DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Great American

#37 overall#12 in DIIRR50 -3.7Upper strength -2.412 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

The Arkansas Standard

The Great American Conference spans Arkansas and Oklahoma — two states with football traditions deeper than their DII profiles suggest. Ouachita Baptist has won eight GAC titles and produced NFL players from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Harding University competes from a Church of Christ campus with a national championship in 2021. The conference has more national title appearances per team than any DII conference west of the Mississippi.

Division II12 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Harding

Great American · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The DynastyOuachita Baptist's Pipeline to the NFL

Ouachita Baptist has won eight GAC titles from Arkadelphia, Arkansas — a town of 10,000 with a Baptist university that has produced more NFL draft picks per enrollment than almost any DII program. Their program culture is built on development, retention, and a coaching staff that has been together longer than most Power Four programs. They enter 2026 as the conference's most complete program and the most likely to make a Super Region final run.

The Rival

Harding's National Championship Model

Harding University won the DII national championship in 2021 — the first for a Church of Christ institution — and has been in the national conversation since. Their Searcy, Arkansas program recruits to a specific student: faith-committed, academically serious, football-invested. The combination has produced a program that challenges Ouachita for the GAC title every year and has demonstrated it can win the national championship.

Wild CardHenderson State's Physical Identity

Henderson State in Arkadelphia — Ouachita Baptist's literal next-door neighbor — plays a physical style of football that matches the region's identity. They recruit from the same Arkansas pipeline as Ouachita but have a different program culture: harder, more physical, built on the offensive and defensive lines. When Henderson is healthy and their line wins, they are the most dangerous program in the GAC behind the two perennial title contenders.

Conference Standings · Great American · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Harding	2–0	2–0	-0.2
2	Henderson State	2–0	2–0	-3.0
3	East Central	2–0	2–0	-3.4
4	Arkansas Tech	2–0	2–0	-3.8
5	Ouachita Baptist	1–1	1–1	-2.4
6	Southern Arkansas	1–1	1–1	-3.9
7	Southeastern Oklahoma State	1–1	1–1	-4.2
8	Oklahoma Baptist	1–1	1–1	-5.3
9	Southwestern Oklahoma State	0–2	0–2	-3.8
10	Southern Nazarene	0–2	0–2	-5.0
11	Arkansas Monticello	0–2	0–2	-5.3
12	Northwestern (OK)	0–2	0–2	-5.5

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

Projected Standings · Great American · 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	≥10	≥9	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Harding	7–4	+3.6	6.5	3	11	28	52	74	90	97	99	✓	✓
2	Ouachita Baptist	6–5	+1.4	5.8	1	5	16	35	58	79	92	98	✓	✓
Challengers
3	Henderson State	6–5	+0.8	5.8	1	4	15	33	57	78	92	98	✓	✓
4	East Central	6–5	+0.4	5.7	1	4	13	31	54	76	91	97	✓	✓
5	Southwestern Oklahoma State	6–5	+0.1	5.6	1	3	12	29	52	74	90	97	✓	✓
6	Arkansas Tech	5–6	-0.0	5.4		3	10	26	49	72	88	97	99	✓
The Field
7	Southern Arkansas	5–6	-0.1	5.4		3	10	26	48	71	88	97	99	✓
8	Southeastern Oklahoma State	5–6	-0.4	5.3		3	9	24	46	69	87	96	99	✓
9	Arkansas Monticello	5–6	-1.5	5.1		2	7	20	41	65	84	95	99	✓
10	Southern Nazarene	5–6	-1.2	5.1		2	7	20	41	65	84	95	99	✓
Rebuilding
11	Oklahoma Baptist	5–6	-1.5	5.1		2	8	20	41	65	84	95	99	✓
12	Northwestern (OK)	5–6	-1.6	5.0		1	6	18	37	61	82	94	99	✓

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

#	Conference	Avg Power	vs Focal	Top Team
1	South Atlantic	-2.8	—	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	—	Kentucky State
7	Great Midwest Athletic	-3.5	—	Ashland
8	Lone Star	-3.5	—	Central Washington
9	Great Lakes	-3.5	—	Indianapolis
10	Great AmericanYou are here	-3.7	—	Harding
11	CIAA	-3.9	—	Virginia State
12	Northeast 10	-4.0	—	Franklin Pierce
13	Pennsylvania State Athletic	-4.0	—	Kutztown
14	Carolinas	-4.2	—	UNC Pembroke
15	Mountain East	-4.3	—	Charleston (WV)

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50-3.7

Upper Strength-2.4

Median Power-3.7

Resume Pulse41.7

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap3.6

Combined Record12-12

League Drivers

Power leader Harding #272 overall | -0.2 pts vs avg Resume leader Henderson State #335 overall | 90 / 100 resume

Great American 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
#272	Harding	2-0	-0.2	83	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#311	Ouachita Baptist	1-1	-2.4	30	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (L1 W2)
#335	Henderson State	2-0	-3.0	90	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#351	East Central	2-0	-3.4	71	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#361	Southwestern Oklahoma State	0-2	-3.8	13	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#363	Arkansas Tech	2-0	-3.8	69	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#365	Southern Arkansas	1-1	-3.9	16	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (L1 W2)
#375	Southeastern Oklahoma State	1-1	-4.2	48	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)
#392	Southern Nazarene	0-2	-5.0	14	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#403	Arkansas Monticello	0-2	-5.3	27	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#404	Oklahoma Baptist	1-1	-5.3	26	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)
#405	Northwestern (OK)	0-2	-5.5	14	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)