DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Gulf South

#28 overall#3 in DIIRR50 −2.6Upper strength +0.13 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

Delta State Country

The Gulf South Conference runs from Mississippi through Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana — the Deep South of DII football. Valdosta State in Georgia has produced more NFL players than most FCS programs. The Gulf South has a coaching and development culture that punches far above DII's national profile.

Division II3 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Valdosta State

Gulf South · Where they stand · 2026

Power map

Power landscape for 2026. Based on current-season performance data.

Favorites
Valdosta State+2.06-1
Challengers
Delta State-1.75-3
The field
West Alabama-2.85-4

Gulf South · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The RivalValdosta State's NFL Production Machine

Valdosta State has sent more players to NFL rosters than most FCS programs. Their Valdosta, Georgia program recruits the I-75 corridor from Macon to Jacksonville and develops linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs at a rate that belies their DII footprint. Chris Hatcher's offensive system has produced quarterbacks who went on to NFL camps. They are Delta State's most consistent challenger and the conference's second-most complete program in most years.

Wild CardWest Alabama's Regional Identity

West Alabama in Livingston produces the kind of linemen and skill players that make Gulf South games physical and competitive at a level that casual DII observers don't expect. Their program draws from the Black Belt recruiting corridor of central Alabama and is built on the physical style that the region's coaching tradition demands. When their defensive line is intact entering November, they are capable of beating either Delta State or Valdosta State on any given Saturday.

Conference standings · Gulf South · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Valdosta State1-06-1+2.0
2Delta State1-05-3-1.7
3West Alabama0-25-4-2.8

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

Conference power · Division II

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1GLIAC
-2.6
—Ferris State
2Gulf SouthYou are here
-2.6
—Valdosta State
3South Atlantic
-3.0
2-1Carson Newman
4Mid America
-3.1
1-1Northwest Missouri State
5Northern Sun
-3.3
—Minnesota State
6Great Midwest Athletic
-3.4
—Findlay
7Rocky Mountain
-3.6
—Western Colorado
8Great American
-3.9
—Harding
9Pennsylvania State Athletic
-4.0
—Slippery Rock
10Lone Star
-4.1
—Central Washington
11SIAC
-4.3
1-0Benedict
12CIAA
-4.6
1-0Virginia State
13Great Lakes
-4.6
—Truman State
14Northeast 10
-4.8
—Franklin Pierce
15Mountain East
-5.0
1-0Frostburg State
16Carolinas
-5.4
6-2UNC Pembroke

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

The Gulf South Conference runs from Mississippi through Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana — the Deep South of DII football. Valdosta State in Georgia has produced more NFL players than most FCS programs. The Gulf South has a coaching and development culture that punches far above DII's national profile.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−2.6
Upper Strength+0.1
Median Power−2.9
Resume Pulse46.4
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap3.6
Combined Record16-8

`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.

Gulf South 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
#269 Valdosta State 6-1 +2.0 66 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (L3 W5 W8 W9)
#314 Delta State 5-3 −1.7 30 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W5 W7 W8 W9)
#331 West Alabama 5-4 −2.8 43 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (W5 L7 L8 L9)