What it is: As the third oldest athletic conference in the nation, the Ohio Athletic Conference has a history that dates back well over a century, as it was founded in 1902. Only the FBS/BCS Big Ten Conference (1895), and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1888) are older than the OAC. Believe it or not, the most storied former member of the OAC is Ohio State. In fact, the Buckeyes competed as charter members of the conference from 1902 to 1912.
Perhaps the strongest program of the last 20 years, at all levels of college football, is Mount Union. Since Larry Kehres became the head coach in 1986, the Purple Raiders have compiled a record of 289-22-3. That translates to a winning percentage of .925 over the last 24 years. Since 1990, Mount Union is 259-12-1. That brings the winning percentage up to .956.
But that's not all. Over the last decade (2000-2009), the Purple Raiders were an astounding 139-5, for a. 965 winning percentage. Since 2005, Mount Union is 72-3, which makes for a winning percentage of .960.
Still, it's all about the national championships for Mount Union. The Purple Raiders have won 10 of them over the last 17 years (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008). Three of their losses in title games came in 2003 (St. John's), 2007, and 2009 (Wisconsin-Whitewater).
Lost in the shadows of Mount Union's impressive track record over the last 20 years is the fact that Baldwin-Wallace is the only other current OAC member to win a national championship. The Yellow Jackets defeated former OAC member Wittenberg, 24-10, to win it all in 1978. Ironically, the Tigers won two of the first three D-III crowns (1973, 1975) as a member of the OAC.
Website: http://www.oac.org
Projected order of finish (2009 order of finish, projected champion in BOLD type)
1. Mount Union (14-1): Despite losing their second national championship in the last three years, the Purple Raiders are still one of the teams to beat in D-III going into 2010, including USA Today, which picked them No. 1 in their preseason rankings.
2. Ohio Northern (8-2): The Polar Bears will shoot for their 15th straight upper division finish in the OAC this season.
3. Otterbein (8-2): The Cardinals were 4-1 in games decided by eight points or less. That one loss, though, cost them an at-large bid to the playoffs last season.
4. Capital (7-3): The Crusaders play host to perennial Mid-Atlantic power Wesley in a key non-conference game on September 25.
5. Heidelberg (4-6): "The Berg" won three of its last four games of 2009 after a 1-5 start.
6. Baldwin-Wallace (3-7): The Yellow Jackets finished below .500 for the second time in the last five years.
7. Muskingum (4-6): The Muskies have won at least five games just once over the last 11 years. They finished the 2003 season at 5-5.
8. John Carroll (3-7): The Blue Streaks struggled to their first sub-.500 season since 1986 (2-7).
9. Marietta (3-7): All three of the Pioneers wins came by six points or less.
10. Wilmington (1-9): The Quakers will play four teams that finished the 2009 campaign ranked in the Top 25.
5 years ago
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