DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

CIAA

#38 overall#13 in DIIRR50 -3.9Upper strength -2.111 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Bowie State's Era

The CIAA is the oldest HBCU athletic conference in the country, founded in 1912, and the one with the deepest football tradition in the Mid-Atlantic. Virginia State, Fayetteville State, Bowie State, and Winston-Salem State have all won DII national championships or appeared in Super Region finals. The CIAA Tournament in Charlotte draws 100,000 fans over a week for basketball — but football is the conference's competitive soul, and Bowie State's three national championships since 2017 have made the CIAA a national DII brand.

Division II11 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Virginia State

CIAA · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The DynastyBowie State: Three National Championships Since 2017

Bowie State University in Prince George's County, Maryland has won three DII national championships since 2017 — making them one of the most decorated programs in any division in that span. Their recruiting in the DMV corridor — Washington, D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia — produces skill players and defensive backs at a rate that Power Four programs would envy. Damon Wilson's program is the CIAA's most dominant force and the DII's most nationally recognized HBCU program.

The Rival

Virginia State's Historical Claim

Virginia State in Petersburg, Virginia has won multiple CIAA titles and national championships in the pre-playoff DII era. Their program draws from central Virginia and the Richmond corridor — a pipeline that produces defensive players who make the CIAA's physical style possible. They are Bowie State's most consistent challenger and the program with the deepest historical claim to conference supremacy.

Wild CardFayetteville State and the North Carolina Pipeline

Fayetteville State in Fayetteville, North Carolina recruits from the military-adjacent community near Fort Liberty — a pipeline that produces physically mature, disciplined athletes who fit their program's identity. They have won CIAA titles and made Super Region appearances, and they enter 2026 as the most physically complete program in the CIAA outside of Bowie State.

Conference Standings · CIAA · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Virginia State	1–0	2–1	-0.8
2	Johnson C. Smith	1–0	2–1	-1.2
3	Fayetteville State	1–0	2–1	-2.4
4	Virginia Union	1–0	2–1	-3.3
5	Livingstone	1–1	1–2	-5.8
6	Elizabeth City State	0–0	0–2	-3.4
7	Lincoln (PA)	0–0	0–2	-6.4
8	Shaw	0–1	2–1	-5.9
9	Bowie State	0–1	0–2	-3.2
10	Winston-Salem State	0–1	0–3	-4.4
11	Bluefield State	0–1	0–3	-7.5

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

Projected Standings · CIAA · 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	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Virginia State	5–3	+3.2	4.6	1	8	27	54	79	94	99	✓
2	Johnson C. Smith	5–3	+2.8	4.6	1	8	27	54	79	94	99	✓
Challengers
3	Fayetteville State	4–4	+1.6	4.4	1	6	21	46	73	91	98	✓
4	Virginia Union	4–4	+0.7	4.2	1	4	17	42	69	89	98	✓
5	Elizabeth City State	4–4	+0.6	4.2		4	17	41	68	88	97	✓
6	Bowie State	4–4	+0.8	4.0		4	15	37	65	87	97	✓
The Field
7	Winston-Salem State	4–4	-0.4	3.9		3	13	33	61	84	96	✓
8	Shaw	4–4	-1.8	3.6		2	9	26	53	79	94	99
9	Livingstone	4–4	-1.8	3.6		2	9	26	52	78	94	99
Rebuilding
10	Lincoln (PA)	3–5	-2.3	3.5		1	8	24	50	76	93	99
11	Bluefield State	3–5	-3.5	3.4		1	6	21	46	73	92	99

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

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

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50-3.9

Upper Strength-2.1

Median Power-3.4

Resume Pulse35.7

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap2.6

Combined Record11-19

League Drivers

Power leader Virginia State #276 overall | -0.8 pts vs avg Resume leader Virginia State #276 overall | 66 / 100 resume

CIAA 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
#276	Virginia State	2-1	-0.8	66	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (W1 W1 L2)
#285	Johnson C. Smith	2-1	-1.2	49	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (L1 W1 W2)
#313	Fayetteville State	2-1	-2.4	28	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (W1 W1 L2)
#341	Bowie State	0-2	-3.2	26	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#347	Virginia Union	2-1	-3.3	42	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (L1 W1 W2)
#348	Elizabeth City State	0-2	-3.4	49	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L1)
#379	Winston-Salem State	0-3	-4.4	9	--	+0.00	0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#409	Livingstone	1-2	-5.8	18	--	+0.00	1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#411	Shaw	2-1	-5.9	46	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (L1 W1 W2)
#417	Lincoln (PA)	0-2	-6.4	50	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#424	Bluefield State	0-3	-7.5	10	--	+0.00	0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)