DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Michigan

#57 overall#15 in DIIIRR50 -13.8Upper strength -12.38 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

The Oldest Conference in America

The MIAA is the oldest athletic conference in the United States, founded in 1888, and Hope College versus Calvin University is one of DIII's most intense rivalries — a faith-rooted, West Michigan competition played in Holland and Grand Rapids every November with a century of history behind it. Albion, Adrian, Alma, Kalamazoo, Olivet, and Trine compete in Michigan's lower peninsula in a conference where the recruiting pipelines cross at nearly every campus and the games carry community stakes that most DIII conferences cannot manufacture.

Division III8 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: Hope

Michigan · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The Rivalry Anchor

Hope vs. Calvin: A Hundred Years in West Michigan

Hope College in Holland, Michigan and Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan play one of DIII football's most celebrated rivalry games every fall — a contest rooted in Dutch Reformed religious tradition, West Michigan geography, and a century of competitive football that the region treats as its own championship. Hope's Flying Dutchmen and Calvin's Knights draw from the same West Michigan prep pipeline, compete for the same student-athletes, and recruit from communities where the rivalry is known before the players arrive on campus. When this game decides the MIAA title, the conference becomes a national story.

The Challenger

Trine: Angola's Engineering Standard

Trine University in Angola, Indiana has become one of the MIAA's most competitive programs in the modern era, drawing from the Indiana and Ohio corridors and competing with a program built on Trine's STEM academic identity. Their Thunder recruit from a market that overlaps with HCAC programs to the south, giving them access to Indiana's football pipeline. When Trine's roster is healthy and their offensive system is operating efficiently, they are the MIAA's most dangerous program outside of Hope and Calvin.

Wild CardAdrian: The Bulldog Pipeline from Southeast Michigan

Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan recruits from southeast Michigan and the Toledo corridor — a talent-rich market close to major programs that produces DIII-caliber players at an extraordinary rate. Their Bulldogs have won MIAA titles and appeared in the DIII bracket with a program that takes advantage of geographic proximity to a high school football market most MIAA programs cannot access. In a conference as competitive as the MIAA, Adrian's pipeline advantage can translate into a conference championship on any given year.

Conference Standings · Michigan · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Hope	0–0	2–0	-11.8
2	Adrian	0–0	2–0	-12.3
3	Calvin	0–0	2–0	-13.9
4	Olivet	0–0	2–0	-15.9
5	Trine	0–0	1–1	-14.0
6	Alma	0–0	0–2	-11.8
7	Albion	0–0	0–2	-14.6
8	Kalamazoo	0–0	0–2	-15.7

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

Projected Standings · Michigan · 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
1	Hope	4–3	+2.0	3.9	2	11	33	63	86	97	✓
2	Alma	4–3	+1.9	3.9	2	11	33	63	86	97	✓
Challengers
3	Adrian	4–3	+1.4	3.7	1	8	28	57	82	96	✓
4	Calvin	4–3	-0.2	3.5	1	6	23	51	78	94	99
The Field
5	Trine	4–3	-0.3	3.5	1	6	22	50	78	94	99
6	Albion	3–4	-0.8	3.3		4	18	43	72	92	99
Rebuilding
7	Kalamazoo	3–4	-2.0	3.1		3	14	37	67	89	98
8	Olivet	3–4	-2.1	3.0		3	13	36	66	88	98

Conference Power · Division III

Where We Stand

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

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50-13.8

Upper Strength-12.3

Median Power-14.0

Resume Pulse48.5

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap2.2

Combined Record9-7

League Drivers

Power leader Hope #458 overall | -11.8 pts vs avg Resume leader Calvin #541 overall | 89 / 100 resume

Michigan 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
#458	Hope	2-0	-11.8	80	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#459	Alma	0-2	-11.8	15	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#472	Adrian	2-0	-12.3	78	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#541	Calvin	2-0	-13.9	89	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#546	Trine	1-1	-14.0	41	--	+0.00	1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)
#584	Albion	0-2	-14.6	8	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#638	Kalamazoo	0-2	-15.7	5	--	+0.00	0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#647	Olivet	2-0	-15.9	73	--	+0.00	2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)