RFC Summer Semester--New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC)--(NCAA Division III)

Website

2011 Final Standings

Looking back: It was a mostly three-way race for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title in 2011, with Kean ultimately winning that league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.  The Cougars advanced to round two before bowing out with a hard-fought, but heartbreaking, 49-47 loss to Salisbury in triple overtime. 


Looking ahead: The NJAC has already lost Buffalo State to the Empire 8 Conference for 2012.  But the changes don't end there, as Western Connecticut State is entering its final season in the conference this fall, and will join the newly-formed Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC)  for football in 2013.  If that wasn't enough, another associate NJAC football member, Brockport, will join the Empire 8 Conference in 2014.  That will leave the NJAC with just seven football-playing schools by then.

2012 Predicted Order of Finish (2011 overall record in parentheses)

1. Kean (10-2):  Fresh off of their first-ever NCAA Division III playoff appearance, the Cougars look to build on that record-setting run of last season.  But a tough challenge awaits them in the early stages of this season, as they travel down to Texas to face an always tough Mary Hardin-Baylor program on September 8.  In addition to their NJAC title of a year ago, the Cougars have advanced to three ECAC bowls under current head coach Dan Garrett, winning two titles in 2006 and 2009.  It's a tradition the program hopes to continue in 2012.

2. Montclair State (8-2): A loss to Kean in the final week of the regular season proved costly for the Red Hawks, as they not only lost a shot at a conference crown, they also found themselves on the outside looking in for the 2011 postseason.  They hope for another shot at the playoffs in 2012.


3. Cortland (9-2):  After struggling to a 3-2 start, the Red Dragons were red hot going down the stretch, winning their final six games of 2011.  That included a season-ending 14-0 shutout of Albright in the ECAC Southeast Bowl.  Still, they want to take that next step, and earn their first D-III playoff appearance since 2010.


4. College of New Jersey (7-3):  The Lions will be night owls in 2012, as they'll play four games under the lights this season.  Three of their key games, though, will be played during the day, with home games against Cortland and Kean, as well as a road trip to Montclair State, all during the first three weeks of October.


5. Rowan (5-5):  The Profs started the 2011 campaign at 5-2, but it ended with three straight losses, albeit by a combined total of 20 points.  That included a 37-31 overtime loss to Montclair State in overtime on November 5.  Oh, and the Profs lost all five of their games by seven points or less last season.  Learning how to win the close games is a goal this program hopes to accomplish in 2012.  It starts on September 1, when the Profs play host to perennial playoff contender Delaware Valley.


6. Brockport (3-7):  The Golden Eagles may have had a disappointing 2011 season, but at least it ended on a winning note, as they outlasted Morrisville, 35-20, in the season finale on November 12.  Hopefully, that momentum will have them soaring to new heights in 2012.


7. William Paterson (4-6):  Like the Golden Eagles, the Pioneers also ended an otherwise disappointing 2011 campaign on a winning note, as they crushed Western Connecticut State, 45-19, in their final game of the season.


8. Morrisville State (1-9):  The Mustangs look to move forward after a miserable 2011 season.


9. Western Connecticut State (0-10):  The Colonials look to get a fresh start under new head coach Joe Loth.  His main task will be to snap a 21-game skid that dates back to final game of the 2009 season.  WCSU's last win came on November 7 of that year, when the Colonials outlasted the College of New Jersey, 37-34.