DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

American Southwest

#44 overall#2 in DIIIRR50 -12.3Upper strength -10.75 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Mary Hardin-Baylor's Era

Mary Hardin-Baylor has won five DIII national championships since 2017 — the most dominant run in recent DIII history — from Belton, Texas, a city of 22,000 near Waco. Their Cru recruit from the Texas pipeline with a faith-based identity that competes with private school scholarship programs for the same players. East Texas Baptist, Hardin- Simmons, Texas Lutheran, and McMurry all compete in a conference that produces more NFL undrafted free agents per enrollment than any other DIII conference in the country.

Division III5 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: Hardin Simmons

American Southwest · Where They Stand · 2026

Power Map

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

Favorites
Hardin Simmons-8.62–0
Challengers
Mary Hardin Baylor-9.72–0
The Field
McMurry-11.71–1Howard Payne-11.91–0
Rebuilding
East Texas Baptist-13.31–1

American Southwest · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The DynastyMary Hardin-Baylor: Five National Championships

Mary Hardin-Baylor University in Belton, Texas has won five DIII national championships since 2017 — the most recent DIII dynasty and the most dominant run in the non-scholarship era. Pete Fredenburg has built a program that recruits Texas high school players with a faith-based identity and develops them through an offensive system that puts up numbers that would be competitive in most FCS leagues. The Cru enter 2026 as the bracket's default favorite and the program that every other DIII contender has built their season around trying to beat.

The Rival

East Texas Baptist: The Tyler Program

East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas has been the ASC's most consistent challenger to Mary Hardin-Baylor — appearing in the DIII bracket multiple times and winning the conference title twice. Their program draws from east Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth exurban corridor, recruiting players with the same faith-first identity that MHB uses while competing with a different offensive system.

Wild CardHardin-Simmons: Abilene's Cowboy Tradition

Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas has one of DIII football's longest histories and a West Texas identity built on physical play and the region's football culture. The Cowboys draw from central Texas — a pipeline that produces DII-caliber players who choose a faith-based DIII education — and compete with the physical running game that matches Abilene's football tradition. When their offensive line is healthy, they challenge for the ASC title.

Conference Standings · American Southwest · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Hardin Simmons0–02–0-8.6
2Mary Hardin Baylor0–02–0-9.7
3Howard Payne0–01–0-11.9
4McMurry0–01–1-11.7
5East Texas Baptist0–01–1-13.3

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

Conference Power · Division III

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1Wisconsin
-12.1
1–0Wisconsin Whitewater
2American SouthwestYou are here
-12.3
—Hardin Simmons
3USA South
-13.3
0–1LaGrange
4Old Dominion
-13.4
—Randolph Macon
5Southern Athletic
-13.6
1–1Berry
6Centennial
-13.6
—Johns Hopkins
7American Rivers
-13.6
—Wartburg
8Northwest
-13.6
2–0Whitworth
9Minnesota
-13.7
—Bethel (MN)
10Presidents'
-13.7
—Saint Francis
11Commonwealth Coast
-13.7
—Endicott
12North Coast
-13.7
—DePauw
13CCIW
-13.7
—North Central College
14NEWMAC
-13.8
—Springfield
15Michigan
-13.8
—Hope
16So. Cal.
-13.8
1–0Whittier
17Ohio
-13.8
—John Carroll
18Liberty League
-13.9
—Ithaca
19Empire 8
-14.1
—SUNY Cortland
20Landmark Conference
-14.1
—Susquehanna
21Southern Collegiate Athletic
-14.2
1–0Texas Lutheran
22New Jersey
-14.2
1–0Salisbury
23Heartland
-14.2
—Hanover
24Mid Atlantic
-14.2
—Delaware Valley
25NACC
-14.2
—Aurora
26NESCAC
-14.3
—Trinity (CT)
27MSCAC
-14.4
—Plymouth State
28Midwest
-14.5
—Monmouth (IL)
29Upper Midwest
-14.6
—Northwestern (MN)

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

Mary Hardin-Baylor has won five DIII national championships since 2017 — the most dominant run in recent DIII history — from Belton, Texas, a city of 22,000 near Waco. Their Cru recruit from the Texas pipeline with a faith-based identity that competes with private school scholarship programs for the same players. East Texas Baptist, Hardin- Simmons, Texas Lutheran, and McMurry all compete in a conference that produces more NFL undrafted free agents per enrollment than any other DIII conference in the country.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-12.3
Upper Strength-10.7
Median Power-12.8
Resume Pulse69.3
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap3.1
Combined Record7-2

`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 Southwest 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
#430 Hardin Simmons 2-0 -8.6 74 -- +0.00 2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#435 Mary Hardin Baylor 2-0 -9.7 87 -- +0.00 2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#456 McMurry 1-1 -11.7 32 -- +0.00 1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)
#460 Howard Payne 1-0 -11.9 91 -- +0.00 1-0 over the last 1 (W1)
#508 East Texas Baptist 1-1 -13.3 61 -- +0.00 1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)