DII CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON

CIAA

#28 overall#3 in DIIRR50 -0.9Upper strength +1.211 teamsTop 25 teams 0

THE LONG WAIT · 2025

Bowie State's Era

The CIAA is the oldest HBCU athletic conference in the country, founded in 1912, and the one with the deepest football tradition in the Mid-Atlantic. Virginia State, Fayetteville State, Bowie State, and Winston-Salem State have all won DII national championships or appeared in Super Region finals. The CIAA Tournament in Charlotte draws 100,000 fans over a week for basketball — but football is the conference's competitive soul, and Bowie State's three national championships since 2017 have made the CIAA a national DII brand.

Bowie State has won three DII titles since 2017. Does Virginia State or Fayetteville State reclaim the CIAA's national championship credibility in 2026, or does Bowie State's program culture make them the conference's permanent standard?

Division II11 teamsRace: Super Region

CIAA · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The DynastyBowie State: Three National Championships Since 2017

Bowie State University in Prince George's County, Maryland has won three DII national championships since 2017 — making them one of the most decorated programs in any division in that span. Their recruiting in the DMV corridor — Washington, D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia — produces skill players and defensive backs at a rate that Power Four programs would envy. Damon Wilson's program is the CIAA's most dominant force and the DII's most nationally recognized HBCU program.

The RivalVirginia State's Historical Claim

Virginia State in Petersburg, Virginia has won multiple CIAA titles and national championships in the pre-playoff DII era. Their program draws from central Virginia and the Richmond corridor — a pipeline that produces defensive players who make the CIAA's physical style possible. They are Bowie State's most consistent challenger and the program with the deepest historical claim to conference supremacy.

Wild CardFayetteville State and the North Carolina Pipeline

Fayetteville State in Fayetteville, North Carolina recruits from the military-adjacent community near Fort Liberty — a pipeline that produces physically mature, disciplined athletes who fit their program's identity. They have won CIAA titles and made Super Region appearances, and they enter 2026 as the most physically complete program in the CIAA outside of Bowie State.

Conference Standings · CIAA · 2025

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Johnson C Smith	8–1	10–2	+2.5
2	Virginia Union	8–1	9–3	+2.3
3	Fayetteville State	6–1	6–4	+1.4
4	Virginia St	5–3	6–4	+0.7
5	Elizabeth City State	4–4	4–6	-0.0
6	Livingstone	3–4	5–5	+0.7
7	Winston-Salem	3–5	4–6	+0.2
8	Bluefield State	2–5	3–7	-4.5
9	Shaw	2–5	2–8	-3.7
10	Bowie State	2–6	3–7	-1.1
11	Lincoln (PA)	0–8	0–10	-4.1

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

Projected Standings · CIAA · 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	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Virginia Union	5–3	+2.8	4.6	1	9	27	55	80	94	99	✓
2	Johnson C Smith	4–4	+3.0	4.4	1	6	22	48	74	92	98	✓
Challengers
3	Virginia St	4–4	+1.2	4.2	1	4	17	42	69	89	98	✓
4	Winston-Salem	4–4	+0.7	4.1		4	15	38	66	87	97	✓
5	Fayetteville State	4–3	+2.0	3.8		1	10	30	60	84	96	✓
6	Livingstone	4–3	+1.2	3.7		1	7	26	55	82	96	✓
The Field
7	Elizabeth City State	4–4	+0.5	4.2		4	17	40	68	88	97	✓
8	Bowie State	4–4	-0.6	3.9		3	12	33	60	84	96	✓
9	Shaw	3–4	-3.2	3.0			3	12	34	64	87	98
Rebuilding
10	Lincoln (PA)	3–5	-3.6	3.3		1	5	18	42	71	91	99
11	Bluefield State	3–4	-3.9	2.9			2	11	32	62	87	98

Conference Power · Division II

Where We Stand

#	Conference	Avg Power	vs Focal	Top Team
1	SIAC	+0.4	3–4	Albany State GA
2	GLIAC	-0.7	0–1	Ferris State
3	CIAAYou are here	-0.9	—	Johnson C Smith
4	Great Lakes	-0.9	—	Indianapolis
5	Gulf South	-1.2	1–0	West Florida
6	South Atlantic	-1.3	1–3	Newberry
7	Northeast 10	-1.6	—	Assumption
8	Lone Star	-1.6	—	Western Oregon
9	Northern Sun	-1.9	—	Jamestown College
10	Rocky Mountain	-2.0	—	Chadron St
11	Carolinas	-2.2	1–3	North Greenville
12	Great Midwest Athletic	-2.3	—	Northwood (MI)
13	Mountain East	-2.6	1–2	Frostburg State
14	Mid America	-3.3	—	Pittsburg St
15	Pennsylvania State Athletic	-3.7	1–1	Kutztown University
16	Great American	-4.2	—	Harding University

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

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

Conference Snapshot

RR50-0.9

Upper Strength+1.2

Median Power-0.4

Resume Pulse39.6

Avg ATS--

Wins vs Market+0.00

Top-to-Middle Gap2.3

Combined Record52-62

League Drivers

Power leader Johnson C Smith #275 overall | +2.5 pts vs avg Resume leader Johnson C Smith #275 overall | 80 / 100 resume

CIAA 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
#275	Johnson C Smith	10-2	+2.5	80	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W10 W11 W12 L13)
#277	Virginia Union	9-3	+2.3	75	--	+0.00	2-2 over the last 4 (W10 W11 L12 L13)
#280	Fayetteville State	6-4	+1.4	63	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W7 W9 L10 W11)
#288	Livingstone	5-5	+0.7	35	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L7 L8 W10 L11)
#289	Virginia St	6-4	+0.7	52	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (W8 W9 W10 L11)
#304	Winston-Salem	4-6	+0.2	35	--	+0.00	1-3 over the last 4 (L7 W8 L9 L11)
#311	Elizabeth City State	4-6	-0.0	43	--	+0.00	3-1 over the last 4 (L8 W9 W10 W11)
#332	Bowie State	3-7	-1.1	28	--	+0.00	2-2 over the last 4 (W8 L9 L10 W11)
#391	Shaw	2-8	-3.7	12	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L10 L11)
#396	Lincoln (PA)	0-10	-4.1	3	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L10 L11)
#406	Bluefield State	3-7	-4.5	10	--	+0.00	0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L10 L11)