November 11th, 2026 4:00pm
By Chuck Bitner, D2Football.com
The Mountain East Conference championship race comes down to the final weekend. Along with the championship stakes, the league’s automatic qualifying bid (AQ) to the NCAA Division II playoffs is also up for grabs. By MEC rules, if multiple teams are tied for the best league record at the conclusion of the season, they will be named co-champions. However, only one team can earn the league's AQ to the playoffs. They will use tie breakers if necessary and as we'll soon find out, one of the teams has a distinct advantage in many of the tie breaking scenarios.
As we enter week 11, West Liberty and Charleston are tied at the top of the MEC standings at 5-2 in league play. They are the only teams that have a path to sole ownership of the championship. However, Concord and Wheeling are still in the running to claim a share of the conference title and we could end up with all four teams sharing it. If a four-way tie sounds like a mess, it gets worse. In that scenario Charleston would make the playoffs with a losing record overall (5-6). Read on to see how that could happen.
By Saturday afternoon, we could have a single team hoisting the trophy, or the league may be handing out as many as four championship banners. Here is the outlook for all four teams still competing for the honors.
West Liberty (7-3, 5-2)
Week 11 opponent: Wheeling
Notes: West Liberty is tied with Concord for the best overall record and tied with Charleston for the best league record.
Championship possibilities: Regardless of other results, The Hilltoppers can claim at least a share of the MEC if they defeat Wheeling on Saturday. If West Liberty wins and Charleston loses to West Virginia State, The Hilltoppers will win the MEC outright. Even with a loss this weekend, West Liberty can still earn a share of the MEC title if Charleston also loses.
Playoff possibilities: Although there are many scenarios that lead to at least a share of the MEC championship, there is only one scenario where West Liberty makes the playoffs. They must win at Wheeling and need Charleston to lose to West Virginia State. In that scenario, West Liberty wins the MEC outright and takes the AQ bid to the playoffs. A win by Charleston will likley bump the Hilltoppers from the picture. It is highly unlikely for their NPI to be good enough for an at-large bid.
Charleston (5-5, 5-2)
Week 11 opponent: West Virginia State
Notes: Charleston is just .500 overall but they own critical tie breakers over West Liberty, Wheeling and Concord. The Eagles defeated all three during the season.
Championship possibilities: The Eagles can win at least a share of the MEC if they win this weekend over West Virginia State. If they win and West Liberty loses, they would win the MEC outright. If they lose and West Liberty loses, the result will be a four-way tie for the championship.
Playoff possibilities: Charleston has the best shot because of the tie breakers they own over the other three teams. If they win on Saturday, they take the AQ bid to the playoffs no matter what else happens. If they lose, they can still claim the playoff bid as long as West Liberty also loses.
Concord (7-3, 5-3)
Week 11 opponent: Ferrum (out of conference)
Notes: Concord has already wrapped up their conference schedule. They face Ferrum of Conference Carolinas to close the season.
Championship possibilities: Concord is 5-3 in conference play while Charleston and West Liberty are 5-2. They cannot win the league outright, but it is possible to claim a share. Concord needs both Charleston and West Liberty to lose on Saturday. That will produce the four-way tie scenario.
Playoff possibilities: There is no path to the playoffs for Concord. The multi-way tie scenarios all favor Charleston for the MEC’s automatic qualifying bid. Concord’s NPI is not good enough to be contention for one of the four at-large bids in Super Region One.
Wheeling (5-5, 4-3)
Week 11 opponent: West Liberty
Notes: Wheeling defeated Concord earlier this season but lost to Charleston. They host West Liberty on Saturday.
Championship possibilities: Wheeling is 4-3 in league play so there is no scenario where they win the championship outright. They can claim a share of it by beating West Liberty but also need Charleston to lose to West Virginia State.
Playoff possibilities: Like Concord, there is no path for Wheeling. They can tie for the championship but if that occurs, Charleson has the tie breaker advantages to claim the AQ bid. Wheeling’s NPI will not be good enough to claim an at-large bid.
The final analysis
Because of the way this has played out, the MEC will be represented in the playoffs with its automatic qualifying bid only. None of the teams will rank high enough in NPI to earn an at-large bid. That’s why the tie breaking scenarios are so important and why Charleston has the advantage.
Even though Charleston enters the last week of the season at just 5-5, they have the best outlook. They beat West Liberty, Concord and Wheeling during the season, so all the tie breaking scenarios favor them. The only way they do not make the playoffs is if they lose and West Liberty wins.
It is worth noting that Charleston’s season finale is against cross-town rival West Virginia State. The Yellow Jackets are riding a four-game winning streak and can finish with a winning record if they beat Charleston.The Eagles still have a tough task in front of them.
It is also worth mentioning that in the past, the scenario of Charleson making the playoffs with an overall record of 5-6 could not have happened. Prior to this year, teams were required to have a record of .500 or above against Division II opponents. That requirement no longer exists.
So who will it be? We’ll know by about 3:00 Saturday afternoon. Here is the schedule for week 11.
Fairmont State at Frostburg State 12:00
West Virginia State at Charleston 12:00
West Liberty at Wheeling 12:00
West Virginia Wesleyan at Glenville State 1:00
Ferrum at Concord 1:00
Chuck Bitner is the long-time national columnist for D2Football.com and host of Inside D2Football. Questions or comments for Chuck can be sent to [email protected]