten by UW-Whitewater, which is how that's going to go for most Whitewater opponents. Centre remains a team in the mix for this conference championship and Trinity (Texas) is off to a tremendous start. Even Rhodes, who has struggled mightily for a number of years, pressed HCAC contender Franklin to the brink before falling in the fourth quarter. The SAA has steadily improved their quality in their top half — the next step for this conference is to make a regional final and challenge the division's elites in the round of 8.
9. Empire 8
2019 ranking: 8
Non-conference record: 13-11
Signature win: Cortland 38, Wittenberg 16
Cortland may be embarking on a special season and Utica is off to a 3-1 start including a nice win over CCC contender Western New England. After that, there's really not much to chew on here for the Empire 8. Teams that we've come to count on to be above average like St. John Fisher and Alfred are having down years — Alfred's 2021 start is particularly surprising. Cortland is the conference's only ranked team and will have their chance to avenge Brockport's loss to Ithaca in the one really notable non-conference game left to play this season.
10. Presidents' Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 12
Non-conference record: 4-6
Signature win: Washington & Jefferson 21, John Carroll 14
The Presidents' win in University Heights is a playoff caliber win. Westminster took its lumps against Mount Union but has rebounded with two significant wins to open PAC play. Continued improvement from Grove City helps the league crack the top 10 this year while lopsided losses by Thiel, Bethany, and Waynesburg to lower half NCAC and OAC teams are going to prevent the PAC from rising too much higher.
|
11. American Rivers Conference
2019 ranking: 13
Non-conference record: 9-9
Signature win: Dubuque 30, Marietta 25
Since we last checked in on the ARC, they placed two teams in the 2019 playoffs — those teams will face off this weekend for the ARC's pole position. Dubuque's win over Marietta is a nice notch in the belt against an OAC team that has been on the rise in the last few seasons. Another under the radar result is Coe beating Hope. While Hope is flying a little under the radar, they could wind up winning the MIAA again. The ARC does house a pair of 0-4 teams, which is a drag, but not enough to keep the ARC from climbing a couple of spots this year.
12. Old Dominion Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 14
Non-conference record: 11-4
Signature win: Ferrum 26, Christopher Newport 19
While the ODAC has produced a very nice non-conference record, they did miss a couple of chances at some quality wins against Widener and Baldwin Wallace. Ferrum's win over Christopher Newport came just one week after Christopher Newport beat Washington & Lee and the Generals just beat ODAC favorite Randolph-Macon. Ferrum last started 3-0 in 2005, which was also the last time Ferrum qualified for the playoffs. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't point these things out. Are we setting the stage for a classic, completely unpredictable ODAC season? One can only hope.
13. Northwest Conference
2019 ranking: 15
Non-conference record: 9-10
Signature win: Linfield 51, Redlands 10
The NWC got a little bit of their mojo back with Linfield cruising past Redlands and Whitworth beating C-M-S (who beat Chapman who beat Whitworth in 2019). Linfield is playing as well as we've seen the Wildcats play since the Sam Riddle era. Whitworth is 3-0 but hasn't really dominated. The rest of the NWC is handling their business against the bottom of the SCIAC, but struggling against the middle and top tier of their rivals on the West Coast.
|
| Photo by Tom Nettleton, d3photography.com |
14. Middle Atlantic Conference
2019 ranking: 17
Non-conference record: 11-8
Signature win: Widener 34, Hampden-Sydney 27
Delaware Valley is the class of the MAC, but Widener is off to a 4-0 and poised to challenge the Aggies. Wilkes is the MAC's third undfeated team and flying a little under the radar. Stevenson may well be the best 0-4 team in the division, which is a distinction that really only matters in this exercise. The MAC crosses over quite a bit with the Centennial Conference, so a number of the MAC's non-conference losses have come to quality opoonents.
15. Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 11
Non-conference record: 9-5
Signature win: Cal Lutheran 37, Southwestern 7
There's just not a lot of meat on the SCIAC bone this season — and not a lot of opportunity with limited willing travel partners to and from Southern California. The SCIAC has played five non-conference games against conference teams. Occidental has left the conference, which actually helps a bit as far as these rankings go. Chapman and Redlands playing well below their playoff-caliber 2019 selves has contributed to the SCIAC's regression in these rankings. Cal Lutheran is the lone undefeated team in the conference.
16. New Jersey Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 10
Non-conference record: 8-16
Signature win: Christopher Newport 28, Washington & Lee 24
The 2021 NJAC has been a bit like one of those suburban malls that lost an anchor store and is doing all they can to stay afloat. We didn't know how the loss of Wesley was going to impact the NJAC, but so far the results have been pretty harsh for this once-mighty conference. Salisbury has held up their end of the deal, but the rest of the conference has really had a hard time getting on track. Our crew had some high hopes for teams such as Rowan and Montclair State, but those teams have both struggled immensely through the first month of the season. Fortunately for all of these teams, they all start 0-0 this week and can play their way past a forgettable September.
17. Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
2019 ranking: 21
Non-conference record: 19-8
Signature win: Albion 23, UW-Eau Claire 20
America's oldest collegiate conference has been hot in September racking up 19 wins in non-conference play. That number is only matched by the Liberty League. 11 of the MIAA's wins have, however, come against the HCAC which is not where one goes to mine for schedule strength. Even though we don't expect the Blugolds to challenge for a WIAC title, Albion's win against UW-Eau Claire does show that Albion can match up a bit with teams that are a little bigger and quicker than the average HCAC fare. Also helping the MIAA is Finlandia's migration to the UMAC. The MIAA is this year's highest riser.
18. North Coast Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 16
Non-conference record: 5-5
Signature win: Wabash 33, Rose-Hulman 23
Denison and Wittenberg were both handled in the conference's best opportunities for notable wins against Ohio Northern and Cortland, respectively. The NCAC champion has lost in the last three playoff openers by an average score of about 48-7, which is to say the NCAC is getting pretty far removed from producing champions that are capable of advancing to the second and third rounds of the postseason.
19. Commonwealth Coast Conference
2019 ranking: 22
Non-conference record: 18-8
Signature win: Endicott 27, St. Lawrence 14
With a nod to Salve Regina's wins against and Rowan and Montclair State, it is Endicott's win against 3-1 St. Lawrence that stands out. The CCC has performed well against the NJAC this season. While the CCC does not have a ranked team, they are the only conference that does not have a team with a losing record at the end of the season's first four weeks.
20. New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 18
Non-conference record: 12-14
Signature win: Catholic 32, Endicott 29
Not too shabby to have a signature win over the previous conference's signature win winner. Springfield running roughshod over Rowan was almost the signature win here, but that result might have told us more about Rowan and the NJAC than it does the NEWMAC. A number of losses suffered by the NEWMAC have come at the hands of playoff contenders (Salve Regina, Western New England, Randolph-Macon), so the conference has done a good job of scheduling quality opponents.
|
| The University of Chicago took one from its archrival Washington U. this September, and that win is the signature win for the Midwest Conference as well. Photo by Dean Reid, d3photography.com |
21. Midwest Conference
2019 ranking: 19
Non-conference record: 4-5
Signature win: Chicago 31, Washington U. 21
St. Norbert has left the MWC for the NACC since our last rankings and, despite St. Norbert's struggles, that isn't an addition by subtraction for the MWC. Chicago has started this season hot and could be the next challenger to Monmouth for the league championship. Monmouth's 44-3 loss to Wartburg probably tells us where the top of the MWC is relative to teams that win playoff games.
22. Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
2019 ranking: 24
Non-conference record: 9-9
Signature win result: Aurora 33, St. John's 39
No, that is not a signature win, but Aurora coming up 1 yard short at St. John's is by far the NACC's best result of the season. St. Norbert has not helped the NACC as we thought they might and while Aurora remains a threat to advance in the postseason, we really need to see conference members take better advantage of opportunities against mid-level teams like Olivet, Greenville, and Carroll before the NACC can get out the 20s on this list.
23. USA South Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 20
Non-conference record: 2-15
Signature win: Averett 30, Christopher Newport 27
The USAC played a challenging non-conference schedule, stacking up primarily against strong competition from the ODAC and the SAA. Two wins are a tough way to open the first month of the season no matter who you're playing. Southern Virginia's journey down the eastern seaboard has landed them into the USAC for 2021. Stability may help the Knights in the long run, but for now, the USAC is carrying another team that has had difficulty winning more than a few games in a season.
|
| A 2-15 mark doesn't leave too much room for wins against any conference, but the USA South has especially struggled against the ODAC in recent years. d3photography.com photo |
24. Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 23
Non-conference record: 6-18
Signature win: Rose-Hulman 31, Trine 30
Franklin's win at Illinois Wesleyan has turned out to be a bit of fool's gold and the HCAC has had their hats collectively handed to them by the MIAA. Only Bluffton enters conference play on a good note after winning their first game of the year- a 21-20 squeaker against Kalamazoo. The HCAC has long struggled in the non-conference portion of the season and, despite being the one conference that played (or tried as best they could) a full conference season in the spring, did not show much improvement in 2021.
25. Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 25
Non-conference record: 4-14
Signature win: Mass-Dartmouth 21, Husson 14
Six MASCAC teams went 0-2 in non-conference play. The conference took some challenging assignments in the Liberty Leauge and the Empire 8, but the MASCAC appears to be losing significant chunks of ground to the CCC in the Region 1 hierarchy.
26. Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
2019 ranking: 27
Non-conference record: 7-16
Signature win: Anna Maria 29, Coast Guard 25
Three teams enter league play with .500 or better records and just two teams enter with winless records. Keystone's inaugural season is off to an 0-4 start, but the Giants really challenged themselves in September. There's some positive momentum in the ECFC.
27. Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
2019 ranking: 26
Non-conference record: 5-19
Signature win: Greenville 37, Millikin 33
Greenville picking off a mid-tier CCIW team is a tremendous result for the UMAC, but the conference continues to struggle regionally. While adding Finlandia makes sense for Finlandia and for the UMAC, losing St. Scholastica to the MIAC is a net negative for the strength of the UMAC.
We don't rank the NESCAC, because conference members do not play outside of the conference, leaving no basis for comparison with the rest of Division III.
27 up, 27 down. I'm calling it a perfect game, but I'm sure our readers have some notes. Let it fly, respectfully, in the comments below!
