The first set of NCAA Division II regional rankings were released Monday, and four teams from North Carolina made the initial list of potential playoff qualifiers.
Johnson C. Smith and Fayetteville State from the CIAA landed on the list for Super Region I. Wingate from the South Atlantic Conference and UNC Pembroke from Conference Carolinas made the Super Region II lineup.
The Super Region rankings, generated by an NCAA selection committee, isn’t a guarantee of who will make the final bracket at the end of the regular season in mid-November. It’s purpose is to shine a light on which teams are in contention, per the committee’s guidelines. Regional rankings will be released two more times before the playoff field is announced the weekend of Nov. 15.
🏆 D2 Playoff Expansion: 32 Teams, No Byes, Auto Qualifiers
The 2025 NCAA Division II football playoffs are expanding from 28 to 32 teams this season. Conference champions will receive an automatic berth into the field, a key shift from the previous “earned access” format, ensuring representation from every D2 league.
Once the brackets are complete, the four Super Regions will each feature eight teams, with the top seeds no longer receiving first-round byes. The Division II tournament will culminate with the championship game on December 20, 2025, at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas.
The initial rankings released Monday feature 10 teams from each of the four regions, sorted only by the alphabet. Next week’s rankings will have numbers beside names, revealing each team’s current positioning within their region from the selection committee’s perspective.
🟦 CIAA Representation: Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith, Virginia Union
With Conference Carolinas introducing football this year, the CIAA was shifted from Super Region II to Super Region I. That region also includes schools from the Mountain East Conference, Northeast 10 and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
The CIAA put its top three teams in the initial rankings: Virginia Union (7-1), Fayetteville State (5-2 vs. D2) and Johnson C. Smith (7-1). Also included were Assumption (6-1), California PA (5-3), Charleston (5-3), Frostburg State (7-1), Indiana PA (5-2), Kutztown (8-0) and Slippery Rock (5-2).
Fayetteville State hosts Johnson C. Smith this Saturday, and that outcome will surely affect next weekend’s rankings. JCSU was ranked multiple weeks last season, but late losses to the Broncos and Livingstone kept them out of the playoff field. Virginia Union went on to win two games, beating both Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne.
🟩 Super Region Two: Wingate, UNC Pembroke Under Consideration
Super Region Two consists of schools from Conference Carolinas, the South Atlantic Conference, Gulf South Conference and the SIAC.
Interestingly, UNCP (7-2) is the only Conference Carolinas team included in these initial rankings, despite losing to North Greenville 20-7 a few weeks back and trailing the Trailblazers in the league standings. Wingate (6-2) is joined by SAC leader Newberry (6-1) in SR2.
The rest of the teams in this region include Albany State (7-0), Benedict (7-1), Delta State (7-1), Edward Waters (5-2), Kentucky State (6-1), West Alabama (5-2) and West Florida (8-0).
Notably absent from Super Region 2 is Valdosta State, which advanced to the D2 title game last year from this bracket. Johnson C. Smith, UNC Pembroke and Lenoir-Rhyne have each beaten Valdosta this season.
To see the full 40-team Super Region list, visit NCAA.com.
