DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

NESCAC

#64 overall#22 in DIIIRR50 −14.4Upper strength −12.810 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

A Different Model

NESCAC schools give no athletic scholarships, offer no postseason play, and still produce some of the most competitive Division III football in the country. The model — need-based aid only, athletics embedded in the liberal arts mission — is deliberately different from the scholarship track, and deliberately kept that way.

Division III10 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: Trinity (CT)

NESCAC · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The StandardWilliams: Williamstown and the Little Three

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts has been the NESCAC's most decorated football program and the anchor of the Little Three rivalry — Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan — that defines the conference's football identity. The Ephs compete from a campus in the Berkshire Mountains where need-based financial aid only and no athletic scholarships are not limitations but deliberate expressions of the NESCAC model. Williams's football program has combined championship competitiveness with an academic profile that places it among the most selective liberal arts colleges in the country, making the Ephs' success a proof point that the NESCAC model works.

The RivalAmherst: The Purple and White Standard

Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts has won DIII championships and competed in the NESCAC at the highest level, drawing from need-based aid families across the country who chose Amherst's academic identity and the Pioneer Valley's football culture. The Mammoths play in a conference where every campus is an intellectual peer and no program can claim a talent advantage through athletic scholarships — which makes Amherst's success a product of development, coaching, and the particular kind of student-athlete that a college ranked among America's best liberal arts institutions attracts. The Williams-Amherst rivalry is one of the most intense in DIII football, played in October in conditions that remind everyone why New England falls belong to football.

Conference standings · NESCAC · 2026

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Trinity (CT)	7-0	7-0	-12.4
2	Amherst	7-0	7-0	-14.2
3	Wesleyan (CT)	6-1	6-1	-12.8
4	Williams	5-2	5-2	-14.1
5	Tufts	4-3	4-3	-15.0
6	Middlebury	3-4	3-4	-13.9
7	Hamilton	2-5	2-5	-15.2
8	Colby	1-6	1-6	-15.6
9	Bowdoin	0-7	0-7	-16.0
10	Bates	0-7	0-7	-16.3

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

Projected standings · NESCAC · 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	Trinity (CT)	5-4	+2.1	5.1	1	4	16	39	65	85	96	99	✓
2	Wesleyan (CT)	5-4	+1.7	4.8		3	13	33	59	82	94	99	✓
Challengers
3	Middlebury	5-4	+0.7	4.7		3	11	30	56	79	93	99	✓
4	Williams	5-4	+0.4	4.7		2	10	29	54	78	93	99	✓
5	Amherst	5-4	+0.4	4.6		2	11	29	54	78	93	99	✓
The field
6	Tufts	4-5	−0.5	4.5		2	8	24	49	74	91	98	✓
7	Hamilton	4-5	−0.6	4.3		1	7	21	44	70	89	97	✓
8	Colby	4-5	−1.1	4.2		1	6	19	42	68	88	97	✓
Rebuilding
9	Bowdoin	4-5	−1.5	4.1		1	5	17	39	65	86	97	✓
10	Bates	4-5	−1.8	4.0		1	5	16	37	64	85	96	✓

Conference power · Division III

Where we stand

#	Conference	Avg power	Record	Top team
1	American Southwest	-10.6	—	Hardin Simmons
2	Wisconsin	-11.2	—	Wisconsin Whitewater
3	Michigan	-13.5	—	Calvin
4	Presidents'	-13.5	—	Washington & Jefferson
5	Southern Athletic	-13.6	—	Berry
6	Old Dominion	-13.6	—	Randolph Macon
7	USA South	-13.7	—	LaGrange
8	Centennial	-13.7	—	Dickinson
9	CCIW	-13.7	—	North Central College
10	Minnesota	-13.7	—	Saint John's (MN)
11	Ohio	-13.7	—	Mount Union
12	North Coast	-13.7	—	DePauw
13	Commonwealth Coast	-13.7	—	Endicott
14	American Rivers	-13.8	—	Wartburg
15	Northwest	-13.8	—	Linfield
16	NEWMAC	-13.8	—	Springfield
17	New Jersey	-13.9	—	Salisbury
18	Liberty League	-14.0	—	Ithaca
19	Empire 8	-14.1	—	SUNY Cortland
20	Mid Atlantic	-14.3	—	Delaware Valley
21	So. Cal.	-14.3	—	Chapman
22	NESCACYou are here	-14.4	—	Trinity (CT)
23	Landmark Conference	-14.4	—	Susquehanna
24	NACC	-14.4	—	Aurora
25	MSCAC	-14.6	—	Bridgewater State
26	Heartland	-14.8	—	Mount St Joseph
27	Midwest	-15.0	—	Lake Forest
28	Southern Collegiate Athletic	-15.2	—	Texas Lutheran
29	Upper Midwest	-15.5	—	Northwestern (MN)

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50−14.4

Upper Strength−12.8

Median Power−14.4

Resume Pulse43.7

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap2.2

Combined Record35-35

League Drivers

Power leader Trinity (CT) #502 overall | −12.4 pts vs avg Resume leader Trinity (CT) #502 overall | 91 / 100 resume

NESCAC 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
#502	Trinity (CT)	7-0	−12.4	91	--	+0.00	4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#515	Wesleyan (CT)	6-1	−12.8	80	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W6 W7 L8 W9)
#543	Middlebury	3-4	−13.9	52	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 W8 L9)
#549	Williams	5-2	−14.1	57	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W6 W7 L8 W9)
#551	Amherst	7-0	−14.2	89	--	+0.00	4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#574	Tufts	4-3	−15.0	31	--	+0.00	2-2 over the last 4 (W6 L7 W8 L9)
#582	Hamilton	2-5	−15.2	21	--	+0.00	2-2 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 L9)
#593	Colby	1-6	−15.6	5	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 W9)
#602	Bowdoin	0-7	−16.0	7	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)
#613	Bates	0-7	−16.3	3	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)