What it is: As the only non-scholarship conference in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the Pioneer Football League (PFL) is unique in that while all of it current members compete at the NCAA Division I level for basketball and other sports, the football programs award limited or no scholarships.
The PFL is also unique in terms of the location of its member institutions. With members located on the East Coast (Marist), the Southeast (Campbell, Davidson, Jacksonville, Morehead State), the Midwest (Butler, Dayton, Drake, Valparaiso), and on the West Coast (San Diego), the PFL is perhaps the most far-flung of all conferences in terms of geography.
The circumstances that led to the formation of the PFL came in early 1991, when the NCAA passed legislation requiring all current Division I members to have every sport compete exclusively at the D-I level by 1993. That meant perennial NCAA Division III football power Dayton, which won two D-III titles during the 1980's, had to move their gridiron to D-I. In addition to Dayton; Butler, Drake, Evansville, and Valparaiso also helped form what is now the PFL. Evansville dropped football in 1997.
The PFL grew beyond its mostly Midwestern roots over the last decade, as Southerrn-based schools such as Davidson, Jacksonville, and Morehead State joined the conference in 2001. Campbell followed in 2008, and Marist from New York State came on board in 2009 after the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference dropped its sponsorship of football.
Website: http://www.pioneer-football.org/
Predicted order of finish (2009 overall record in parentheses, projected champion in BOLD type)
1. Dayton (9-2): The Flyers suffered only one losing season in the last 10 years: a 4-6 mark in 2006. While they shared the PFL crown with Butler a year ago, a 31-28 loss to Bulldogs cost the Flyers a chance to advance to the now-defunct Gridiron Classic. Also, UD welcomes back 15 starters for the 2010 season, while losing nine, with eight of those losses coming on defense.
2. Butler (11-1): It's been a banner year for Butler athletics, with the men's basketball team coming within inches of a winning a national championship, while the football program is coming off its best season ever, notching a school record 11 wins in 2009. The crowning achievement came in the season-ending Gridiron Classic, which BU won, 28-23. The big question for the football Bulldogs in 2010 is this: What can they do for an encore?
3. Drake (8-3): The Bulldogs from Des Moines, Iowa raced to an 8-1 start before losing their final two games of 2009. They've had only two 10-win seasons in program history: 1981 (10-1) and 2004 (10-2).
4. Jacksonville (7-4): The Dolphins finished tied with Drake for third place in the PFL at 6-2 last season. They won four of their last five games of 2009 along the way. A tough non-conference schedule in 2010 includes visits to Old Dominion and perennial FCS power Appalachian State.
5. Marist (7-4): The Red Foxes compiled a modest 5-3 conference record in their inaugural season of PFL play.
6. San Diego (4-7): The Toreros have advanced to postseason play just once in their football program's history: 1973.
7. Davidson (3-7): The Wildcats last double digit win season came in 2000, when they finished undefeated at 10-0.
8. Campbell (3-8): The Fighting Camels are a combined 4-12 since re-starting football as an NCAA program in 2008.
9. Morehead State (3-8): The Eagles will add new meaning to the term "frequent flyer miles", figuratively, as well as literally, in 2010, as they'll play five of their first seven games on the road.
10. Valparaiso (1-10): New head coach Dale Carlson will try to reverse the fortunes of a Crusaders program that has fallen on hard times in recent years. Valpo hasn't had a winning season since 2003. That's when the Crusaders finished 8-4 and won the PFL championship, defeating Morehead State, 54-42, in the league title game.
5 years ago
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