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FCS CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON

UAC

#15 overall#4 in FCSRR50 +9.3Upper strength +11.79 teamsTop 25 teams 0

THE LONG WAIT · 2025

Built by Choice

The United Athletic Conference launched in 2023 as a collection of programs that outgrew their previous conferences: Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech, and West Georgia. Most of these programs made recent FCS-to-FBS moves or FCS playoff appearances before the conference formed. The UAC is not a legacy institution — it is a self-selected group of programs that identified each other as peers and formalized it, which is an unusual way to build a conference and a natural experiment in modern FCS competition.

Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas have each earned at-large FCS bids before. Stephen F. Austin won the FCS title in 2020. Does the UAC produce a conference champion capable of making a quarterfinal run in its third full season, or is the league still establishing its competitive identity?

FCS9 teamsRace: FCS Playoff

UAC · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The Title PedigreeStephen F. Austin: The UAC's Championship Anchor

Stephen F. Austin won the FCS national championship in 2020 and has been one of the most consistent programs in FCS football for two decades. Their Nacogdoches, Texas program draws from East Texas and Louisiana — a pipeline that produces skill players in volume. They joined the UAC with more FCS playoff experience than any other conference member and remain the program most likely to produce the UAC's first national championship appearance from within the new league.

The VeteranCentral Arkansas: Built on Quarterback Development

Central Arkansas has produced more NFL quarterbacks per capita than almost any FCS program — Bryce Lindsey, Zach Annexstad, Skylar Thompson all developed in Conway, Arkansas. Their offensive identity is built on signal-callers who read defenses at a level that FCS coordinators cannot consistently match. They earned at-large bids in consecutive years before joining the UAC, and they enter 2026 as the conference's most complete offensive program.

Wild CardEastern Kentucky's Appalachian Tradition

Eastern Kentucky won the FCS title in 1979 and 1982 and has been a consistent OVC and now UAC contender for four decades. Their Richmond, Kentucky program draws from the eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio pipeline — tough, physical linemen and backs who fit their identity. If their line is healthy and their quarterback situation is settled entering 2026, they are a legitimate UAC title threat and at-large candidate.

Conference Standings · UAC · 2025

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Tarleton State7–112–2+13.9
2Abilene Christian7–19–5+12.2
3Southern Utah6–27–5+10.5
4West Georgia5–38–3+9.4
5Austin Peay4–47–5+10.9
6Eastern Kentucky3–55–7+9.4
7Central Arkansas2–63–9+8.0
8North Alabama1–72–10+6.0
9Utah Tech1–72–10+4.7

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

Projected Standings · UAC · 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 ≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Tarleton State5–3+4.54.92123463859699✓
2Abilene Christian5–3+2.84.6182552789399✓
Challengers
3Austin Peay4–4+1.54.3151945729198✓
4Southern Utah4–4+1.14.2151843708998✓
The Field
5Eastern Kentucky4–4-0.04.031436638596✓
6West Georgia4–4-0.14.031435638697✓
7Central Arkansas4–4-1.43.72102855819599
Rebuilding
8North Alabama3–5-3.43.3151943719199
9Utah Tech3–5-4.83.0141435648798

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+10.2
2–1North Dakota State
2Big Sky
+9.6
2–6Montana State
3MEAC
+9.4
—South Carolina State
4UACYou are here
+9.3
—Tarleton State
5SWAC
+9.1
2–0Alabama State
6Southland
+9.1
5–3Stephen F. Austin
7CAA
+8.9
0–1Villanova
8Patriot
+8.7
—Lehigh
9Big South-OVC
+8.6
0–1Tennessee Tech
10Pioneer
+8.5
1–1Presbyterian
11Southern
+8.4
4–0Mercer
12NEC
+8.2
—Central Connecticut
13Ivy
+7.7
—Yale

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

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50+9.3
Upper Strength+11.7
Median Power+9.3
Resume Pulse59.8
Avg ATS54.5%
Wins vs Market+0.15
Top-to-Middle Gap4.5
Combined Record55-56

`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.

UAC 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
#70 Tarleton State 12-2 +13.9 96 7-5 -0.14 3-1 over the last 4 (W12 W13 W15 L16)
#104 Abilene Christian 9-5 +12.2 83 9-4 +2.10 3-1 over the last 4 (W12 W13 W14 L15)
#138 Austin Peay 7-5 +10.9 72 6-5 -0.61 2-2 over the last 4 (L10 W11 W12 L13)
#150 Southern Utah 7-5 +10.5 75 7-5 +0.18 4-0 over the last 4 (W10 W11 W12 W13)
#183 Eastern Kentucky 5-7 +9.4 42 6-5 +0.42 2-2 over the last 4 (W10 L11 L12 W13)
#185 West Georgia 8-3 +9.4 87 5-5 +2.54 3-1 over the last 4 (L8 W9 W11 W12)
#209 Central Arkansas 3-9 +8.0 36 5-6 -1.89 0-4 over the last 4 (L10 L11 L12 L13)
#242 North Alabama 2-10 +6.0 29 6-5 -1.02 0-4 over the last 4 (L10 L11 L12 L13)
#256 Utah Tech 2-10 +4.7 20 5-6 -0.23 1-3 over the last 4 (W10 L11 L12 L13)