DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Great Lakes

#38 overall#13 in DIIRR50 −4.6Upper strength −1.79 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

Great Lakes Development

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a DII basketball-primary league that includes football programs from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Programs like Tiffin, Lake Erie, Walsh, and Findlay compete in a conference that draws from the same Ohio and Michigan recruiting pipelines as Power Four programs, producing players who develop at DII speed before outperforming their recruiting profiles in the Super Region. The GLIAC (the FERRIS STATE conference) is separate — this is the G-MAC footprint.

Division II9 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Indianapolis

Great Lakes · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The ProgramTiffin University: Ohio's DII Builder

Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio has built a consistent DII program from a small private university in north-central Ohio. Their recruiting covers the Ohio pipeline that produces DII-caliber linemen and skill players who choose development over scholarship-factory programs. They enter 2026 as the Great Lakes' most complete program by power metrics and the most likely to make a Super Region run.

The Physical ModelWalsh University's Identity

Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio — in the heart of northeast Ohio football country — plays with a physical identity that matches the region's tradition. Their program draws from the same northeast Ohio corridor that produces the Massillon and Canton pipeline, developing players who were overlooked by FBS recruiting but not by NFL scouts. Walsh's program culture is built on the belief that the Ohio football tradition at DII is genuinely competitive.

Wild CardLake Erie College and the Regional Depth

Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio adds another Northeastern Ohio program to a conference that draws heavily from the region's football tradition. Their program represents the depth of the Great Lakes conference — multiple programs capable of beating each other in November, all drawing from the same geographic pool that makes Ohio high school football one of the country's best development environments.

Conference standings · Great Lakes · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1William Jewell3-14-2-6.7
2Upper Iowa3-14-3-2.0
3Truman State3-13-4-0.3
4Indianapolis3-24-4+0.1
5Southwest Baptist2-23-4-5.9
6McKendree2-32-5-6.9
7Lincoln (MO)1-32-4-10.2
8Quincy1-32-5-6.8
9Missouri S&T1-31-5-4.8

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

Projected standings · Great Lakes · 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 ≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Indianapolis5-3+5.05.021437668797✓✓
2Truman State5-3+4.54.92123463859699✓
Challengers
3Upper Iowa5-3+2.84.6182653789399✓
4Missouri S&T4-4+0.04.031436648797✓
The field
5Southwest Baptist4-4−1.13.821030588296✓
6William Jewell4-4−1.83.6292653799499
7Quincy4-4−2.03.6282552789499
Rebuilding
8McKendree4-4−2.03.6282552789499
9Lincoln (MO)3-5−5.42.931232618597

Conference power · Division II

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1GLIAC
-2.6
1-6Ferris State
2Mid America
-2.9
0-3Northwest Missouri State
3South Atlantic
-3.0
—Carson Newman
4Northern Sun
-3.4
1-1Minnesota State
5Great Midwest Athletic
-3.6
1-2Northwood
6Rocky Mountain
-3.7
0-2Western Colorado
7Great American
-3.9
—Harding
8Pennsylvania State Athletic
-4.0
—Kutztown
9Lone Star
-4.0
—Central Washington
10SIAC
-4.2
—Benedict
11Great LakesYou are here
-4.6
—Indianapolis
12CIAA
-4.7
—Virginia State
13Northeast 10
-4.8
—Franklin Pierce
14Mountain East
-5.1
—Frostburg State
15Carolinas
-5.4
—UNC Pembroke

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

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a DII basketball-primary league that includes football programs from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Programs like Tiffin, Lake Erie, Walsh, and Findlay compete in a conference that draws from the same Ohio and Michigan recruiting pipelines as Power Four programs, producing players who develop at DII speed before outperforming their recruiting profiles in the Super Region. The GLIAC (the FERRIS STATE conference) is separate — this is the G-MAC footprint.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−4.6
Upper Strength−1.7
Median Power−5.2
Resume Pulse31.9
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap6.1
Combined Record25-36

`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.

Great Lakes 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
#280 Indianapolis 4-4 +0.1 52 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (L4 W5 W6 W7)
#288 Truman State 3-4 −0.3 37 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W3 W4 L6 W7)
#315 Upper Iowa 4-3 −2.0 50 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (L4 W5 W6 W7)
#370 Missouri S&T 1-5 −4.8 7 -- +0.00 1-2-1 over the last 4 (T4 L5 L6 W7)
#382 Southwest Baptist 3-4 −5.9 40 -- +0.00 2-1-1 over the last 4 (T4 W5 W6 L7)
#397 William Jewell 4-2 −6.7 42 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W4 L5 W6 L7)
#399 Quincy 2-5 −6.8 16 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (W4 L5 L6 L7)
#400 McKendree 2-5 −6.9 17 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L4 W5 L6 L7)
#440 Lincoln (MO) 2-4 −10.2 26 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L3 W4 L5 L7)