FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

NPU news.

https://www.footballscoop.com/2026/01/16/13-months-after-starring-for-division-iii-program-a-former-standout-has-earned-a-coordinator-title

It's well-deserved. Egan's an outstanding young man who is going places in the coaching profession.

[SpartanHouse4]

First off, I agree that thousands of kids get horrifically bad advice.

Using the portal is not required at the moment, but as of Aug. 1, it will be as the result of a vote just taken last week at the NCAA convention.

Even so, frankly, why would you not put yourself in the portal, since that's where all of the coaches' eyeballs are?

If I was a D3 football player, I'd accept the fact that I am not likely to get paid to play football and I would work towards my degree and build lifelong relationships through the greatest sport known to man.  If I was to transfer, it would be to win. 

Small school football players transferring around from school to school is nuts and there is no way that they could ever graduate.  But I'm sure that their agent, or uncle has told them that they are "league bound". The top % of D3FB players that move up are hearing from the bigger programs, not from some bs agent

A small school player goes into the portal to see if they can get a scholarship at a larger school.

Why would a kid stay at a d3 school and pay 20k a year when they can go to a scholarship school for free?

[D3fanboy]

First off, I agree that thousands of kids get horrifically bad advice.

Using the portal is not required at the moment, but as of Aug. 1, it will be as the result of a vote just taken last week at the NCAA convention.

Even so, frankly, why would you not put yourself in the portal, since that's where all of the coaches' eyeballs are?

If I was a D3 football player, I'd accept the fact that I am not likely to get paid to play football and I would work towards my degree and build lifelong relationships through the greatest sport known to man.  If I was to transfer, it would be to win. 

Small school football players transferring around from school to school is nuts and there is no way that they could ever graduate.  But I'm sure that their agent, or uncle has told them that they are "league bound". The top % of D3FB players that move up are hearing from the bigger programs, not from some bs agent

A small school player goes into the portal to see if they can get a scholarship at a larger school.

Why would a kid stay at a d3 school and pay 20k a year when they can go to a scholarship school for free?

the vast, vast majority of D3 players going to the portal are not getting a scholarship to play for free.  Maybe a dozen or so of the thousands of D3 FB players that entered the portal

[CarollFan]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Looks like he got an offer from Tulsa.

https://x.com/GoldenHurricane/status/2011820633659691116

[D3fanboy]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Looks like he got an offer from Tulsa.

https://x.com/GoldenHurricane/status/2011820633659691116

McAtee has signed with Tulsa.  D3->FBS.  McAtee is one of the ones that should succeed at the higher level

[CarollFan]

Christopher Newport (CNU) QB transfers to Penn St.

https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/article/penn-state-lands-division-iii-all-american-quarterback-transfer-connor-barry-271230634/

[Gregory Sager]

I had Kyle Rooker on as my halftime interview guest on Wednesday evening, and we talked about non-conference scheduling and how to deal with the anomaly of the 2026 season. North Park is playing two road non-con games this upcoming football season: Olivet, which is the opponent with whom Rook had made a contract prior to the announcement that Wash U was getting the heave-ho from the CCIW, will host the Vikings to begin next season, with the Comets visiting the North Side in 2027. Rook and Franklin's Mike Leonard had talked about doing the standard home-and-home for '27 and '28, which would've put Rook in the nice pattern of alternating the fronts and backs of home-and-home contracts in an eight-team-CCIW, two-non-cons-per-year scenario. What's nice about that is obvious -- a coach whose team is scheduled to play a non-conference opponent on the back half of a two-year deal and a non-conference opponent on the front half of a two-year deal only needs to worry about one two-year-contract negotiation per year.

But with the addition of CUW to the league announced last fall, it suddenly became a situation in which 2026 was going to be the only season in which CCIW teams would need a second non-con opponent ... so no standard two-year contract, just a one-off (i.e., every coach's nightmare). Fortunately, Mike Leonard was amenable to granting North Park the one-off deal. Of course, the price of his generosity was to require North Park to travel to central Indiana to play that one game on the home field of the Grizzlies. Therefore, NPU will climb back on the bus and cross the state line again in week two this coming fall.

[CarollFan]

Millikin has their 2026 schedule out and they show Olivet as their first game.

https://athletics.millikin.edu/sports/football/schedule/2026

[USee]

It will be interesting to see if any CCIW teams get a home game for the "one off" next year. Wheaton has the benefit of the second half of their Mt Union contract so will host them in week 1 but they travel to Albion for week two to play at Sprankle-Sprandel stadium in Michigan. If ever there was a school in need of a lead donor with naming rights for a stadium........