November 8th, 2026 5:00am
By Chuck Bitner, D2football.com
With one week to go in the regular season, we're going to do something different with the weekly roundup column and look at the conference championship races. 2026 will be just the second year that conference champions receive an automatic bid to the playoffs. A handful of conferences still award co-championships if multiple teams tie at the top of the standings but only one team can receive the automatic qualifying bid.
As we enter the final week of the regular season, only one conference has been won outright so far. Harding locked up the GAC title with their 10th straight win. They are two games clear of the closest competition and even an upset loss in the finale could not knock them out of first place. A handful of other teams (namely Ferris State, Northwood and Northwest Missouri State) have secure at least a share of their conference crown and can win it outright this coming weekend.
We will have four official conference championship games in week 11. Conference Carolinas, the CIAA, PSAC and SIAC all stage conference championship games with either divisional champions or first and second seeded teams facing off. Additionally, we will have an unofficial championship game in the RMAC with CSU Pueblo hosting Western Colorado. With both teams entering the contest at 10-0 and ranked in the Top 5, it will be the biggest game of the regular season in Division II. The Northeast 10 will also have an unofficial championship with Assumption playing at Pace. Here is a rundown of each conference race with just one week left in the season.
CIAA
The CIAA Championship matchup is set. Virginia Union secured the No. 1 seed as the only team unbeaten in conference play. They will face No. 2 seed Johnson C. Smith on Saturday for the conference championship. Johnson C. Smith defeated VUU in the championship game last year, 45-21. The two teams did not meet in the regular season. Also taking place in week 11 will be the CIAA’s first ever matchup of the third and fourth place teams. That game will be played on Friday night between Virginia State and Fayetteville State.
Conference Carolinas
North Greenville, UNC Pembroke and Chowan all finished the league schedule tied at 5-1. On Sunday morning the conference announced that North Greenville will host UNC Pembroke in the championship game. NGU was awarded hosting privileges by being the highest ranked team in NPI.
GAC
Harding secured the GAC title following a week 10 victory over Southern Nazarene. It is the program's fifth GAC title in the last six seasons. The Bisons are 10-0 overall and in conference. Their closest competition is 8-2. Harding will attempt to complete a perfect regular season at home next week against Arkansas Tech. A win would deliver the program’s third undefeated regular season in the last four years.
GLIAC
Ferris State tied the all time division II record with their 40th consecutive win on Saturday. The Bulldogs also moved to 6-0 in GLIAC play, securing at least a share of the conference title. They can claim it outright with a win over Roosevelt in the finale. Michigan Tech is close behind at 5-1 following their win over Davenport and could tie if Ferris State falters, but the Bulldogs own the head to head tiebreaker over the Huskies.
GLVC
Truman State throttled William Jewell on Saturday, 47-10 to take sole possession of first place in the GLVC. The win secures a share of the conference title. The Bulldogs can win it outright with a win over McKendree in the season finale. An upset by McKendree could force a three-way tie, depending on the results of other games.
G-MAC
Northwood’s week 10 win over Thomas More secured at least a share of the G-MAC title and locked up the league’s automatic bid to the post season. They can win the G-MAC title outright with a win next week over Walsh. That would also cap an undefeated regular season. A loss could drop the Timberwolves into a tie with Findlay (if the Oilers win at Tiffin) but Northwood holds the tie breaker advantage with the head to head win on Sept. 26.
GSC
The Gulf South’s tenure as a football conference will wind down with Valdosta State and Delta State playing for bragging rights. Both teams beat West Alabama, so they are 1-0 in the standings. The GSC will not receive an automatic bid to the playoffs so their participation depends on making it as an at-large. Those hopes rest with Valdosta State. The Blazers are 6-1 against D2 and climbing in the NPI rankings thanks to their win over North Greenville and losses by a handful of teams that were ahead of them last week.
LSC
Central Washington remains perfect in LSC play at 8-0 following a home victory over Western New Mexico. The Wildcats now own at least a share of the LSC title. The Wildcats will look to complete an undefeated LSC schedule at West Texas A&M in the season finale. Midwestern State remains close behind at 7-1 in league play but their loss to CWU earlier this year means the Wildcats own the tie breaker for the AQ bid.
MIAA
Northwest Missouri State moved into sole possession of first place following their week 10 win over Missouri Western and Emporia State’s loss to Washburn. Those results secure a share of the MIAA for Northwest - their 33rd MIAA crown. They can win the league outright with a win in Saturday’s neutral site matchup with Pittsburg State. A loss to Pitt could potentially drop the Bearcats into a tie for the championship, pending the outcomes of other games, however, Northwest has tie breaker advantages over second place Emporia State and Washburn for the AQ playoff bid.
MEC
Wins by West Liberty and Wheeling in week 10 would have set up a winner-take-all meeting in their rivalry game in the finale. Instead, both lost. That leaves West Liberty and Charleston tied at 5-2 in league play. West Liberty has the better overall record at 7-3 but Charleston has the head to head tie breaker result via their OT win at West Liberty on Saturday. Charleston finishes the season at West Virginia State, West Liberty is at Wheeling.
NE10
Assumption will enter the final week of the regular season unbeaten in NE10 play. They are 7-2 overall and 6-0 in the NE10. They are at Pace, who is 6-3 and 5-1. If Assumption wins, they will take the NE10 title and the bid to the post season. A Pace win would force a tie and the Setters would have the head to head tie breaker. Kudos to Pace for working their way into position to play for a championship. This team was 0-11 last year.
NSIC
Minnesota State took their first loss of the season on Saturday against Augustana, but the Mavericks still hold the lead in the overall NSIC standings. If they win at Minnesota Moorhead, they will be the NSIC champs. If they lose, it will drop them into a potential multi-way tie and the winner of the Augustana and Wayne State game will be very meaningful in the tie breaker criteria.
PSAC
PSAC West Champ Slippery Rock will host east division champion East Stroudsburg in the PSAC Championship game. Both teams completed their divisional schedules undefeated. The two teams met back in week two of the regular season in divisional crossover play. Slippery Rock won that meeting 59-35. The winner will claim the AQ bid but the loser should comfortably make the field as an at-large team and likely be a first round host.
RMAC
The RMAC does not officially host a league championship game, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what we have….and it may just be the biggest game of the entire regular season in Division II. Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo have both defeated all comers to get to 10-0. The winner of next week’s showdown in Pueblo wins the RMAC title, takes the AQ to the playoffs and very possibly ascends to the top spot in the region. The loser will likely be a first round host in the playoffs.
SAC
Carson-Newman had the clearest path to a SAC championship entering the weekend, but Newberry’s 23-21 win in Mossy Creek reversed those fortunes. Several scenarios are still on the table. If Carson-Newman and Newberry both win in week 11, they would tie in the standings but Newberry would receive the AQ playoff bid via tiebreaker. A Newberry win over Anderson plus a Carson-Newman loss to Tusculum would mean an undisputed championship for Newberry. Should Carson-Newman win and Newberry lose, then it would be the Eagles taking sole ownership of the trophy. If they both lose, they will remain tied for first and Newberry wins the tie breaker.
SIAC
Benedict and Kentucky State earned their trips to the SIAC championship game with wins in week 10. Benedict is 9-1 overall and 7-1 in conference. The lone loss of the season was at Tuskegee on Sept. 24. Kentucky State is 8-2 overall, 7-1 in the SIAC. Their only D2 loss of the season was at Edward Waters on Oct. 3. The game will be played at Benedict’s home stadium on Saturday.
We'll break down all the latest top stories and look at the NPI Ratings on Inside D2Football, Sunday night at 8pm, Eastern.