RFC Small College Preview: Mountain East Conference (MEC)

Mountain East Conference (MEC)

2015 Football Standings - Mountain East Conference

Looking back: In just three short seasons, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) has gone from a fledgling league, to a circuit that has seen two of its squads make deep playoff runs. In 2014, Concord advanced to the national semifinals before losing to eventual national runner-up Minnesota State-Mankato. In 2015, Shepherd became their conference's first-ever national championship game representative, falling to Northwest Missouri State.

Looking ahead: As it prepares to take the field for fourth season, the MEC hopes to continue its early run of excellence in postseason play, with one of its teams even winning it all this fall. Just. Maybe. 

Predicted order of finish (2015 overall record in parentheses):

1. Shepherd (13-1): It'll be interesting to see if the Rams are able to make the return trip to the NCAA Division II title game in 2016.  

2. Charleston (10-2): But after a playoff run that ended way too early in a first round loss to Indiana (Pa.), the Golden Eagles could prove to be a worthy challenger to the Rams in the MEC this fall.

3. Fairmont State (6-4): The Falcons hope to soar to even greater heights after posting their first winning season since 2011, when they finished 7-4 overall.

4. Glenville State (7-4): The Pioneers hope to close the gap between Shepherd and Charleston after finishing 6-4 in conference play last season.

5. Concord (5-5): The Mountain Lions hope to climb their way back to the top of the MEC mountain after a so-so 2015 season.

6. Notre Dame (Ohio)--(5-6): The Falcons look to move forward under new head coach Mike Jacobs.

7. West Liberty (5-6): Head Coach Roger Waialae hopes that the signing of 18 new players will help his Hilltoppers go over the top in the Mountain East Conference this season. 

8. West Virginia State (5-6): Despite a three-game losing streak to end the 2015 campaign, the Yellow Jackets still managed to post their most wins in a single season in quite some time. Can they sting some teams on the road to potential success in 2016? Only time will tell.

9. Urbana (2-9): The Blue Knights 2016 schedule not only includes games against five teams that finished the 2015 season at .500 or better, but also their first-ever game against first-year program Cincinnati Christian out of the NAIA.

10. West Virginia Wesleyan (2-8): The Bobcats will look to rebuild under new head coach Del Smith.

11. UVa.-Wise (1-10): The Cavaliers also have a new head coach in Dane Damron.

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