Division II is the smallest NCAA division with only 164 football programs. 49% of colleges and universities within division II are private and 54% have less than 2500 student population - meaning the majority are smaller schools. Division II athletes often graduate at a much higher rate than non-athletes at the same schools. The teams are spread around the country in 17 conferences, mostly concentrated in the midwest, southeast, and northeast. There are very few programs on the west coast. Here is a list of the 17 NCAA division II conferences:
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association (CIAA)
Great American Conference (G-MAC)
Great American Conference (GAC)
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)
Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC)
Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)
Gulf South
Lone Star Conference (LSC)
Mountain East Conference (MEC)
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football (MIAA)
Northeast 10 (NE-10)
North Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
South Atlantic Conference (SAC)
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)
All teams within the division have the option to compete for the Division II Championship. 28 teams participate and are divided into four super-regions with 7 teams in each. The top seeded team in each super-region gets a first round bye and the only natural site is the championship game. Ferris State has recently been dominant in the playoffs, winning two out of the last three years.
The division II experience “not only provides student-athletes the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their academic, athletic and leadership abilities, but it also offers the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions” (NCAA). Another positive aspect to division II is the focus on preparation for life beyond graduation. This balance gives division II athletes an opportunity to compete on the field and off the field at a high level that will prepare them for whatever they wish to do after graduation. A typical division II schedule may be a little less rigorous than a division I program, but athletics and football are still a priority. Spring practices and scrimmages have been made more common in division II as well as offseason workouts in the winter and summer are very common.
According to the NCAA “more than 90% of Division II student athletes report that their college athletics experience had a positive or very positive effect on personal competencies such as work ethic, responsibility, teamwork and goal setting” (NCAA). Division II football programs can offer athletic scholarships, however, they are harder to come by than Division I scholarships because of the differences in funding for DI and DII programs.
All in all, division II offers the opportunity to compete at a very high level of competition while maintaining the college experience and workload. Playing at the division II level prepares athletes for after graduation in ways that division I can not.
Conference Highlights
Northeast-10 Conference:
The Northeast-10 Conference, also known as the NE-10, is a NCAA division II athletic conference located in the northeast United States. Member schools are located in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. All but one NE-10 football school are private. Players within the NE-10 compete in one of the highest ranked academic conferences in division II, with many of the top rank division II schools competing. Although the NE-10 is not the best division II conference, it still has very competitive football atmospheres and competition. Those competing in the NE-10 are expected to be at the top of their class athletically and hold their own in the classroom. Here is a list of the NE-10 schools that compete in football.
NE-10 Football Schools:
American International (1,362 best value school)
Assumption (28 best value school)
Bentley (#1 in Regional Universities North)
Franklin Pierce (#128 in Top Performers on Social Mobility)
New Haven (#87 in Regional Universities North)
Pace (#249 in National Universities)
Saint Anselm (#89 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
Southern Connecticut (#64 in Regional Universities North)
Ranking via US News Report
Great Midwest Athletic Conference:
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference, also known as the G-MAC, is an NCAA division II athletic conference located in the midwest United States. Member schools are located in the Great Lakes and East South Central States regions of the United States. The G-MAC is composed entirely of private schools. Although the G-MAC is not known for its academics, it offers a plethora of institutions where athletes can explore their academic interests through undergraduate studies as well as research. Although the G-MAC has not had a division II champion, the level of football competition is very high with some players moving onto the NFL after their collegiate career. Here is a list of G-MAC football schools:
Ashland (#35 in Regional Universities Midwest)
Findlay (#332 in National Universities)
Hillsdale (#39 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
Kentucky Wesleyan (#22 in Regional Colleges South)
Lake Erie (#142 in Regional Universities Midwest)
Northwood (Unranked)
Ohio Dominican (#95 in Regional Universities Midwest)
Thomas More (#79 in Regional Universities South)
Tiffin (#145 in Regional Universities Midwest)
Walsh (#352 in National Universities)
Rankings via US News Report