DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Great American

#34 overall#9 in DIIRR50 −3.9Upper strength −1.812 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

The Arkansas Standard

The Great American Conference spans Arkansas and Oklahoma — two states with football traditions deeper than their DII profiles suggest. Ouachita Baptist has won eight GAC titles and produced NFL players from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Harding University competes from a Church of Christ campus with a national championship in 2021. The conference has more national title appearances per team than any DII conference west of the Mississippi.

Division II12 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Harding

Great American · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The DynastyOuachita Baptist's Pipeline to the NFL

Ouachita Baptist has won eight GAC titles from Arkadelphia, Arkansas — a town of 10,000 with a Baptist university that has produced more NFL draft picks per enrollment than almost any DII program. Their program culture is built on development, retention, and a coaching staff that has been together longer than most Power Four programs. They enter 2026 as the conference's most complete program and the most likely to make a Super Region final run.

The Rival

Harding's National Championship Model

Harding University won the DII national championship in 2021 — the first for a Church of Christ institution — and has been in the national conversation since. Their Searcy, Arkansas program recruits to a specific student: faith-committed, academically serious, football-invested. The combination has produced a program that challenges Ouachita for the GAC title every year and has demonstrated it can win the national championship.

Wild CardHenderson State's Physical Identity

Henderson State in Arkadelphia — Ouachita Baptist's literal next-door neighbor — plays a physical style of football that matches the region's identity. They recruit from the same Arkansas pipeline as Ouachita but have a different program culture: harder, more physical, built on the offensive and defensive lines. When Henderson is healthy and their line wins, they are the most dangerous program in the GAC behind the two perennial title contenders.

Conference standings · Great American · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Harding	7-0	7-0	+0.9
2	Henderson State	6-1	6-1	-2.7
3	East Central	6-1	6-1	-3.3
4	Ouachita Baptist	5-2	5-2	-1.4
5	Southeastern Oklahoma State	5-2	5-2	-3.1
6	Arkansas Tech	3-4	3-4	-4.5
7	Oklahoma Baptist	3-4	3-4	-5.4
8	Southwestern Oklahoma State	2-4	2-4	-3.9
9	Southern Arkansas	2-5	2-5	-4.8
10	Southern Nazarene	1-5	1-5	-5.7
11	Arkansas Monticello	1-6	1-6	-5.9
12	Northwestern (OK)	0-7	0-7	-6.6

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

Projected standings · Great American · 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	≥11	≥10	≥9	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Harding	7-4	+4.8	6.9	1	4	15	35	60	81	93	98	✓	✓	✓
2	Ouachita Baptist	6-5	+2.4	6.1		1	7	20	41	65	84	95	99	✓	✓
Challengers
3	Henderson State	6-5	+1.2	5.9		1	5	16	36	60	80	93	98	✓	✓
4	East Central	6-5	+0.5	5.7		1	4	14	32	55	77	91	98	✓	✓
5	Southeastern Oklahoma State	6-5	+0.8	5.7		1	4	13	31	54	76	91	98	✓	✓
6	Southwestern Oklahoma State	6-5	−0.0	5.5		1	3	12	28	51	74	90	97	✓	✓
The field
7	Arkansas Tech	5-6	−0.6	5.3			2	9	23	45	68	86	96	99	✓
8	Southern Arkansas	5-6	−1.0	5.2			2	8	21	42	66	85	95	99	✓
9	Oklahoma Baptist	5-6	−1.6	5.1			2	7	20	41	64	84	95	99	✓
10	Southern Nazarene	5-6	−1.8	4.9			1	6	17	36	60	81	94	99	✓
Rebuilding
11	Arkansas Monticello	5-6	−2.1	5.0			1	6	18	37	61	82	94	99	✓
12	Northwestern (OK)	5-6	−2.7	4.7			1	4	13	31	54	77	92	98	✓

Conference power · Division II

Where we stand

#	Conference	Avg power	Record	Top team
1	GLIAC	-2.6	—	Ferris State
2	Mid America	-2.9	—	Northwest Missouri State
3	South Atlantic	-3.0	—	Carson Newman
4	Northern Sun	-3.4	—	Minnesota State
5	Great Midwest Athletic	-3.6	—	Northwood
6	Rocky Mountain	-3.7	—	Western Colorado
7	Great AmericanYou are here	-3.9	—	Harding
8	Pennsylvania State Athletic	-4.0	—	Kutztown
9	Lone Star	-4.0	—	Central Washington
10	SIAC	-4.2	—	Benedict
11	Great Lakes	-4.6	—	Indianapolis
12	CIAA	-4.7	—	Virginia State
13	Northeast 10	-4.8	—	Franklin Pierce
14	Mountain East	-5.1	—	Frostburg State
15	Carolinas	-5.4	—	UNC Pembroke

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50−3.9

Upper Strength−1.8

Median Power−4.1

Resume Pulse42.0

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap5.1

Combined Record41-41

League Drivers

Power leader Harding #274 overall | +0.9 pts vs avg Resume leader Harding #274 overall | 91 / 100 resume

Great American 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
#274	Harding	7-0	+0.9	91	--	+0.00	4-0 over the last 4 (W4 W5 W6 W7)
#308	Ouachita Baptist	5-2	−1.4	74	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (L4 W5 W6 W7)
#327	Henderson State	6-1	−2.7	67	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 W5 W6 L7)
#334	Southeastern Oklahoma State	5-2	−3.1	72	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 W5 L6 W7)
#341	East Central	6-1	−3.3	62	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 L5 W6 W7)
#353	Southwestern Oklahoma State	2-4	−3.9	34	--	+0.00	2-1-1 over the last 4 (W4 L5 W6 T7)
#363	Arkansas Tech	3-4	−4.5	27	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L4 L5 L6 W7)
#369	Southern Arkansas	2-5	−4.8	9	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L4 W5 L6 L7)
#377	Oklahoma Baptist	3-4	−5.4	35	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L4 L5 W6 L7)
#379	Southern Nazarene	1-5	−5.7	11	--	+0.00	1-2-1 over the last 4 (L4 W5 L6 T7)
#383	Arkansas Monticello	1-6	−5.9	16	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (W4 L5 L6 L7)
#395	Northwestern (OK)	0-7	−6.6	6	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L4 L5 L6 L7)