Unlike FCS and Division II, the Division III season will not begin as it ended.
After upending defending national champion North Central (Ill.) to win the 2025 national title, reigning champion Wisconsin-River Falls will not start the 2026 season at No. 1. The Falcons checked in at No. 7 in the AFCA Division III Preseason Top 25, released Monday. UW-River Falls dropped seven spots after losing head coach Matt Walker to Drake, replaced by defensive coordinator Jake Wissing.
North Central topped the poll, receiving 50 of the 53 first-place votes. Brad Spencer's program retained its spot as the premier program in D3, carrying a 29-game winning streak into the 2025 championship game and owning three national championships and six Stagg Bowl appearances over the past six seasons.
Bethel checked in at No. 2, setting up the biggest pound-for-pound game in college football on Sept. 5 when the 2nd-ranked Royals visit No. 1 North Central. Mike McElroy's team will look to avenge its only loss of the 2025 season, falling 35-21 to North Central in Naperville, Ill., in the Division III quarterfinals.
Perennial power Mount Union checked in at No. 3. The 13-time national champions, enduring their longest title drought (seven seasons) since winning their first back in 1993, are coming off an 11-1 season, falling 10-7 in overtime to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the third round. Head coach Geoff Dart, carrying a ridiculous 67-5 record, is looking for his first title as the Purple Raiders head coach after winning two as a player, two more as an assistant, and taking the club to the Stagg Bowl in 2022 and '24. Mount Union will play another mega-watt opener, tripping to Illinois to face No. 5 Wheaton. The other Top 25 matchup to kick off the season sees No. 10 UW-La Crosse visit No. 11 St. John's in Minnesota.
The full top 25:
1. North Central -- 1,322 total points (50 first-place votes)
2. Bethel (Minn.) -- 1,228
3. Mount Union -- 1,202
4. Johs Hopkins -- 1,162
5. Wheaton -- 1,030
6. UW-Platteville -- 1,025
7. UW-River Falls -- 961 (3)
8. John Carroll -- 930
9. Wartburg -- 904
10. UW-La Crosse -- 836
11. St. John's (Minn.) -- 835
12. UW-Whitewater -- 666
13. DePauw -- 627
14. Trinity (Texas) -- 617
15. Berry -- 567
16. Hardin-Simmons -- 563
17. Salisbury -- 482
18. Christopher Newport -- 382
19. Hope -- 351
20. Mary Hardin-Baylor -- 305
21. Susquehanna -- 272
22. Coe -- 177
23. Randolph-Macon -- 137
24. Endicott -- 119
25. Cortland -- 112