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| Hope finally passed North Central in the North Region rankings, something we had projected in our mock regional rankings after Week 8. In this photo, however, Hope is taking down Aurora, ranked sixth in the North. Hope athletics photo |
The final official regional rankings arrived from the NCAA on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account.
Teams are listed with their Division III record only. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ.
A plus sign signifies that the team also has a non-Division III win, while a minus sign signifies a non-Division III loss. Teams in bold clinched automatic bids. The numbers listed are a team's Division III record and their D-III strength of schedule. (The committee will dive even further into that and consider the specifics of a team's results against regionally ranked opponents, or RROs.)
| East Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Salisbury 9-0 2 Wesley 8-1 + (C) 3 Delaware Valley 9-1 4 Union 10-0 5 Western New England 9-0 - 6 Stevenson 8-2 7 Ithaca 8-2 8 Hobart 8-2 9 Brockport 8-2 10 Endicott 8-2 |
.488 .535 .520 .508 .491 .532 .538 .565 .532 .517 |
Other automatic bids not in this rankings: Framingham State (MASCAC), MIT (NEWMAC), SUNY-Maritime (ECFC). Stevenson probably sat on the board for some time when the East ran out of 1-loss candidates it wished to put forward. ... It declined to rank WPI, which went 9-1 with a .481 SOS, a loss to unranked MIT and best win vs. RPI (6-4). ... Union's ranking validates its placement in the bracket. ... Delaware Valley's ranking does not validate its being sent on the road in the first round and some have suggested that Del Val's home facilities are the culprit. |
| North Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mount Union 10-0 2 Wheaton 10-0 3 Hope 9-1 4 North Central 9-1 (C) 5 John Carroll 9-1 6 Aurora 9-1 7 Hanover 9-1 8 Denison 8-2 9 Washington U. 7-3 10 Albion 8-2 |
.519 .546 .529 .500 .504 .507 .453 .496 .535 .505 |
Other automatic bid not in this ranking: Wabash (NCAC). The committee almost had no choice but to rank a team with three losses, and reading the board, surely knew it could not hope to get both North Central and John Carroll into the field, especially once Wartburg lost in Week 10 and UW-Whitewater in Week 11. So they ranked Washington U. instead of Baldwin Wallace (7-3, .518 SOS), and that bolstered North Central's resume. |
| South Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 10-0 2 Muhlenberg 10-0 3 Bridgewater 10-0 4 Susquehanna 9-1 5 Berry 9-1 6 Randolph-Macon 8-2 7 Case Western Reserve 9-1 8 Texas Lutheran 8-2 9 Hardin-Simmons 8-2 10 Trinity (Texas) 8-2 |
.483 .504 .514 .518 .481 .546 .466 .513 .521 .497 |
Other automatic bid not in this ranking: Huntingdon (USAC). Susquehanna left on the board through the entire set of five picks, with a loss to No. 2 Muhlenberg and no wins against anyone in this regional ranking. ... Case Western Reserve's low SOS continues to cost them as they play their only non-conference game against Rochester (0-10). |
| West Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Chapman 9-0 2 UW-Whitewater 8-1 + (C) 3 Redlands 9-1 (C) 4 St. John's 9-1 5 Central 9-1 6 Wartburg 9-1 (C) 7 UW-Oshkosh 8-2 8 Linfield 8-1 9 Monmouth 7-2 10 UW-La Crosse 7-2 - |
.520 .575 .548 .537 .530 .573 .590 .517 .636 .567 |
Other automatic bids not represented: Martin Luther (UMAC). Three of the Pool C bids come from here, and comfortably. ... Redlands didn't hang onto the top at-large spot but it is still inappropriate for the people who control the budget to force the West 3 to play the South 1 in the first round. ... St. Thomas also a candidate for the No. 10 spot but loss to UW-Eau Claire opens the door for UW-La Crosse, which beat Eau Claire. |
How to use regional rankings: If you are an at-large candidate, you want to be sure you are the top at-large candidate in your region. That will ensure you get discussed by the national committee and have a chance to be put in the field.
There are 27 automatic bids, zero Pool B bid (teams not in the 27 automatic bid conferences) and five Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 17.