DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Carolinas

#41 overall#16 in DIIRR50 -4.2Upper strength -2.87 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

The Carolinas Circuit

The Carolinas Conference is a smaller DII league serving programs in North and South Carolina — Barton, Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Erskine, King, and Wingate (now in the SAC) competing in the Charlotte and Piedmont corridor. The conference serves programs that compete between the South Atlantic Conference's depth and the CIAA's HBCU identity, providing DII football access to programs with limited scholarship resources but genuine football traditions in the most competitive prep football region in the country.

Division II7 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: UNC Pembroke

Carolinas · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The AnchorCatawba's Piedmont Identity

Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina has been the Carolinas Conference's most consistent winner — drawing from the Piedmont corridor between Charlotte and Greensboro that produces DII-caliber linemen and skill players in volume. Their program competes with a physical style that matches the region's football tradition and has produced NFL undrafted free agents at a rate that exceeds their recruiting profile.

The Rising Program

Barton College and the Wilson Pipeline

Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina draws from eastern North Carolina — a region that produces defensive backs and linebackers at a rate disproportionate to its high school enrollment. Their program has won Carolinas Conference titles and challenged for Super Region at-large bids in recent seasons, building with a style that matches the physical identity of eastern Carolina football.

Wild Card

Belmont Abbey and the Charlotte Footprint

Belmont Abbey College in Belmont — ten miles from uptown Charlotte — has access to the Charlotte metro's DII-caliber players who choose a Catholic liberal arts education over scholarship programs. Their program competes with a specific identity in a market where DII football is overshadowed by the Panthers and Charlotte 49ers, but the recruiting access that proximity to Charlotte provides is the Carolinas Conference's most significant underutilized asset.

Conference Standings · Carolinas · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1UNC Pembroke1–02–1-2.5
2Erskine0–02–0-3.3
3North Greenville0–02–0-3.7
4Chowan0–01–2-5.6
5Barton0–01–2-5.9
6Ferrum0–00–3-7.9
7Shorter0–11–2-3.8

Conference record determines Super Region seeding. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average.

Projected Standings · Carolinas · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1UNC Pembroke3–3+2.13.331746769499
Challengers
2Erskine3–3+1.43.221441739299
3North Greenville3–3+1.03.221339719199
4Shorter3–3+0.93.121339709199
The Field
5Chowan3–3-0.92.91930618798
6Barton3–3-1.22.81828598698
Rebuilding
7Ferrum2–4-3.22.5520497996

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1South Atlantic
-2.8
3–2Newberry
2GLIAC
-2.9
—Ferris State
3Mid America
-3.0
—Central Oklahoma
4Northern Sun
-3.2
—Minnesota State
5Rocky Mountain
-3.2
—Western Colorado
6SIAC
-3.3
0–1Kentucky State
7Great Midwest Athletic
-3.5
—Ashland
8Lone Star
-3.5
—Central Washington
9Great Lakes
-3.5
—Indianapolis
10Great American
-3.7
—Harding
11CIAA
-3.9
0–5Virginia State
12Northeast 10
-4.0
—Franklin Pierce
13Pennsylvania State Athletic
-4.0
—Kutztown
14CarolinasYou are here
-4.2
—UNC Pembroke
15Mountain East
-4.3
1–1Charleston (WV)

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = Carolinas's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Carolinas Conference is a smaller DII league serving programs in North and South Carolina — Barton, Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Erskine, King, and Wingate (now in the SAC) competing in the Charlotte and Piedmont corridor. The conference serves programs that compete between the South Atlantic Conference's depth and the CIAA's HBCU identity, providing DII football access to programs with limited scholarship resources but genuine football traditions in the most competitive prep football region in the country.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-4.2
Upper Strength-2.8
Median Power-3.7
Resume Pulse49.8
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap1.3
Combined Record9-10

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

Carolinas Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#318 UNC Pembroke 2-1 -2.5 53 -- +0.00 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#344 Erskine 2-0 -3.3 94 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#356 North Greenville 2-0 -3.7 72 -- +0.00 2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#362 Shorter 1-2 -3.8 56 -- +0.00 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#406 Chowan 1-2 -5.6 17 -- +0.00 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#412 Barton 1-2 -5.9 34 -- +0.00 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L1)
#427 Ferrum 0-3 -7.9 23 -- +0.00 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)