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DII CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON

Mid America

#40 overall#15 in DIIRR50 -3.3Upper strength -1.710 teamsTop 25 teams 0

THE LONG WAIT · 2025

The MIAA Is DII

The MIAA is the tightest competitive conference in DII football — four or five programs capable of winning the conference title in any given year, all of them producing NFL players from Kansas City area, western Missouri, and eastern Kansas. Northwest Missouri State has won four DII national championships. Pittsburg State won two. Central Missouri and Washburn have made Super Region championship games. The MIAA is where DII football is most consistently excellent.

Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State have dominated the MIAA for three decades. Does Central Missouri or Washburn finally break through to a national championship appearance in 2026, or does the power structure hold?

Division II10 teamsRace: Super Region

Mid America · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The StandardNorthwest Missouri State: Four National Championships

Northwest Missouri State has won four DII national championships — 1998, 1999, 2009, and 2017 — from Maryville, Missouri, a town of 11,000 people. Mel Tjeerdsma and then Steve Ryan built a program that measures itself against any level of college football. Their roster consistently produces NFL players that FBS programs passed over. They enter 2026 as the MIAA's most decorated program and remain the benchmark against which every other conference program measures itself.

The RivalPittsburg State: The Border War's Other Side

Pittsburg State has won two DII national championships and has been Northwest Missouri's primary rival in the MIAA for thirty years. Their Southeast Kansas program draws from the four-state corner region — Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas — and produces the offensive linemen and linebackers that make DII championship game lines so physical. When Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri play in November, the winner often has the conference title. They have met in the national championship game twice.

Wild CardCentral Missouri's Consistent Challenge

Central Missouri has been within one game of the MIAA title three times in the last five seasons and earned Super Region appearances in back-to-back years. Their Warrensburg program — between Kansas City and Columbia — draws from the I-70 corridor and develops players through one of DII's most analytically sophisticated offensive systems. If any program breaks the Northwest Missouri-Pittsburg State duopoly in 2026, Central Missouri is the most likely candidate.

Conference Standings · Mid America · 2025

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Pittsburg St8–110–3-1.2
2Northwest Missouri St8–19–3-3.4
3Central Oklahoma6–36–5-1.3
4Fort Hays State5–46–5-4.5
5Central Missouri5–45–6-4.4
6Nebraska-Kearney4–56–5-3.3
7Emporia State University4–55–6-4.8
8Washburn2–73–8-4.7
9Missouri Western2–73–8-5.3
10Missouri Southern State1–83–8-5.7

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

Projected Standings · Mid America · 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 ≥9≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Pittsburg St5–4+2.75.215194268879799
2Central Oklahoma5–4+2.55.115184167879699
Challengers
3Nebraska-Kearney5–4+0.64.62102752769298
4Northwest Missouri St5–4+0.44.5292651769298
5Central Missouri4–5-0.54.3172145718998
The Field
6Washburn4–5-0.84.4172246729098
7Fort Hays State4–5-0.64.3172145708997
8Emporia State University4–5-1.04.2162042688897
Rebuilding
9Missouri Western4–5-1.44.2162042688897
10Missouri Southern State4–5-1.94.1151840668797

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

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

Mid America reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.

Conference Snapshot

RR50-3.3
Upper Strength-1.7
Median Power-3.7
Resume Pulse36.4
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap3.3
Combined Record56-57

Mid America 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
#334 Pittsburg St 10-3 -1.2 67 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W11 W12 W13 L14)
#339 Central Oklahoma 6-5 -1.3 38 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L9 L10 W11 W12)
#375 Nebraska-Kearney 6-5 -3.3 36 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L8 L9 W10 L12)
#380 Northwest Missouri St 9-3 -3.4 67 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W10 W11 L12 L13)
#402 Central Missouri 5-6 -4.4 38 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L9 W10 L11 W12)
#405 Fort Hays State 6-5 -4.5 33 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L8 W9 L10 W12)
#412 Washburn 3-8 -4.7 21 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L9 L10 L11 W12)
#415 Emporia State University 5-6 -4.8 30 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W9 L10 W11 L12)
#428 Missouri Western 3-8 -5.3 16 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W9 W10 L11 L12)
#437 Missouri Southern State 3-8 -5.7 16 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L9 L10 L11 L12)