DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Minnesota

#53 overall#11 in DIIIRR50 −13.6Upper strength −11.110 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

After St. Thomas

The MIAC is a conference of Minnesota liberal arts colleges that produces DIII football at a level disproportionate to its small-college enrollment. St. John's University in Collegeville has appeared in the DIII national championship game eleven times, winning once in 2003. Concordia-Moorhead, Gustavus Adolphus, and Bethel all compete in a conference that was reshaped when St. Thomas — the MIAC's largest school — moved to Division I FCS in 2022. What remains is a deeper, more competitive conference without a single dominant program.

Division III10 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: Saint John's (MN)

Minnesota · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The Historical Standard

St. John's: Eleven Championship Game Appearances

St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota has appeared in the DIII national championship game eleven times — the most appearances in DIII history. John Gagliardi built one of college football's most unusual programs: no tackling in practice, no whistles, no blocking sleds, no film study for opponents — and 489 wins over six decades. His successors have maintained the program's competitive presence without replicating his innovations. St. John's in 2026 competes in a MIAC that is genuinely open for the first time in a generation.

The New ContenderConcordia-Moorhead's Resurgence

Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota has won MIAC titles and appeared in the DIII bracket with a program built on the Red River Valley's football culture. Their recruiting covers the Fargo-Moorhead metro and the upper Midwest corridor, developing players who chose a Lutheran liberal arts education over scholarship programs at other levels. With St. Thomas gone, Concordia enters 2026 as one of the MIAC's most complete programs outside of St. John's.

Wild CardGustavus Adolphus: The St. Peter Program

Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota competes in the MIAC with a program that draws from the southern Minnesota corridor and the Twin Cities exurbs. Their Gusties have won MIAC titles and made DIII bracket appearances, and the departure of St. Thomas opens conference contention in a way that benefits programs with depth and coaching continuity. Gustavus enters 2026 as a legitimate MIAC title contender for the first time in a decade.

Conference standings · Minnesota · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Saint John's (MN)	5-0	6-0	-8.3
2	Concordia (MN)	4-1	5-1	-10.7
3	Bethel (MN)	4-1	4-2	-10.1
4	Carleton	4-1	4-2	-14.3
5	Gustavus Adolphus	3-2	4-2	-12.2
6	Macalester	2-3	3-3	-15.5
7	Augsburg	2-3	2-4	-14.7
8	St. Olaf	1-4	1-5	-16.0
9	Hamline	0-5	1-5	-16.5
10	St. Scholastica	0-5	0-6	-16.7

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

Projected standings · Minnesota · 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	≥9	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Saint John's (MN)	6-3	+5.2	5.6	1	9	28	55	79	93	98	✓	✓
2	Bethel (MN)	5-4	+3.4	5.3	1	6	21	46	72	89	97	✓	✓
Challengers
3	Concordia (MN)	5-4	+2.8	5.2	1	5	18	42	68	88	97	✓	✓
4	Gustavus Adolphus	5-4	+1.3	4.7		3	11	31	57	80	94	99	✓
5	Carleton	4-5	−0.8	4.3		1	6	20	43	69	88	97	✓
The field
6	Augsburg	4-5	−1.2	4.2		1	6	18	41	67	87	97	✓
7	Macalester	4-5	−2.0	4.1		1	5	17	39	65	86	97	✓
8	St. Olaf	4-5	−2.5	4.0		1	4	15	36	62	84	96	✓
Rebuilding
9	Hamline	4-5	−3.0	3.9		1	4	13	33	60	83	96	99
10	St. Scholastica	4-5	−3.2	3.7			3	11	29	55	79	94	99

Conference power · Division III

Where we stand

#	Conference	Avg power	Record	Top team
1	American Southwest	-10.8	—	Hardin Simmons
2	Wisconsin	-11.2	1-2	Wisconsin Whitewater
3	Michigan	-13.4	—	Hope
4	Presidents'	-13.5	—	Saint Francis
5	USA South	-13.6	—	LaGrange
6	Southern Athletic	-13.6	—	Berry
7	Ohio	-13.6	—	John Carroll
8	Centennial	-13.6	—	Dickinson
9	CCIW	-13.6	0-1	North Central College
10	Old Dominion	-13.6	—	Randolph Macon
11	MinnesotaYou are here	-13.6	—	Saint John's (MN)
12	North Coast	-13.7	—	DePauw
13	Commonwealth Coast	-13.7	—	Endicott
14	NEWMAC	-13.8	—	Springfield
15	American Rivers	-13.8	2-1	Wartburg
16	Northwest	-13.9	—	Linfield
17	New Jersey	-13.9	—	Salisbury
18	Liberty League	-14.0	—	Ithaca
19	Empire 8	-14.1	—	SUNY Cortland
20	Mid Atlantic	-14.3	—	Eastern
21	So. Cal.	-14.3	—	Chapman
22	NESCAC	-14.3	—	Trinity (CT)
23	Landmark Conference	-14.4	—	Susquehanna
24	NACC	-14.4	0-1	Aurora
25	MSCAC	-14.6	—	Bridgewater State
26	Heartland	-14.7	—	Mount St Joseph
27	Midwest	-14.9	—	Lake Forest
28	Southern Collegiate Athletic	-15.0	—	Texas Lutheran
29	Upper Midwest	-15.5	2-0	Northwestern (MN)

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50−13.6

Upper Strength−11.1

Median Power−14.4

Resume Pulse40.4

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap6.2

Combined Record30-30

League Drivers

Power leader Saint John's (MN) #415 overall | −8.3 pts vs avg Resume leader Saint John's (MN) #415 overall | 91 / 100 resume

Minnesota 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
#415	Saint John's (MN)	6-0	−8.3	91	--	+0.00	4-0 over the last 4 (W4 W5 W6 W7)
#438	Bethel (MN)	4-2	−10.1	49	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 L5 W6 W7)
#448	Concordia (MN)	5-1	−10.7	84	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 W5 W6 L7)
#490	Gustavus Adolphus	4-2	−12.2	57	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (L4 W5 W6 W7)
#553	Carleton	4-2	−14.3	34	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W4 L5 W6 W7)
#569	Augsburg	2-4	−14.7	25	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L4 L5 L6 W7)
#599	Macalester	3-3	−15.5	45	--	+0.00	2-2 over the last 4 (W4 W5 L6 L7)
#613	St. Olaf	1-5	−16.0	4	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L4 W5 L6 L7)
#627	Hamline	1-5	−16.5	12	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L4 L5 L6 L7)
#631	St. Scholastica	0-6	−16.7	4	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L4 L5 L6 L7)