The winds of change are blowing through Division 2 football. Earlier this year, West Florida announced it would reclassify to Division I, transitioning immediately to the FCS and joining the United Athletic Conference. The Argonauts leave massive changes in their wake.
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Teams you won't see below benefiting from the Argos' move are Valdosta State, Delta State, and West Alabama. Any time a major football power leaves, you'd think it would benefit its former conference mates. But in this case, West Florida leaving the Gulf South Conference cost the league its automatic qualifier, leaving the three remaining programs to battle the rest of Super Region 2 for at-large bids.
So if the biggest beneficiaries aren't in the Gulf South, who stands to gain the most from West Florida's departure? Here are the two programs, and one conference, positioned to capitalize on the changing landscape.
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Albany State
- Record: 12-2
- Conference: SIAC
- SIAC champion
- Super Region 2 finalist
- Allowed 14.6 points per game
Why They Benefit
With West Florida out of the regional picture, Albany State has a clearer path to the top seed in Super Region 2. The Golden Rams showed they belong among the D2 football elite after they lost only one regular-season game last year, to FCS's Florida A&M. ASU lost to a surging Newberry team in the D2 quarterfinals. They landed at No. 13 in FloCollege's Way-Too-Early rankings.
UNC Pembroke
- Record: 8-3
- Conference: Conference Carolinas
- QB Tre Robinson returns
- Averaged more than 420 yards per game
- Narrowly missed the playoffs
Why They Benefit
UNC Pembroke landed right outside the at-large field in last year's D2 playoffs. Above them, Benedict and Wingate took two of Super Region 2's at-large spots. With the Gulf South losing its automatic qualifier, Super Region 2 gains a fifth at-large berth. That creates more room for programs like UNC Pembroke.
The timing couldn't be much better. Division II is also transitioning to the NCAA Power Index (NPI), replacing the regional committee rankings with a formula-based system. Instead of relying as heavily on committee deliberations, at-large bids will be driven by a team's body of work. That could benefit bubble teams like UNC Pembroke, which won't be competing for as few postseason spots in Super Region 2.
South Atlantic Conference
- Defending national semifinalist: Newberry
- Multiple regional contenders every season
- One of Division II's deepest football leagues
Programs:
- Anderson
- Carson-Newman
- Catawba
- Emory & Henry
- Lenoir-Rhyne
- Mars Hill
- Newberry
- Tusculum
- UVA Wise
- Wingate
Why They Benefit
The South Atlantic Conference is one of the most entertaining on a yearly basis, and they're a beacon of parity in D2 football. Regularly, these teams upset each other, and take turns leading at the top of the conference. Last year, only four teams ended the season with losing records and Newberry went to the D2 semifinals. Removing one of Super Region 2's annual heavyweights improves the conference's chances of earning higher regional seeds, hosting playoff games, and sending multiple teams on deep postseason runs.
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- Ferris State
- Harding
- Kutztown
- CSU Pueblo
- Central Washington
- Indianapolis
- Virginia Union
- Findlay
- Minnesota State
- Pittsburg State
- Minnesota Duluth
- Northwest Missouri State
- Albany State
- Western Colorado
- Augustana (SD)
- UT Permian Basin
- Johnson C. Smith
- Western Oregon
- Ashland
- Grand Valley State
- Newberry
- Chadron State
- Northwood
- Frostburg State
- Wingate
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