THE RFC MYC: Liberty League (LL)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: The 2022 season truly proved to be the "Year of the Bombers", as the Ithaca College Bombers from Ithaca, New York cruised to an unbeaten regular season in winning the Liberty League championship.

The Bombers won eight of their 10 regular season games by at least 17 or more points in securing the LL title, with the lone exceptions being a 13-10 win over RPI (8-3 overall, 5-1 in the Liberty League in 2022) on October 29. That was followed by come-from-behind 31-28 over Union (N.Y.)-(6-4, 3-3) on the road the following week to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Ithaca finished its regular season with a 34-17 rout of longtime archrival Cortland to claim the "Cortaca Jug" on November 12.

In the D-III playoffs, Ithaca cruised to a convincing 63-20 win over UMass-Dartmouth in the first round, before getting by Springfield 31-20 in the second round. The Bombers' season came to a close on December 3, as eventual national champion North Central easily won, 48-7, in the national quarterfinals. Ithaca's season ended at 12-1 overall with the loss at North Central.

Going into the 2023 season, Ithaca faces a tough task in not only defending their Liberty League title, but also facing a tough start to their season in general.

The Bombers will open their campaign with back-to-back road games against two 10-1 teams in Johns Hopkins and Endicott, respectively, and then pay a visit to Alfred before hosting Hobart (7-4,, 4-2) in their home opener on September 30.

If that wasn't enough, in addition to Hobart and RPI, expect Union to be a serious contender for the Liberty League crown before all is said and done this season.

Final 2022 Liberty League Football Standings

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Buffalo State

Hobart

Ithaca

RPI

Rochester

St. Lawrence

Union (N.Y.)

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THE RFC MYC: Landmark Conference (LC)-(NCAA Division III)

Landmark Conference (LC)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: On February 10, 2022, the Landmark Conference (LC) announced that it would not only expand its current membership to 10 schools-mostly in central and eastern Pennsylvania- but also add football to its current sports offerings, effective in the fall of 2023.

As this post was being written, Landmark Conference football is moving closer to becoming a reality, as seven schools-six of those from Pennsylvania-will take the field this fall. Catholic University (6-5 overall in 2022) from Washington, DC, will be the lone non-Pennsylvania school to join the league this season.

Of those seven squads, three of them-Juniata, Moravian, and Susquehanna-will make the move to the LC from the Centennial Conference, while Lycoming and Wilkes will join from the Middle Atlantic Conference, Catholic from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), and Keystone from the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC).

Despite playing in its' inaugural season of football, the LC will become the beneficiary of NCAA legislation that was passed in 2022 that allows conferences with at least six current members to qualify for an automatic bid to postseason play, regardless of the sport. With seven schools making up the new league, 28 out of 32 teams will advance to the NCAA Division III playoffs via automatic qualification in 2023.

Finally, as for the teams that could potentially qualify for that lone automatic bid to the D-III playoffs, don't be surprised if the Susquehanna University River Hawks (10-1 overall in 2022) from Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania becomes the favorite to finish on the top of the LC in that league's inaugural season, although Catholic could end up as part of that conversation as well.

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Catholic

Juniata

Keystone

Lycoming

Moravian

Susquehanna

Wilkes

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THE RFC MYC: Empire 8 Conference (E8)-(NCAA Division III)

Empire 8 Conference (E8)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: One team was just one win away from an unbeaten regular season, only to stumble in its last two games to find itself "one and done" after the opening weekend of postseason play, while the other team won its' first-ever postseason contest, only to go two and out.

That was the case for the Empire 8 Conference (E8) champion Cortland Red Dragons, as well as the runners-up in the upstart Utica University Pioneers, as both teams represented the league at the 2022 NCAA Division III playoffs.

Despite having clinched another conference title at 6-0 in E8 play, as well as at 9-0 overall, the end of 2022 was one that the Red Dragons and their fans would likely rather forget, as the Red Dragons lost to longtime archrival Ithaca in the "Cortaca Jug Game" at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y. to finish the regular season at 9-1. Cortland's season ended in the first round of the D-III playoffs the following week, as the Red Dragons fell to Randolph-Macon on the road, 35-28, to finish at 9-2 overall.

As for Utica, the Pioneers accomplished a pair of firsts on the same day, as they stunned a previously unbeaten Susquehanna squad in a stunning 17-10 victory in the first round for their first-ever D-III playoff win, as well as first-ever double-digit win season, on November 19. Utica then fell at Mount Union, 45-7, the following week, to finish its' season at 10-2 overall. 

Heading into the 2023 season, expect Cortland to be the favorite to take home another E8 crown, with Utica, with Brockport (7-3, 4-2) and Morrisville State (7-4, 4-3) hoping to disrupt things with a few upset wins along the way during the fall.

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Empire 8 Conference Football Standings

Alfred

Brockport

Cortland 

Hartwick*

Morrisville State 

St. John Fisher

Utica

*-Schedule courtesy of d3football.com.

THE RFC MYC: Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC)-(NCAA Division III)

Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: The Gallaudet University Bison held off seven other squads to win the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) championship in 2022 after finishing conference action at 5-1 to end the regular season. Gallaudet's season ended at 7-3 overall with a 59-0 loss at Delaware Valley in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The ECFC saw a slight reduction in its membership during the offseason, as the fledging Keystone College Giants from La Plume, Pennsylvania will join the new Landmark Conference, while SUNY-Maritime will make the move to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) as this post was published. These aforementioned moves will reduce the conference's membership from seven to five schools by the start of the 2023 season.

The loss of Keystone and SUNY-Maritime means that just four conference games will be played between the remaining five teams during the second half of the season. Not only that, the ECFC will lose at least one more member when Castleton University from Castleton, Vermont will leave for the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) in time for the 2024 season.

In the meantime, however, expect all five teams to mount a serious challenge for the championship in a "watered-down" ECFC.

Final 2022 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Football Standings

2022 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Alfred State

Anna Maria

Castleton 

Dean

Gallaudet

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THE RFC MYC: Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC)-(NCAA Division III)

Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: The Endicott College Gulls from Beverly, Massachusetts cruised to another Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship in 2022 after finishing the regular season undefeated at 6-0 in CCC action, as well as 10-0 overall. Endicott not only posted its first-ever unbeaten regular season, but also won its second straight CCC crown, as well as its fourth overall conference championship in program history, having won two titles in the now-defunct New England Football Conference (NEFC) in 2010 and 2013.

In the NCAA Division III playoffs, however, the Gulls season came to a stunning end in the first round, with Springfield claiming a 17-14 upset win on the road on November 19. Endicott finished its season at 10-1 overall after losing to Springfield.

The only other CCC squad to punch its ticket to postseason play last fall was the Husson University Eagles from Bangor, Maine. Husson earned a berth in the New England Bowl Game despite finishing the regular season at 5-5 overall. But a 4-2 record, as well as a second-place finish in conference play enabled the Eagles to advance to postseason play. Still, it was Plymouth State that came out on top, with the Panthers earning a hard-fought 21-20 win on November 19. Husson finished the 2022 season at 5-6 overall.

A quick look ahead has the CCC entering the 2023 season with one less program as a member, as Salve Regina University from Newport, Rhode Island will leave for the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) this fall. The move leaves the CCC with just six schools playing football this year, with only five conference games being played between the remaining teams.

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Commonwealth Coast Conference Football Standings

Curry

Endicott*

Husson

Nichols

University of New England

Western New England

*-Schedules are courtesy of d3football.com.

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THE RFC MYC: Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)-(NCAA Division II)

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)-(NCAA Division II)

Overview: Two teams combined for 18 wins during the 2022 regular season, with both squads winning nine games a piece, only to go "one and done" once postseason play arrived.

That was the case for both the Fayetteville State University Broncos and Virginia Union University Panthers, respectively, as both teams represented the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in the NCAA Division II playoffs last fall, but could not advance past the first round. 

After outlasting soon-to-be former associate member Chowan (7-4 overall in 2022) 31-28 on a last-second field goal to win the CIAA championship on November 12, the Broncos saw their 2022 season come to an end with a 51-0 loss to Delta State the following week to finish at 9-3 overall.

It wasn't much better for the Panthers in their playoff contest against Wingate at home, as the Bulldogs ended VUU's campaign with a convincing 32-7 win in the opening round. Virginia Union's season ended at 9-2 overall with the loss to Wingate.

With the 2023 season just around the corner, there will be two changes in membership for the CIAA, as the aforementioned Chowan will play football in the Gulf South Conference for the next two seasons-2023 and 2024-before moving to Conference Carolinas in 2025. 

Replacing Chowan in the CIAA football fold this fall will be the Big Blue of Bluefield State University from Bluefield, West Virginia. The Big Blue finished the 2022 season at 4-4 overall, as they begin their first full season of football after a more than 40-year hiatus (circa 1981).

As for the rest of the conference, it will be interesting to how things will turn out in 2023, including if Bowie State can bounce back after finishing 2022 at 6-4 overall and 5-3 in CIAA action. The Bulldogs previously had three straight seasons of at least 10 wins-10-3 in 2018, 11-1 in 2019, and 12-2 in 2021-prior to last season.

2022 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Football Final Standings

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Northern Division

Bluefield State

Bowie State

Elizabeth City State

Lincoln (Pa.)

Virginia State

Virginia Union

Southern Division

Fayetteville State

Johnson C. Smith

Livingstone

Shaw 

St. Augustine's

Winston Salem State

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THE RFC MYC: Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)-(NCAA Division II)

Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)-(NCAA Division II)

Overview: In just their second season of membership, the Ashland University Eagles from Ashland, Ohio won their first-ever outright Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) championship. The Eagles finished G-MAC action at 7-1 en route to a final regular-season record of 9-1 overall. In the NCAA Division II playoffs, Ashland outlasted Notre Dame (Ohio) 20-13 in the first round, before falling to IUP 19-13 in the second round to finish its 2022 season at 10-2 overall.

The only other G-MAC team to advance to postseason play last season was the Tiffin University Dragons from Tiffin, Ohio. The Dragons gave Truman State all it could handle before losing 28-27 in the America's Crossroads Bowl on December 3. Tiffin finished the 2022 season at 6-5 overall, with all five of its losses coming by eight points or less.

The upcoming 2023 season will see at least two changes in the G-MAC. One of those changes will come in the coaching department, as Lee Owens retired from Ashland after 19 seasons and 266 wins as the Eagles head coach, with Doug Geiser coming in to replace him.

The other significant change for the G-MAC comes in the membership department, with the  Thomas More University Saints from Crestview Hills, Kentucky joining the conference, as they begins their transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level. TMU finished 5-6 overall in its' final NAIA season, but will be ineligible for postseason play until 2025.

In the meantime, however, Ashland will face a tough start to its' 2023 season in its' first campaign under Geiser, with the Eagles not only opening their campaign at fellow D-II playoff participant IUP but also facing two-time, defending back-to-back national champion Ferris State for their home opener following week.

In addition to Tiffin, other teams that expect to contend for the G-MAC title this fall include Ohio Dominican (7-3 overall in 2022) and Findlay (7-4). Both teams finished conference play in a three-way tie for second place with Tiffin at 6-2.      

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Standings

Ashland

Findlay

Hillsdale

Kentucky Wesleyan

Lake Erie

Ohio Dominican

Thomas More*

Tiffin

Walsh

*-Thomas More is transitioning from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level, and is therefore ineligible for postseason play. 

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THE RFC MYC: Mountain East Conference (MEC)-(NCAA Division II)

Mountain East Conference (MEC)-(NCAA Division II)

Overview: Despite having three teams combine for 26 wins overall, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) sent only one team to postseason play in 2022, in the form of the Notre Dame College (NDC) Falcons from South Euclid, Ohio.

After losing 31-14 at Ashland in their season opener on September 1, the Falcons responded by winning nine of their final 10 regular season contests, all in MEC play, to win the conference championship at 9-1. In the NCAA Division II playoffs, NDC again fell to Ashland in the first round, only this time by a much-closer final score of 20-13. The Falcons ended their season at 9-3 overall after losing to the Golden Eagles for the second time in as many tries.

As for the two teams that found themselves on the outside looking in when the postseason arrived, the Concord University Mountain Lions were left out of the D-II playoff field despite the finishing the 2022 season at 9-2. Both of CU's losses came to Fairmont State, 10-9, on October 1, and West Virginia State, 56-38, on October 22. 

Meanwhile, in Frostburg, Maryland, the Frostburg State University Bobcats finished far short of postseason play at 8-3 overall, and 7-3 in MEC action. However, all three of the Bobcats losses came by a combined six points, losing 23-22 to Concord, 10-9 to UNC Pembroke, and 31-27 to Wheeling. Still, FSU finished 2022 with four straight wins.

Looking ahead to 2023, expect another competitive campaign in the MEC, with the usual suspects of NDC, FSU, and CU looking to contend for another conference championship, while four teams that finished in a four-way tie for fourth place at 6-4 in Glenville State, West Virginia State, and Wheeling-all of whom finished at 7-4 overall-as well as Charleston at 6-5 overall, to play a potential spoiler's role, and then some, down the stretch.

  

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Mountain East Conference Football Standings

2023 Composite Schedule (Courtesy of the Mountain East Conference)

Alderson-Broaddus

Charleston (W. Va.)

Concord

Fairmont State

Frostburg State

Glenville State

Notre Dame (Ohio)

UNC Pembroke 

West Liberty

West Virginia State

West Virginia Wesleyan

Wheeling

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THE RFC MYC: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)-(NCAA Division II)

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)-(NCAA Division II)

Overview: The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) proved once again why it's one of the toughest conferences at the NCAA Division II level, year in and year out, as seven of the league's 16 squads finished the 2022 season with a winning record. Of those seven teams, all of them won at least six games, followed by six teams with seven wins, four with eight wins, and three with double-digit wins.

But once again, the one squad that had the best season in the PSAC by far last fall didn't come from Pennsylvania, as the Shepherd University Rams from Shepherdstown, West Virginia made another excellent run in the D-II playoffs. 

After losing to Indiana (Pa.), 23-21, in the PSAC title game, the Rams held off New Haven, 16-13, in the first round, slipped past Slippery Rock, 37-27, in the second round, and then avenged that title game loss to IUP in the quarterfinals with a 48-13 rout. Shepherd's season ended in the national semifinals on December 10, with the Rams falling to eventual national runner-up Colorado School of Mines, 44-13, to finish with a 13-2 overall record.

As for other two PSAC teams that had double-digit wins in 2022, IUP got by Ashland in the second round before losing to Shepherd in the quarterfinals to finish its' season at 10-2, while Slippery Rock grabbed a 17-14 win over Assumption in the first round before succumbing to Shepherd in the second round for a 10-3 finish.

A quick look ahead to 2023 sees the PSAC having multiple teams in both the conference championship and playoff conversations, respectively, yet again. In addition to the teams mentioned above, expect the likes of Kutztown (8-3 overall, 5-2 in the PSAC in 2022), Gannon (8-3, 6-1), West Chester (7-4, 4-3), California (Pa.)-(6-5, 4-3) and even Millersville (5-6, 4-3) to have a potential say in who wins the PSAC crown this fall.

2022 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Football Standings

East Division

Bloomsburg

East Stroudsburg

Kutztown

Lock Haven

Millersville

Shepherd

Shippensburg

West Chester

West Division

California (Pa.)

Clarion

Edinboro

Gannon

Indiana (Pa.)

Mercyhurst

Seton Hill

Slippery Rock

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THE RFC MYC: Northeast 10 Conference (NE10)-(NCAA Division II)

Northeast 10 Conference (NE10)-(NCAA Division II)

Overview: The 2022 season turned out to be a season of unmet expectations for the Northeast 10 Conference (NE10), as the Assumption University Greyhounds and the University of New Haven Chargers shared the conference championship at 6-1 in NE10 action. 

However, once the NCAA Division II playoffs arrived, both squads saw their respective seasons end in heartbreaking fashion, losing in the first round. Assumption fell to Slippery Rock, 17-14, while New Haven lost to Shepherd, 16-13. Both the Greyhounds and Chargers finished the 2022 season at 8-3 overall.

Looking ahead to 2023, expect the Bentley University Falcons (7-3, 5-2 in 2022) to challenge Assumption and New Haven for the NE10 title. But they must do that under a new head coach in Saj Thakkar, who replaced Alvin Reynolds in that role during the offseason. All three of Bentley's losses last fall came by eight points or less, as well as by a combined 17 points in all.

Finally, the NE10's football membership will increase by one program, as the Post University Eagles of Waterbury, Connecticut will join the conference as an associate member in 2024. That move will give the conference eight schools playing football by then.  

2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final 2022 Northeast 10 Conference Football Standings

American International

Assumption

Bentley

Franklin Pierce

New Haven

Pace

Saint Anselm

Southern Connecticut State

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