The current regional alignment for football will be changing. The D2 Management Council made it official. The GAC will be staying in Super Region 3 with the MIAA and will see the arrival of the GLIAC and the GLVC. Starting in 2017 the new football regional realignment will look like the following:
Super Region 1: GMAC, MEC, NE-10, PSAC
Super Region 2: CIAA, GSC*, SIAC, SAC
Super Region 3: GAC, GLIAC*, GLVC, MIAA*
Super Region 4: GNAC, LSC, NSIC*, RMAC
*The GSC, MIAA, GLIAC and NSIC are considered the four football power conferences in D2.

Note: conferences full names can be found at the end of the column.

Per a source, the D2 Management Council also considered another regional realignment model that consisted of the following setup:
Super Region 1: GMAC, MEC, NE-10, PSAC
Super Region 2: CIAA, GSC, SIAC, SAC
Super Region 3: GAC, GLVC, LSC, MIAA
Super Region 4
  • In-region winning percentage


In addition to the bylaw, the D2 Championships Committee approved the following additional criteria, again not applied necessarily in listed order:
  • Division II record on the road
  • Division II results vs. teams with a record of .500 or better
  • In-region non-conference won/loss record
NCAA Division II In-Region Competition by Statecriteria data on SR3
  1. The MIAA is a Power 4 conference and playing some of their top teams will help the GAC SOS. Granted, the GAC teams will need to win games. While some will say the risk of playing top teams from a top conference like the MIAA means the GAC may only get 1 team in the playoffs, not playing non-conference games ensures the GAC will only get 1 team in the playoffs every year.
  2. Playing the MIAA will force the GAC teams to get better. Also, it will give GAC teams a taste of what to expect come playoff time, i.e., better preparation.
  3. Scheduling the MIAA means the games are clearly in-region non-conference games.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team
MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team MIAA or LSC team
Northwestern Oklahoma Northwestern Oklahoma Northwestern Oklahoma Northwestern Oklahoma
Southwestern Oklahoma Southwestern Oklahoma Southwestern Oklahoma Southwestern Oklahoma
Arkansas Tech Arkansas Tech Arkansas Tech Arkansas Tech
Harding Harding Harding Harding
Arkansas-Monticello Arkansas-Monticello Arkansas-Monticello Arkansas-Monticello
Southern Arkansas Southern Arkansas Southern Arkansas Southern Arkansas
Oklahoma Baptist Oklahoma Baptist East Central East Central
Southern Nazarene Southern Nazarene Southeastern Oklahoma Southeastern Oklahoma
Henderson/Ouachita Henderson/Ouachita Henderson/Ouachita Henderson/Ouachita
Notice that in this scenario that in the first two years Henderson and Ouachita play Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene, but not East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma. Starting in year three they rotate, so Henderson and Ouachita play East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma but not Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene. The reason for the two year rotation is to allow for each team to play at home against one another, i.e., in year one Ouachita plays at Oklahoma Baptist and in year two Ouachita plays Oklahoma Baptist at home. The conference could also make the same arrangements in its scheduling alliance with the MIAA or LSC, so everybody gets a home against an out of conference opponent. Example: Henderson plays at the MIAA or LSC team year one, then the MIAA or LSC team plays at Henderson in year two. To keep teams from having the same matchups every year, the scheduling alliance could rotate the opponents every two years.

How does the GAC address the issue of a tie in the conference standings between teams that did not play one another?

The GAC could use the non-conference record as the tie-break. If the non-conference record is also a tie, then the GAC could decide based upon additional criteria such as which GAC team played stronger MIAA or LSC teams and where the wins/losses occurred, at home or on the road.

In the end the GAC has two choices. It can either be proactive and look at ways to strengthen itself for the long term, or the GAC can sit back and hope things play out in its favor over time. If the GAC chooses to sit back, it runs the risk of finding itself with post-season worthy teams sitting on the outside looking in.

Super Region 1Super Region 2:
CIAA - Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
GSC - Gulf South Conference
SIAC - Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
SAC - South Atlantic Conference

Super Region 3:
GAC - Great American Conference
GLIAC - Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
GLVC - Great Lakes Valley Conference
MIAA - Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Super Region 4[email protected] and you can follow me on twitter @ArmoD2fb.