The first Division III football regional rankings arrived from the NCAA on Oct. 31.
Remember that regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account. Teams are listed with their Division III record only. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ, or listen to the podcast linked below.
A plus sign signifies that the team also has a non-Division III win, while a minus sign signifies a non-Division III loss. Teams in bold have clinched automatic bids.
- Strength of schedule numbers
- First regional ranking, through Week 9
- ATN Podcast 216: The national committee chair explains the playoff selection process
- ATN Podcast 219: Breaking down the Oct. 31 regional rankings
| East Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Brockport 9-0 2 Frostburg State 8-0 3 RPI 8-0 4 Delaware Valley 8-1 5 Ithaca 7-2 6 Salisbury 8-1 7 MIT 8-1 8 Merchant Marine 7-1 9 Stevenson 7-2 10 Cortland 7-2 |
.523 .502 .509 .475 .541 .454 .466 .540 .512 .514 |
MIT leaps off the page on its leap into the rankings here. The Engineers' head-to-head advantage over Merchant Marine isn't different this week than it was last week, but now they are ranked. Sole new piece of data for MIT is win vs. 3-6 Norwich. ... Merchant Marine's SOS takes a dive from playing winless Catholic. ... Salisbury didn't move this week with the loss to unranked Wesley. ... Ithaca and Cortland square off in Week 11. ... Among the unranked, Misericordia (8-1, .432) and Montclair State (7-2, .572). |
| North Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mount Union 9-0 2 North Central (Ill.) 8-1 3 John Carroll 8-1 4 Trine 9-0 5 Baldwin Wallace 8-1 6 Wabash 8-1 7 Wittenberg 8-1 8 Franklin 8-1 9 Illinois Wesleyan 7-2 10 Wheaton (Ill.) 7-2 |
.520 .542 .516 .482 .492 .481 .500 .409 .588 .606 |
John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace play this week. ... North Region committee continues to be a strict constructionist on lining teams up by record, with Trine (sub-.500 SOS, no results vs. regionally ranked opponents) the exception. ... North Central controls destiny for CCIW automatic bid. ... Wabash and Wittenberg could both be at-large teams if they win and Denison wins on Saturday. ... Among the unranked, Washington U. (7-2, .573). |
| South Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 9-0 2 Berry 9-0 3 Johns Hopkins 8-1 4 Centre 8-1 5 Hardin-Simmons 8-1 6 Muhlenberg 8-1 7 Washington & Jefferson 8-1 8 Case Western Reserve 8-1 9 Thomas More + 6-2 10 Randolph-Macon 7-2 |
.455 .549 .565 .572 .536 .542 .480 .459 .549 .536 |
No meaningful change here in the order of at-large candidates. ... Johns Hopkins controls its own destiny for an automatic bid, as does Washington & Jefferson. ... Thomas More looks even more like it is in with a win on Saturday at St. John's, not that that win is in any way a given. Thomas More looks much better going up against MIT than it does against Merchant Marine for the one Pool B bid. ... Among the unranked, Maryville (5-2 +, .553). |
| West Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 UW-Whitewater 8-0 2 St. John's 9-0 3 Whitworth 8-0 4 Bethel 8-1 5 Linfield - 6-1 6 St. Thomas + 7-1 7 Monmouth (Ill.) 8-1 8 UW-La Crosse - 6-2 9 Dubuque 7-2 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 7-2 |
.597 .548 .564 .527 .574 .510 .490 .562 .528 .462 |
St. Thomas at Bethel still looks like a play-in game from this perspective. ... St. John's has clinched its bid but game against Thomas More has huge seeding implications. ... UW-Whitewater is not moving from the top spot here. ... Dubuque controls its own destiny, assuming it can beat Wartburg on Saturday. (Dubuque doesn't historically have success in that matchup.) ... CMS plugs in at the bottom after UW-Oshkosh falls out. |
How to use regional rankings: If you are an at-large candidate, you want to be sure you are the top at-large candidate in your region. That will ensure you get discussed by the national committee and have a chance to be put in the field.
There are 26 automatic bids, one Pool B bid (teams not in the 26 automatic bid conferences) and five Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 11.
Being listed in these rankings is not a guarantee of selection to the playoffs. There is no guarantee an at-large team will be taken from each region.