DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Mid America

#29 overall#4 in DIIRR50 -3.0Upper strength -1.910 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

The MIAA Is DII

The MIAA is the tightest competitive conference in DII football — four or five programs capable of winning the conference title in any given year, all of them producing NFL players from Kansas City area, western Missouri, and eastern Kansas. Northwest Missouri State has won four DII national championships. Pittsburg State won two. Central Missouri and Washburn have made Super Region championship games. The MIAA is where DII football is most consistently excellent.

Division II10 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Central Oklahoma

Mid America · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The Standard

Northwest Missouri State: Four National Championships

Northwest Missouri State has won four DII national championships — 1998, 1999, 2009, and 2017 — from Maryville, Missouri, a town of 11,000 people. Mel Tjeerdsma and then Steve Ryan built a program that measures itself against any level of college football. Their roster consistently produces NFL players that FBS programs passed over. They enter 2026 as the MIAA's most decorated program and remain the benchmark against which every other conference program measures itself.

The Rival

Pittsburg State: The Border War's Other Side

Pittsburg State has won two DII national championships and has been Northwest Missouri's primary rival in the MIAA for thirty years. Their Southeast Kansas program draws from the four-state corner region — Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas — and produces the offensive linemen and linebackers that make DII championship game lines so physical. When Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri play in November, the winner often has the conference title. They have met in the national championship game twice.

Wild CardCentral Missouri's Consistent Challenge

Central Missouri has been within one game of the MIAA title three times in the last five seasons and earned Super Region appearances in back-to-back years. Their Warrensburg program — between Kansas City and Columbia — draws from the I-70 corridor and develops players through one of DII's most analytically sophisticated offensive systems. If any program breaks the Northwest Missouri-Pittsburg State duopoly in 2026, Central Missouri is the most likely candidate.

Conference Standings · Mid America · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Northwest Missouri State	1–0	2–0	-1.6
2	Emporia State	1–0	3–0	-1.8
3	Central Missouri	1–0	2–1	-2.8
4	Central Oklahoma	0–0	1–1	-1.5
5	Fort Hays	0–0	1–1	-2.3
6	Missouri Southern State	0–0	1–1	-4.4
7	Nebraska Kearney	0–0	0–2	-3.5
8	Washburn	0–1	1–1	-4.6
9	Missouri Western	0–1	1–2	-4.1
10	Pittsburg State	0–1	0–3	-1.8

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

Projected Standings · Mid America · 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	Northwest Missouri State	5–4	+1.2	4.8	3	13	33	59	82	94	99	✓
2	Central Oklahoma	5–4	+1.3	4.8	3	12	31	57	80	94	99	✓
Challengers
3	Emporia State	5–4	+1.1	4.8	3	13	32	58	81	94	99	✓
4	Pittsburg State	5–4	+1.1	4.7	3	11	30	55	79	93	99	✓
5	Fort Hays	5–4	+0.5	4.7	2	11	29	55	78	93	99	✓
The Field
6	Central Missouri	5–4	+0.1	4.6	2	10	27	52	76	92	98	✓
7	Nebraska Kearney	4–5	-0.7	4.4	2	8	23	47	73	90	98	✓
8	Missouri Western	4–5	-1.3	4.2	1	6	18	40	67	87	97	✓
Rebuilding
9	Missouri Southern State	4–5	-1.6	4.1	1	5	17	38	64	85	96	✓
10	Washburn	4–5	-1.7	4.0	1	5	16	38	64	85	96	✓

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

#	Conference	Avg Power	vs Focal	Top Team
1	South Atlantic	-2.8	—	Newberry
2	GLIAC	-2.9	1–1	Ferris State
3	Mid AmericaYou are here	-3.0	—	Central Oklahoma
4	Northern Sun	-3.2	1–2	Minnesota State
5	Rocky Mountain	-3.2	0–4	Western Colorado
6	SIAC	-3.3	—	Kentucky State
7	Great Midwest Athletic	-3.5	—	Ashland
8	Lone Star	-3.5	2–1	Central Washington
9	Great Lakes	-3.5	3–0	Indianapolis
10	Great American	-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 = Mid America's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-3.0

Upper Strength-1.9

Median Power-2.8

Resume Pulse49.0

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap1.0

Combined Record12-12

League Drivers

Power leader Central Oklahoma #289 overall | -1.5 pts vs avg Resume leader Emporia State #295 overall | 75 / 100 resume

Mid America 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
#289	Central Oklahoma	1-1	-1.5	65	--	+0.00	0-1 over the last 1 (L2)
#292	Northwest Missouri State	2-0	-1.6	74	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#294	Pittsburg State	0-3	-1.8	15	--	+0.00	0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#295	Emporia State	3-0	-1.8	75	--	+0.00	3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#309	Fort Hays	1-1	-2.3	42	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L1)
#323	Central Missouri	2-1	-2.8	52	--	+0.00	2-1 over the last 3 (L1 W1 W2)
#353	Nebraska Kearney	0-2	-3.5	35	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L1)
#372	Missouri Western	1-2	-4.1	31	--	+0.00	1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#380	Missouri Southern State	1-1	-4.4	43	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (L1 W1)
#385	Washburn	1-1	-4.6	60	--	+0.00	1-1-1 over the last 3 (W1 T1 L2)