In ten out of the twelve years of this league’s existence, either Northwestern Oklahoma State and/or Southern Nazarene have won or shared the conference title. They are now officially gone to NCAA Division II and the Great American Conference, Southern Nazarene walking off with the conference title and a playoff game. In the near term, that almost certainly leaves Langston as the conference’s monolith; whether they dominate in years to come remains to be seen, but this year? Forget it. Langston’s so confident in this year’s success in conference that they’re going to go play a road game at defending NAIA champions Saint Xavier in the non-conference schedule.
And confident they should be. Bacone is the only thing even resembling a threat here. Texas College is coming off a winless season and doesn’t look very much improved, while Southwestern Assemblies was no great shakes last year. Contrast that with Bacone, who went 5-6 but were only outscored by six points; while removing NWOSU and SNU will benefit everyone, the absence is especially relevant for a team which just needed them to be gone to get over a hump.
As always, Oklahoma Panhandle State’s primary affiliation is as an NCAA Division II independent; they are ineligible for the conference championship, and their games do not count in the standings. Next year will see another new addition to the conference as Oklahoma Baptist joins the circuit with their brand new football team; their stay will likely be short-lived, though, as they’re already trying to get into Division II.
No team capsules for this preview.