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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THE RFC MYC: United Athletic Conference (UAC)-(FCS)

United Athletic Conference (UAC)-(FCS)

Overview: On April 17, 2023, what used to be known as the ASun-WAC Alliance became the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The new football-only circuit will consist of nine schools from six states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah), as well as three of the four time zone in the continental United States (Eastern, Central, and Mountain).

The UAC came about mainly because two soon-to-be former ASun members in Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State, as well as Sam Houston State from the WAC, all chose to make the move forward from the FCS to the FBS level. JSU and SHSU will join Conference USA for the first time this fall (2023), while KSU will move into the FBS and C-USA fold next fall (2024).

As for the nine teams that will form the newly-branded UAC, the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels will look to advance to postseason play again after winning the ASun-WAC's sole automatic bid to the FCS playoffs last fall. The Colonels fell to Gardner-Webb 52-41 in the first round to finish their season at 7-5 overall, as well as at 3-2 in ASun action. 

On the "WAC" side of things, the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks overcame a slow start to their 2022 season to finish 3-1 on that side of the alliance, as well as at 6-5 overall. SFA knocked off Abilene Christian (7-4, 3-1) 24-21 on the final day of the regular season (November 19) to win the league title. 

The plan for the "inaugural" 2023 season is all nine UAC squads to play six conference games, with a full eight-game round-robin schedule to take effect for the 2024 season. Additionally, the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is expected to start its football program in time for the 2025 season, giving the conference 10 members in all.

As far as 2023 is concerned, however, expect Central Arkansas (6-5, 3-1), as well as Tarleton State (6-5, 1-3),  and Utah Tech (4-7, 2-2) among other squads, to be a part of the UAC championship conversation.

    

Regardless of who ultimately ends up representing the UAC as the automatic qualifier to the FCS playoffs, expect a tight race from start to finish.

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.

Abilene Christian

Austin Peay

Central Arkansas

Eastern Kentucky

Lamar 

Stephen F. Austin

Southern Utah

Tarleton State

Utah Tech 

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THE RFC MYC: Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)-(FCS)

Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)-(FCS)

Overview: For the last two seasons under now former head coach Deion Sanders, the Jackson State University Tigers were not only the dominant program in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) but also the best team among all of the HBCU's in terms of overall record during that span, finishing with a combined mark of 23-3 (.885 winning percentage), while winning back-to-back SWAC titles along the way.

However, when it came to winning the "big game" for the "mythical" HBCU national championship, the Tigers saw another opportunity to take home that title slip through their fingers at the 2022 Celebration Bowl on December 17. 

This time, it was North Carolina Central's turn to spoil what was otherwise another excellent season for Jackson State, as the Eagles pulled off the upset over the Tigers in overtime, 41-34. The heartbreaking loss gave JSU a final overall record of 12-1, which included a 43-24 win over Southern two weeks earlier, on December 3, to give the program its 18th SWAC championship.

The biggest questions that are still to be answered for the SWAC going into the 2023 season are these: 1. Can Jackson State stay the team to beat with T.C. Taylor replacing Sanders as the Tigers head coach? 2. Or can Florida A&M (9-2 overall, 7-1 in the SWAC) strike out of nowhere, and dethrone the Tigers? 3. Or, could even some other squad step up, and surprise everyone this fall?

For JSU at least, the Tigers will find out right away just how good they are when they face South Carolina State in a rematch of the 2021 Celebration Bowl, at the 2023 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta, in the season opener on August 26.

   

2023 Schedules (Teams are 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 SWAC Football Standings

East Division

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Bethune-Cookman

Florida A&M

Jackson State

Mississippi Valley State

West Division

Alcorn State

Grambling State

Prairie View A&M

Southern

Texas Southern

UAPB

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THE RFC MYC: Southland Conference (FCS)

Southland Conference (FCS)

Overview: In a season where two Texas institutions with the "Cardinals" nickname chose to stay in their current conference rather than move into a new, but unproven conference, only one of those "Cardinal" squads not only advance to postseason play but also make a deep run once they advanced to the playoffs.

The University of Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals were that team in 2022, as they posted double-digit wins for the first time in their program's 10-year history. That historic run came after reversing course, and choosing to stay in the Southland Conference (SLC) instead of moving into the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). 

UIW's amazing 2022 campaign not only included sharing the SLC crown with Southeastern Louisiana but also winning two close FCS playoff games during the postseason. The Cardinals got by Furman in a thriller, 41-38, and then pulled off the upset at then #2 and previously undefeated Sacramento State in a high-scoring 66-63 clash, before falling to eventual national runner-up North Dakota State, 35-32, in the national semifinals, to close out their season at 12-2 overall. 

Meanwhile, the other eventual SLC co-champions in the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions overcame an 0-2 start to win nine of their next 10 contests. One of those wins came in a huge upset win over a then #4/#7-ranked UIW squad in a clash that ended with SLU shocking the Cardinals 41-35 on September 24. That victory propelled the Lions to an eventual 5-1 finish in SLC play, as well as at 9-4 overall. After outlasting Idaho in the first round of the FCS playoffs, SLU's season ended in the second round with a tough loss to Samford in overtime.

Looking ahead to 2023, don't be surprised if UIW and SLU both find themselves squaring off against each other for the SLC title again this fall, as the two teams will square off in San Antonio on October 7. Don't count out the likes of Northwestern State (4-7, 4-2 in 2022), McNeese State (4-7, 2-4), or Nicholls (3-8, 3-3), either. Or even a program that's entering the second season of its transition from the NCAA Division II to the FCS ranks in Texas A&M-Commerce (5-6, 3-3), for that matter.

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 Southland Conference Football Standings

Houston Christian

Lamar

McNeese State

Nicholls 

Northwestern State

Southeastern Louisiana

Texas A&M-Commerce*

UIW

*-Ineligible for the conference title, transitioning from the NCAA Division II level.

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