NPI Rankings |Â
About the NPI
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Slippery Rock University football team stayed No. 1 in the NCAA Division II NPI Rankings when the updated rankings were announced Sunday morning.
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The NCAA Power Index (NPI) is the new ranking system that will be used to determine postseason fields in Division II in 2026-27, replacing the ranking committees and former criteria. The NPI ranks all programs in the division and will replace the regional rankings announcements from previous years. The data can be sorted by region to determine the regional rankings. Each sport committee was responsible for determining the criteria and setting the "dials" for their respective sport. More info on NPI is available HERE.
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NPI evaluates a team's season by considering both results and the strength of the teams it plays. Each contest produces a value based on whether the team won, lost or tied and the opponent's NPI. The NPI rating is dynamic, changing each week with the results of all games.
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Slippery Rock currently ranks No. 1 among all teams in the country with an NPI number of 68.145. Ferris State moved up to No. 2 this week with an NPI of 67.113. Harding is No. 3 at 66.960 and Northwood is No. 4 at 65.898 to round out the four teams with a rating above 65.0. Emporia State caps the top five at 64.622. The rest of the top 10 includes Colorado State Pueblo (63.807), Minnesota State (63.702), Kutztown (62.705), Davenport (61.497) and Kentucky State (61.422).
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The Rock are rewarded in the metrics for owning a perfect 8-0 overall record and for a road win over current No. 11 East Stroudsburg, a home win over No. 22 Minnesota Duluth and a road win over No. 42 Indiana (Pa.).
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The current Super Region One top 10 rankings include Slippery Rock leading the way, followed by Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, Virginia State and Virginia Union rounding out the top five. West Liberty is sixth in the region, followed by Bowie State, Indiana (Pa.), Assumption and Johnson C. Smith rounding out the top 10.
Super Region One includes all schools in the PSAC, the Mountain East Conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Northeast 10 Conference.
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Next week's rankings could see a shakeup in the region as No. 2 Kutztown will play at No. 3 East Stroudsburg in a first place showdown in the PSAC Eastern Division. Slippery Rock has already locked up the PSAC West title and will host the PSAC Championship game Nov. 14. The Rock will look to keep their position atop the rankings with a noon game on the road at Clarion next Saturday, Oct. 31.
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The NPI will be updated each Sunday for the rest of the season until the NCAA Selection Show Sunday, Nov. 15, The final rankings will not be posted publicly on Nov. 15 until after the Selection Show.
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SUPER REGION ONE RANKINGS
Oct. 25
| Rank |
Team |
DII W-L |
NPI |
| 1 |
SLIPPERY ROCK |
8-0 |
68.145 |
| 2 |
Kutztown |
7-0 |
62.705 |
| 3 |
East Stroudsburg |
6-1 |
60.989 |
| 4 |
Virginia State |
7-0 |
58.371 |
| 5 |
Virginia Union |
7-1 |
57.690 |
| 6 |
West Liberty |
7-1 |
56.366 |
| 7 |
Bowie State |
4-2 |
54.343 |
| 8 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
5-3 |
53.984 |
| 9 |
Assumption |
5-2 |
53.589 |
| 10 |
Johnson C. Smith |
6-2 |
53.380 |
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official Athletic Communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
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