DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Carolinas

#39 overall#17 in DIIRR50 -6.6Upper strength -4.96 teamsTop 25 teams 0

HOPE-DOPING · 2026

The Carolinas Circuit

The Carolinas Conference is a smaller DII league serving programs in North and South Carolina — Barton, Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Erskine, King, and Wingate (now in the SAC) competing in the Charlotte and Piedmont corridor. The conference serves programs that compete between the South Atlantic Conference's depth and the CIAA's HBCU identity, providing DII football access to programs with limited scholarship resources but genuine football traditions in the most competitive prep football region in the country.

Which Carolinas Conference program builds the conference record and strength of schedule that earns a Super Region consideration in 2026, and does the Charlotte corridor's recruiting depth translate into a national championship appearance?

Division II6 teamsRace: Super Region

Carolinas · Where They Stand · 2026

Power Map

Power landscape heading into 2026. Based on 2026 performance data.

Favorites
UNC Pembroke-4.1—
Challengers
Chowan-6.6—Shorter-7.7—
The Field
Barton-8.5—Erskine-9.1—
Rebuilding
Ferrum-9.8—

Carolinas · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The AnchorCatawba's Piedmont Identity

Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina has been the Carolinas Conference's most consistent winner — drawing from the Piedmont corridor between Charlotte and Greensboro that produces DII-caliber linemen and skill players in volume. Their program competes with a physical style that matches the region's football tradition and has produced NFL undrafted free agents at a rate that exceeds their recruiting profile.

The Rising Program

Barton College and the Wilson Pipeline

Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina draws from eastern North Carolina — a region that produces defensive backs and linebackers at a rate disproportionate to its high school enrollment. Their program has won Carolinas Conference titles and challenged for Super Region at-large bids in recent seasons, building with a style that matches the physical identity of eastern Carolina football.

Wild Card

Belmont Abbey and the Charlotte Footprint

Belmont Abbey College in Belmont — ten miles from uptown Charlotte — has access to the Charlotte metro's DII-caliber players who choose a Catholic liberal arts education over scholarship programs. Their program competes with a specific identity in a market where DII football is overshadowed by the Panthers and Charlotte 49ers, but the recruiting access that proximity to Charlotte provides is the Carolinas Conference's most significant underutilized asset.

Conference Standings · Carolinas · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1UNC Pembroke0–00–0-4.1—
2Chowan0–00–0-6.6—
3Shorter0–00–0-7.7—
4Barton0–00–0-8.5—
5Erskine0–00–0-9.1—
6Ferrum0–00–0-9.8—

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

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1GLIAC
-4.6
—Ferris State
2Mid America
-4.8
—Northwest Missouri State
3Northern Sun
-4.8
—Jamestown
4Rocky Mountain
-4.9
—Western Colorado
5Great Midwest Athletic
-5.0
—Ashland
6South Atlantic
-5.0
—Lenoir Rhyne
7SIAC
-5.1
—Albany State
8Great American
-5.2
—Harding
9Lone Star
-5.2
—Central Washington
10Great Lakes
-5.2
—Truman State
11CIAA
-5.4
—Johnson C. Smith
12Pennsylvania State Athletic
-5.5
—Kutztown
13Northeast 10
-5.8
—Assumption
14Mountain East
-6.0
—Charleston (WV)
15CarolinasYou are here
-6.6
—UNC Pembroke

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

The Carolinas Conference is a smaller DII league serving programs in North and South Carolina — Barton, Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Erskine, King, and Wingate (now in the SAC) competing in the Charlotte and Piedmont corridor. The conference serves programs that compete between the South Atlantic Conference's depth and the CIAA's HBCU identity, providing DII football access to programs with limited scholarship resources but genuine football traditions in the most competitive prep football region in the country.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-6.6
Upper Strength-4.9
Median Power-6.8
Resume Pulse34.4
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap4.0
Combined Record0-0

`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.

Carolinas 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
#283 UNC Pembroke 0-0 -4.1 49 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#349 Chowan 0-0 -6.6 37 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#376 Shorter 0-0 -7.7 32 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#384 Barton 0-0 -8.5 30 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#387 Erskine 0-0 -9.1 30 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.
#393 Ferrum 0-0 -9.8 29 -- +0.00 Upcoming schedule still settling.