Conferences · 2026 Season
The sport gets more interesting when leagues have identity.
Every league has its own shape — the powers at the top, the week-to-week gauntlet in the middle, and the teams quietly setting the pace. Explore all 72 conferences below.
Every FBS conference, by shape
Real SP+ ratings for every FBS team, plotted conference by conference. Further right = stronger conference; wider = less agreement among a conference’s own teams about how good it is. Click a conference name to open its page.
Conference power data isn't ready yet for this season — check back after a few games are in the books.
Conference spotlight
Ranked by round-robin strength (RR50): the neutral-field rating a hypothetical team would need to go .500 through that conference’s schedule.
FBS
#1
SEC
SEC carries real selection-room weight with 9 teams inside the top 25 and Georgia driving a legitimate national ceiling.
FBS
#2
Big Ten
Big Ten carries real selection-room weight with 7 teams inside the top 25 and Ohio State driving a legitimate national ceiling.
FBS
#3
Pac-12
Pac-12 reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.
FBS
#4
Big 12
Big 12 looks stronger on team quality than on season resume, which makes it a dangerous future-facing league.
FBS
#5
ACC
ACC is more top-heavy than deep. Miami gives the league punch, but the middle tier falls away faster than the top leagues.
FBS
#6
American Athletic
American Athletic is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
FBS
#7
Sun Belt
Sun Belt is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
FBS
#8
Conference USA
Conference USA is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
FBS
#9
Mid-American
Mid-American is more top-heavy than deep. Western Michigan gives the league punch, but the middle tier falls away faster than the top leagues.
FBS
#10
Mountain West
Mountain West reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.
FCS
#11
MVFC
MVFC is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
FCS
#12
Big Sky
Big Sky is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
Power curve
The full-page version, with the takeaway spelled out
The same ridgeline chart above, standalone — plus the numbers behind the gap between the strongest and weakest conference.
Style fingerprints
Every conference has a personality
Six play-style dimensions mapped across all 11 FBS conferences. Click any card to see who they really are.
Identity map
134 teams, one map of how they play
A style scatter across every FBS team, with an outlier board and a style-twin finder.
Head to head
The math doesn’t care about reputation
Pick two conferences. Win probability from SP+ distributions — not narratives, not recruiting stars.
Power × parity
Two axes. Every conference. Where do they live?
Median power vs. internal spread. The scatter that reveals what raw rankings hide.
All conferences
Sorted by RR50 strength within each division. Very small affiliations are lightly regressed toward their subdivision baseline so one-team groups do not break the board.
- RR50
- Round-robin rating — points a typical team would win or lose by against a neutral average opponent, simulated across a full league schedule. Higher is stronger.
- Upper str
- Upper strength — the rating of the conference’s top tier, so you can see how good its best teams really are.
- Median
- The middle team’s rating — how strong the league stays once you get past the contenders.
- Resume pulse
- A 0–100 score for quality wins and schedule strength accumulated across the conference.
| Conference | Teams | RR50 | Upper str | Median | Resume pulse | Top team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBS · Football Bowl Subdivision | ||||||
| SEC | 16 |
4.76
|
9.34 | 5.41 | 87.5 | Georgia |
| Big Ten | 18 |
3.68
|
8.54 | 3.90 | 71.8 | Ohio State |
| FBS Independents | 2 |
2.33
|
8.86 | 1.93 | 64.8 | Notre Dame |
| Pac-12 | 8 |
2.14
|
4.95 | 1.93 | 52.2 | Boise State |
| Big 12 | 16 |
1.46
|
6.45 | 2.45 | 78.4 | Texas Tech |
| ACC | 17 |
1.14
|
5.46 | 0.47 | 74.6 | Miami |
| American Athletic | 14 |
-0.75
|
3.13 | -1.02 | 67.7 | UTSA |
| Sun Belt | 14 |
-1.04
|
2.76 | -0.82 | 59.6 | Marshall |
| Conference USA | 10 |
-1.46
|
2.33 | -2.13 | 53.2 | Delaware |
| Mid-American | 13 |
-1.81
|
2.45 | -3.37 | 48.0 | Western Michigan |
| Mountain West | 10 |
-2.01
|
1.00 | -1.84 | 61.8 | North Dakota State |
| FCS · Football Championship Subdivision | ||||||
| MVFC | 9 |
-6.43
|
-3.94 | -6.51 | 61.7 | Illinois State |
| Big Sky | 13 |
-7.09
|
-4.26 | -7.24 | 56.6 | Montana State |
| UAC | 8 |
-7.37
|
-4.56 | -7.90 | 50.2 | Tarleton State |
| Southland | 10 |
-7.50
|
-5.21 | -7.38 | 54.4 | Stephen F. Austin |
| SWAC | 12 |
-7.77
|
-5.60 | -8.09 | 43.1 | Prairie View A&M |
| MEAC | 6 |
-7.87
|
-5.97 | -8.16 | 54.5 | South Carolina State |
| Coastal Athletic | 13 |
-8.12
|
-6.22 | -8.05 | 44.0 | Rhode Island |
| Southern | 10 |
-8.18
|
-6.25 | -8.25 | 43.9 | Tennessee Tech |
| Patriot | 10 |
-8.38
|
-6.26 | -8.48 | 39.0 | Lehigh |
| OVC | 8 |
-8.42
|
-7.13 | -8.69 | 39.9 | UT Martin |
| FCS Independents | 2 |
-8.73
|
-6.87 | -8.88 | 39.7 | Merrimack |
| NEC | 8 |
-9.01
|
-7.38 | -9.05 | 24.5 | Robert Morris |
| Pioneer | 11 |
-9.16
|
-7.67 | -9.10 | 26.6 | San Diego |
| Ivy | 8 |
-9.73
|
-8.47 | -9.83 | 63.5 | Harvard |
| DII · Division II | ||||||
| Gulf South | 3 |
-20.34
|
-18.45 | -20.82 | 54.4 | Valdosta State |
| South Atlantic | 10 |
-20.90
|
-19.40 | -20.70 | 55.0 | Newberry |
| GLIAC | 8 |
-20.95
|
-18.74 | -20.69 | 55.1 | Ferris State |
| Mid America | 10 |
-21.07
|
-19.92 | -20.85 | 49.0 | Central Oklahoma |
| Northern Sun | 14 |
-21.23
|
-20.10 | -20.95 | 47.3 | Minnesota State |
| Independent DII | 2 |
-21.23
|
-19.77 | -21.18 | 78.2 | Northeastern State |
| Rocky Mountain | 10 |
-21.30
|
-19.68 | -21.04 | 48.3 | Western Colorado |
| SIAC | 13 |
-21.34
|
-19.64 | -21.29 | 48.6 | Kentucky State |
| Great Midwest Athletic | 10 |
-21.53
|
-20.42 | -21.23 | 60.6 | Ashland |
| Lone Star | 10 |
-21.54
|
-19.38 | -21.50 | 35.8 | Central Washington |
| Great Lakes | 9 |
-21.57
|
-20.01 | -21.90 | 32.2 | Indianapolis |
| Great American | 12 |
-21.80
|
-20.44 | -21.81 | 41.7 | Harding |
| CIAA | 11 |
-21.94
|
-20.17 | -21.45 | 35.7 | Virginia State |
| Northeast 10 | 8 |
-22.01
|
-20.67 | -22.00 | 39.6 | Franklin Pierce |
| Pennsylvania State Athletic | 15 |
-22.02
|
-20.79 | -21.90 | 54.0 | Kutztown |
| Carolinas | 7 |
-22.29
|
-20.81 | -21.72 | 49.8 | UNC Pembroke |
| Mountain East | 9 |
-22.37
|
-21.04 | -22.20 | 39.9 | Charleston (WV) |
| DIII · Division III | ||||||
| Wisconsin | 8 |
-30.20
|
-28.14 | -30.33 | 59.3 | Wisconsin Whitewater |
| American Southwest | 5 |
-30.33
|
-28.72 | -30.81 | 69.3 | Hardin Simmons |
| USA South | 9 |
-31.38
|
-29.73 | -31.54 | 41.2 | LaGrange |
| Old Dominion | 7 |
-31.48
|
-30.01 | -31.00 | 38.0 | Randolph Macon |
| Southern Athletic | 8 |
-31.62
|
-30.04 | -31.90 | 40.3 | Berry |
| Centennial | 7 |
-31.64
|
-30.31 | -31.48 | 57.1 | Johns Hopkins |
| American Rivers | 8 |
-31.66
|
-30.25 | -32.05 | 34.5 | Wartburg |
| Northwest | 8 |
-31.67
|
-29.77 | -31.88 | 49.0 | Whitworth |
| Minnesota | 10 |
-31.71
|
-29.93 | -32.03 | 44.0 | Bethel (MN) |
| Presidents' | 13 |
-31.72
|
-28.98 | -32.26 | 41.3 | Saint Francis |
| Commonwealth Coast | 7 |
-31.73
|
-29.89 | -31.43 | 18.5 | Endicott |
| North Coast | 9 |
-31.73
|
-30.42 | -31.56 | 42.2 | DePauw |
| CCIW | 9 |
-31.76
|
-30.03 | -31.98 | 55.0 | North Central College |
| NEWMAC | 8 |
-31.81
|
-30.29 | -31.83 | 56.2 | Springfield |
| Michigan | 8 |
-31.83
|
-30.38 | -32.06 | 48.5 | Hope |
| So. Cal. | 8 |
-31.85
|
-30.49 | -32.26 | 43.5 | Whittier |
| Ohio | 10 |
-31.85
|
-30.50 | -31.78 | 49.8 | John Carroll |
| Liberty League | 7 |
-31.99
|
-30.80 | -31.79 | 31.4 | Ithaca |
| Empire 8 | 9 |
-32.15
|
-30.81 | -32.34 | 51.0 | SUNY Cortland |
| Landmark Conference | 7 |
-32.19
|
-30.61 | -32.63 | 38.2 | Susquehanna |
| Southern Collegiate Athletic | 5 |
-32.21
|
-30.78 | -31.94 | 24.9 | Texas Lutheran |
| New Jersey | 8 |
-32.21
|
-30.80 | -32.38 | 46.7 | Salisbury |
| Independent DIII | 2 |
-32.27
|
-31.10 | -32.43 | 7.7 | Apprentice School |
| Heartland | 7 |
-32.28
|
-30.57 | -32.21 | 60.7 | Hanover |
| Mid Atlantic | 10 |
-32.28
|
-31.32 | -32.26 | 40.0 | Delaware Valley |
| NACC | 9 |
-32.30
|
-31.15 | -32.18 | 44.7 | Aurora |
| NESCAC | 10 |
-32.34
|
-31.54 | -32.44 | 62.1 | Trinity (CT) |
| MSCAC | 9 |
-32.45
|
-31.21 | -32.52 | 47.9 | Plymouth State |
| Midwest | 11 |
-32.55
|
-31.22 | -32.59 | 29.6 | Monmouth (IL) |
| Upper Midwest | 6 |
-32.68
|
-31.70 | -32.77 | 20.1 | Northwestern (MN) |