DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

American Rivers

#56 overall#14 in DIIIRR50 −13.8Upper strength −11.18 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

Wartburg's Iowa Standard

The American Rivers Conference — Wartburg, Loras, Luther, Central, Cornell, Coe, Buena Vista, Dubuque, Simpson, and Upper Iowa — is Iowa's liberal arts football corridor, a compact footprint where programs recruit within 90 minutes of each other and play in the same drainage basin. The conference produces physical, disciplined football from a state where high school football is a serious civic institution.

Division III8 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: Wartburg

American Rivers · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The Rival

Loras: Dubuque's Catholic Program

Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa draws from the Mississippi River corridor and the Quad Cities market, competing in the American Rivers Conference with a roster that includes players who chose the Duhawk's academic profile and Catholic mission over scholarship programs. Their recruiting footprint extends into Illinois and Wisconsin, giving them access to a larger talent base than most conference programs. When Loras is playing physical and running the ball, they are the conference's most dangerous challenger to Wartburg's standard.

Wild CardLuther: Decorah's Liberal Arts Football

Luther College in Decorah, Iowa competes in the American Rivers Conference from one of the most scenic campuses in DIII football — the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa, tucked into bluffs above the Upper Iowa River. Their Norse draw from Luther's Lutheran liberal arts identity and the upper Midwest pipeline, competing with a program that has won American Rivers titles and appeared in the DIII bracket. In a year when Wartburg and Loras are both finding their footing, Luther is the program most capable of claiming the automatic bid.

Conference standings · American Rivers · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Wartburg5-06-2-8.9
2Coe5-06-2-11.3
3Dubuque4-15-3-11.3
4Central College3-25-3-11.9
5Simpson (IA)2-33-5-15.0
6Nebraska Wesleyan1-41-7-17.2
7Loras0-52-6-15.9
8Buena Vista0-51-7-18.4

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected standings · American Rivers · 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 ≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Wartburg4-3+4.84.331845749299✓
2Dubuque4-3+2.43.911032628697✓
Challengers
3Coe4-3+2.44.021235658897✓
4Central College4-3+1.93.81930598496✓
The field
5Simpson (IA)3-4−1.33.241641709199
6Loras3-4−2.23.231539699099
Rebuilding
7Nebraska Wesleyan3-4−3.42.921132628798
8Buena Vista3-4−4.72.71826568397

Conference power · Division III

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1American Southwest
-10.6
1-1Hardin Simmons
2Wisconsin
-11.2
0-5Wisconsin Whitewater
3Michigan
-13.5
—Calvin
4Presidents'
-13.5
—Washington & Jefferson
5Southern Athletic
-13.6
—Berry
6Old Dominion
-13.6
—Randolph Macon
7USA South
-13.7
1-0LaGrange
8Centennial
-13.7
—Dickinson
9CCIW
-13.7
0-2North Central College
10Minnesota
-13.7
1-2Saint John's (MN)
11Ohio
-13.7
—Mount Union
12North Coast
-13.7
—DePauw
13Commonwealth Coast
-13.7
—Endicott
14American RiversYou are here
-13.8
—Wartburg
15Northwest
-13.8
—Linfield
16NEWMAC
-13.8
—Springfield
17New Jersey
-13.9
—Salisbury
18Liberty League
-14.0
—Ithaca
19Empire 8
-14.1
—SUNY Cortland
20Mid Atlantic
-14.3
—Delaware Valley
21So. Cal.
-14.3
—Chapman
22NESCAC
-14.4
—Trinity (CT)
23Landmark Conference
-14.4
—Susquehanna
24NACC
-14.4
0-2Aurora
25MSCAC
-14.6
—Bridgewater State
26Heartland
-14.8
—Mount St Joseph
27Midwest
-15.0
3-1Lake Forest
28Southern Collegiate Athletic
-15.2
—Texas Lutheran
29Upper Midwest
-15.5
3-1Northwestern (MN)

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

The American Rivers Conference — Wartburg, Loras, Luther, Central, Cornell, Coe, Buena Vista, Dubuque, Simpson, and Upper Iowa — is Iowa's liberal arts football corridor, a compact footprint where programs recruit within 90 minutes of each other and play in the same drainage basin. The conference produces physical, disciplined football from a state where high school football is a serious civic institution.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−13.8
Upper Strength−11.1
Median Power−13.6
Resume Pulse36.9
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap4.5
Combined Record29-35

`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.

American Rivers 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
#423 Wartburg 6-2 −8.9 80 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#465 Dubuque 5-3 −11.3 54 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W6 W7 L8 W9)
#466 Coe 6-2 −11.3 63 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#479 Central College 5-3 −11.9 44 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 W9)
#572 Simpson (IA) 3-5 −15.0 25 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (W6 L7 L8 L9)
#598 Loras 2-6 −15.9 16 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)
#633 Nebraska Wesleyan 1-7 −17.2 7 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 W8 L9)
#652 Buena Vista 1-7 −18.4 6 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)