The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Gulf South Conference (GSC)-(NCAA Division II)

Gulf South Conference (GSC) (NCAA Division II)

Overview: The Gulf South Conference (GSC) played with just four teams in 2025, with the University of West Florida Argonauts posting the best overall record, finishing 10-2. The Argonauts were one of two GSC teams to advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs last season, defeating and eliminating North Greenville, 43-19, in the first round, before being ousted by Newberry 24-17, in what proved to be their final game as a member of both the GSC and the NCAA Division II ranks. On April 2, 2026, UWF announced it was moving up to NCAA Division I, joining the United Athletic Conference for FCS football. 

The only other GSC squad to advance to postseason play last fall was the Valdosta State University Blazers from Valdosta, Georgia. After struggling to a 3-4 record in non-conference play, the Blazers thrived in GSC action, upsetting UWF, 47-44, in overtime to claim their 12th conference title in program history. VSU's season ended at 6-5 overall with a 35-30 loss at Albany State (Ga.) the following week.

With just three teams heading into 2026, the GSC faces an uncertain future, at least from a football standpoint. With no automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs to fall back on, every game that Valdosta State, Delta State (7-3 overall in 2025), and West Alabama (5-4) will play this season will be important if any of those squads hope to play deep into November or even December, for that matter. That means that even one loss, never mind two or more, could be costly to their potential postseason hopes. 

2025 Gulf South Conference Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules (Teams are listed in alphabetical order; click the links below to find the schedules)

419. Delta State

420. Valdosta State

421. West Alabama


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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)-(NCAA Division II)

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) (NCAA Division II)

Predicted Order of Finish (courtesy of the SIAC)

Overview: After posting their best finish in program history in 2025, the Albany State University Golden Rams will look to start over under new head coach David Bowser in 2026. He replaces Quinn Gray, who stepped down during the offseason to become the head coach at Florida A&M.

The Golden Rams picked up playoff wins over Valdosta State and Benedict before succumbing to Newberry in the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals. ASU finished the 2025 season at 12-2 overall, which included an undefeated finish of 8-0 in SIAC action, and defeating Benedict three times along the way, including wins in the SIAC title game and the D-II playoffs.

Speaking of Benedict, the Tigers from Columbia, South Carolina pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA Division II playoff history, as they rallied from a 24-0 deficit to defeat and eliminate Wingate, 25-24, thanks to a "hook-and-ladder" touchdown from 86 yards away on the game's final play. Following the third and final loss to Albany State the following week, Benedict settled for a final mark of 10-3 overall to finish the 2025 season. 

The third SIAC squad to advance to postseason play last fall was the Kentucky State University Thorobreds from Frankfort, Kentucky. Unlike ASU and Benedict, however, KSU's season was cut short in the first round of the D-II playoffs by eventual national semifinalist Newberry, with the Wolves rolling past the Thorobreds, 45-24. Kentucky State finished its 2025 campaign at 9-3 overall following the loss to Newberry. 

Expect the unexpected in the SIAC this season, as Edward Waters was picked to finish first in the conference by the head coaches and sports information directors. That comes despite the Tigers from Jacksonville, Florida finishing their 2025 campaign at 5-5 overall, and 4-4 in SIAC action. 

2025 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules 


406. Albany State (Ga.)

407. Allen

408. Benedict

409. Central State

410. Clark Atlanta

411. Edward Waters

412. Fort Valley State

413. Kentucky State

414. Lane

415. Miles

416. Morehouse

417. Savannah State

418. Tuskegee

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: The Sun Conference (TSC)-(NAIA)

The Sun Conference (TSC)-(NAIA)

Overview: After falling short against Grand View University in the last two NAIA national championship games, the Keiser University Seahawks hope that the third time will be the charm at the end of the 2026 season, as they hope to build on a combined overall record of 36-4 dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season, when they won their first-ever national championship. But squads like Southeastern (9-3 overall in 2025) and St. Thomas (Fla.) (7-4) hope to provide a serious challenge to the Seahawks' supremacy atop The Sun Conference this fall. 

2025 The Sun Conference Football Final Standings

2025 Schedules 

398. Ave Maria

399. Florida Memorial

400. Keiser

401. Southeastern

402. St. Thomas (Fla.)

403. Thomas (Ga.)

404. Warner

405. Webber International

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC)-(NAIA)

Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) (NAIA)

Overview: The Reinhardt University Eagles, out of Waleska, Georgia, overcame a lackluster non-conference performance to finish undefeated in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play and take home another AAC crown in 2025. 

After holding off Florida Memorial, 49-35, in their season opener on August 30, the Eagles lost their next three games to finish 1-3 in non-conference play. But once conference play began, Reinhardt was unstoppable, finishing AAC action at 6-0 en route to the conference championship. The Eagles' season ended at 7-4 overall after losing to Southeastern (Fla.), 24-22, in the first round of the NAIA playoffs on November 22. 

Moving ahead to 2026 and beyond, the AAC will operate with the same seven squads that took the field in 2025, including second-year program Rio Grande from Ohio, as the Red Storm finished winless in their inaugural season at 0-9. In 2027, the AAC's football-playing membership will grow by two schools, as Andrew College from Cuthbert, Georgia, and Faulkner University from Montgomery, Alabama, join the mix. The addition of both institutions brings the total number of teams in the AAC to nine. 

2025 Appalachian Athletic Conference Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules 


391. Bluefield

392. Kentucky Christian

393. Pikeville

394. Point

395. Reinhardt

396. Rio Grande

397. Union Commonwealth (Ky.) 

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Mid-States Football Association (MSFA)-(NAIA)

Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) (NAIA)

Overview: The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) had three of its teams advance to postseason play in 2025, with one team overcoming a lackluster performance to win an opening-round playoff contest before losing to the eventual national champion, while another team struggled in an early exit, and yet another squad prematurely removed itself from the playoffs due to an eligibility violation.

The University of Saint Francis Cougars from Fort Wayne, Indiana, struggled for most of their first-round contest against Evangel (Mo.) before a fourth-quarter field goal gave them a 13-12 win over the Valor. Their season ended the following week after Grand View cruised to a convincing 62-20 win. The Cougars finished their 2025 campaign at 10-3 following the crushing loss to the Vikings.

Another MSFA squad to earn a postseason berth was the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats from Marion, Indiana. After finishing MSFA play undefeated at 5-0 and winning the Midwest League title, the Wildcats' season was cut short in the second round of the NAIA playoffs, as Lindsey Wilson eliminated them with a 57-31 loss. IWU finished its season at 9-3 overall after losing to the Blue Raiders.

But no team suffered a faster fall from grace-or the playoffs-than the Marian University Knights from Indianapolis. Just days before they were to travel to Florida to face Keiser in their NAIA quarterfinal contest, the Knights were removed from the bracket when Marian officials discovered that an ineligible athlete was playing on their team. As a result of that violation, the Knights finished their 2025 season at 8-4 overall, including forfeits of three other games before the cancellation of the Keiser contest.

As the 2026 season begins, among the changes in MSFA's membership are the arrival of the Saint Mary of the Woods College Pomeroys from Indiana. The addition of SMWC brings the league to 12 teams this fall, with six teams each in the Mideast and Midwest Leagues.        

2025 Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Final Standings

Mideast League

Midwest League

2026 Schedules 


Mideast League

379. Defiance

380. Indiana Wesleyan

381. Lawrence Tech

382. Madonna

383. Saint Francis (Ind.)

384. Taylor

Midwest League

385. Judson

386. Marian

387. Olivet Nazarene

388. Saint Francis (Ill.)

389. Saint Mary of the Woods (Ill.)

390. Saint Xavier

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Mid-South Conference (MSC)-(NAIA)

Mid-South Conference (MSC) (NAIA)

Overview: Despite having just seven schools among its football-playing membership, the Mid-South Conference still found a way to send two of its teams to postseason play last season.

One of those teams was the Lindsey Wilson University Blue Raiders out of Columbia, Kentucky. After posting a record of 5-1 in M-SC action and 9-1 overall at the end of the regular season, the Blue Raiders opened the NAIA playoffs with a high-scoring 57-31 win over Indiana Wesleyan on November 29, only to fall to eventual national champion Grand View 35-7 the following week. Lindsey Wilson ended the 2025 season at 10-2 overall, with the Blue Raiders' only regular-season setback coming at the hands of the Campbellsville University Tigers on October 18. 

Speaking of Campbellsville, the Tigers carried an 8-1 overall record into their regular-season finale against another team of Tigers in Georgetown (Ky.). Georgetown upset Campbellsville 34-32 on November 15, with the devastating loss costing the visitors a share of the M-SC title. Campbellsville's season ended with a 21-17 loss at Benedictine (Kan.) in the second round of the NAIA playoffs on November 29. The Tigers finished their 2025 campaign at 8-3 overall and 4-2 in M-SC play. 

As the 2026 season approaches, the M-SC will have one less team in its lineup going into this fall, as Faulkner University from Montgomery, Alabama left the league to join the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) starting with the 2027 season. The loss of Faulkner gives the M-SC just six schools taking the football field this fall. 

Still, expect a close race to the top for the teams that do remain in this small but competitive NAIA conference, with Lindsey Wilson, Campbellsville, Georgetown (7-3, 4-2), and Cumberland (Tenn.) (7-4, 3-3) being among the challengers.

2025 Mid-South Conference Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules 

373. Bethel (Tenn.)

374. Campbellsville

375. Cumberland (Tenn.)

376. Cumberlands (Ky.)

377. Georgetown (Ky.)

378. Lindsey Wilson

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: Southern Athletic Association (SAA)-(NCAA Division III)

Southern Athletic Association (SAA) (NCAA Division III)

Overview: The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) sent two teams to postseason play in 2025, with the Berry College Vikings from Mount Berry, Georgia, earning their conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III playoffs after finishing unbeaten in SAA action at 7-0, while the Trinity University Tigers from San Antonio, Texas, finished second in the SAA after finishing 6-1 in SAA play.

Once the playoffs arrived, both Berry and Trinity won at least one playoff game, with the Vikings landing victories over LaGrange (Ga.) and Trinity before losing to John Carroll, 21-13, in the quarterfinals to end the 2025 season at 11-2 overall. All three of Berry's postseason contests were decided by a combined 20 points. That came after the Vikings won every regular-season game by 18 or more points.

As for Trinity, the Tigers held off Hardin-Simmons 34-24 in the second round, before seeing their season end on December 6 with the 31-23 loss to Berry on the road. The Tigers ended their 2025 season at 10-2 overall, with both losses coming to the Vikings.

With Trinity and Berry both beginning the 2026 season ranked at #14 and #16, respectively, in the preseason d3football.com poll, expect both squads to battle for the SAA title again this fall, with teams such as Maryville (7-3, 4-3 in 2025), Millsaps (6-4, 4-3), and Centre (5-5, 4-3), being among the potential darkhorses. 

2025 SAA Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules 


365. Berry 

366. Centre

367. Maryville

368. Millsaps

369. Rhodes

370. Sewanee

371. Southwestern (Tex.)

372. Trinity (Tex.)

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The RFC Offseason Schedule Tracker: USA South Athletic Conference (USAC)-(NCAA Division III)

USA South Athletic Conference (USAC) (NCAA Division III)

Overview: The LaGrange College Panthers from LaGrange, Georgia, made history in 2025, as they not only advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs for just the second time ever, but also dramatically won their first-ever postseason contest. 

After finishing the regular season undefeated at 7-0 to win the USA South Athletic Conference (USAC) title for the first time in program history, and their first conference championship since 2008, the Panthers traveled to Massachusetts to face Framingham State in a first-round playoff game. 

LaGrange outlasted the Rams 24-21 to advance to the second round of the D-III playoffs, with the 2025 season coming to a close after losing to Berry, 18-14. The Panthers finished the season at 10-2 overall after losing to the Vikings on the road.

With the 2026 season just around the corner, LaGrange enters this new campaign hoping to build on last season's success. But the four teams that finished the 2025 season at 6-4 overall- Huntingdon, Belhaven, Brevard, and Southern Virginia- just might give the Panthers a run for their money this fall.

2025 USA South Football Final Standings

2026 Schedules (Teams are listed in alphabetical order; click the links below to find the schedules)

357. Belhaven

358. Brevard 

359. Greensboro

360. Huntingdon

361. LaGrange

362. Methodist

363. North Carolina Wesleyan

364. Southern Virginia

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