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DII CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON

South Atlantic

#31 overall#6 in DIIRR50 -1.3Upper strength +0.710 teamsTop 25 teams 0

THE LONG WAIT · 2025

The Lenoir-Rhyne Standard

The South Atlantic Conference runs from the Carolinas through Tennessee and Virginia — Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman, Wingate, Mars Hill, Tusculum, and Newberry competing in the Appalachian foothills. Lenoir-Rhyne has won five DII national championships and appeared in the Super Region final seven times. Carson-Newman has won two. The SAC is the most decorated conference in the Super Region East bracket and operates in a football culture — the Appalachian South — that produces DII-caliber players at a rate that major programs systematically ignore.

Lenoir-Rhyne has dominated the SAC for fifteen years. Does Carson-Newman or Wingate reclaim conference superiority in 2026, or does LR's recruiting infrastructure continue to produce national championship contenders annually?

Division II10 teamsRace: Super Region

South Atlantic · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The DynastyLenoir-Rhyne: Five National Championships

Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina has won five DII national championships and made the Super Region final seven times — the most successful program in the Super Region East bracket by any measure. Their recruiting covers the western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina corridor, developing players from a region that Power Four programs undervalue. Drew Cronic built the program's modern dynasty, and their culture of development and retention makes them the most dangerous program in the SAC every November.

The RivalCarson-Newman's Jefferson City Tradition

Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee has won two DII national championships and appeared in multiple Super Region finals. Their program draws from eastern Tennessee and the western North Carolina corridor, competing with a physical, mountain-football identity that has produced NFL players at a rate that surprises those unfamiliar with the Tennessee hill country's football tradition. They are Lenoir-Rhyne's most consistent rival and the program with the deepest SAC history.

Wild CardWingate's Charlotte Pipeline

Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina — thirty miles east of Charlotte — has access to one of the best DII recruiting markets in the country: the Charlotte metro, which produces high school football players who don't earn Power Four offers but are genuinely DII-caliber. Their program has won SAC titles and appeared in Super Region games, and entering 2026 they have the roster depth to challenge both Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman for the conference title.

Conference Standings · South Atlantic · 2025

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Newberry8–112–2+3.2
2Wingate7–29–3+0.2
3Emory & Henry College6–38–3-0.6
4Carson-Newman College6–37–3+0.2
5Catawba5–47–4+0.5
6Lenoir-Rhyne5–46–5-1.5
7Mars Hill4–55–6-2.3
8Anderson (Sc)3–65–6-1.0
9UVA Wise1–81–9-3.5
10Greeneville0–91–9-5.2

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

Projected Standings · South Atlantic · 2025

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 ≥9≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Newberry6–3+4.35.5182652769298✓✓
2Catawba5–4+1.54.83123258819499✓
Challengers
3Wingate5–4+1.24.73113056809399✓
4Carson-Newman College5–4+1.24.72113056799499✓
5Emory & Henry College5–4+0.44.5292651759298✓
The Field
6Anderson (Sc)5–4+0.04.6292652769298✓
7Lenoir-Rhyne4–5-0.54.4282448739098✓
8Mars Hill4–5-1.34.3162043698897✓
Rebuilding
9UVA Wise4–5-2.53.914133359829599
10Greeneville4–5-4.23.62102752779399

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1SIAC
+0.4
2–1Albany State GA
2GLIAC
-0.7
0–1Ferris State
3CIAA
-0.9
3–1Johnson C Smith
4Great Lakes
-0.9
—Indianapolis
5Gulf South
-1.2
2–1West Florida
6South AtlanticYou are here
-1.3
—Newberry
7Northeast 10
-1.6
1–0Assumption
8Lone Star
-1.6
—Western Oregon
9Northern Sun
-1.9
—Jamestown College
10Rocky Mountain
-2.0
—Chadron St
11Carolinas
-2.2
4–0North Greenville
12Great Midwest Athletic
-2.3
—Northwood (MI)
13Mountain East
-2.6
2–1Frostburg State
14Mid America
-3.3
—Pittsburg St
15Pennsylvania State Athletic
-3.7
—Kutztown University
16Great American
-4.2
—Harding University

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

South Atlantic is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-1.3
Upper Strength+0.7
Median Power-1.2
Resume Pulse48.9
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap4.1
Combined Record61-50

`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.

South Atlantic 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
#268 Newberry 12-2 +3.2 76 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W11 W13 W14 W15)
#293 Catawba 7-4 +0.5 55 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W9 L10 W11 L12)
#302 Wingate 9-3 +0.2 81 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W10 W11 W12 L13)
#305 Carson-Newman College 7-3 +0.2 69 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W9 W10 L11 W12)
#320 Emory & Henry College 8-3 -0.6 83 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L8 L9 W11 W12)
#330 Anderson (Sc) 5-6 -1.0 26 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L10 L11)
#342 Lenoir-Rhyne 6-5 -1.5 47 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W8 W9 L10 W12)
#356 Mars Hill 5-6 -2.3 36 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L9 W10 W11 L12)
#385 UVA Wise 1-9 -3.5 7 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L11 L12)
#425 Greeneville 1-9 -5.2 8 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L9 L10 L11 L12)