2026 Schedules

[Kuiper]

After suffering through a blizzard recently, many places in the Northeast are forecast to have highs in the 60s and even 70s this coming week.  So, that means its time for the first DIII men's soccer schedules to pop up on websites across the country and it's time to start a 2026 Schedules thread!  For some reason, the first groups to post their schedules tend to be from the upper Midwest.  Maybe they are trying to wish the spring into existence?

North Central

North Central is coming off an odd year where they only had 2 losses all season,  but they had 8 ties and missed out on the NCAA tourney.  This fall, they replace Coe, Trine, Dominican, Monmouth, and Knox with Beloit, Nebraska Wesleyan, and a tricky mid-September trip to Michigan to play at Calvin, Kalamazoo, and Albion before returning home to host CCIW foe Illinois Wesleyan and Edgewood.  That seems like a decent upgrade and an especially difficult stretch of games right before and after they start conference play.

North Park

North Park had a down year by their lofty standards, but they still made it to the CCIW championship game before succumbing to IWU 1-0.  This year, they start the season with what may be a murderer's row of historically strong programs: @ Chicago, Wash. U., Milwaukee School of Engineering, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pacific Lutheran (@ Wheaton), @ Kalamazoo, @ Trine before three straight home games against Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wheaton, and Wisconsin-Platteville.  Some of those teams had down years last season, but holy cow!  Those games should be fun to watch.

[Kuiper]

St. Norbert

St. Norbert opened last season with a super tough schedule, playing @ Augsburg, @ Macalester, home to Calvin, home to Carthage, and home to UW Stevens Point.  They came out of those first 5 games 1-4.  This year is quite a bit different.  Opening at Saint Johns University won't be easy, but then they play @ Hamline, home to Wisconsin-Stout, @ Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and home to Lawrence.

Wisconsin-Stout

After going 1-15-4 in only its second year of existence Wisconsin-Stout probably can't find that many opponents willing to play them.  Nevertheless, removing Crown and Buena Vista -- two of the teams they tied last season -- isn't going to make it any easier to amass some wins.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park

North Park had a down year by their lofty standards, but they still made it to the CCIW championship game before succumbing to IWU 1-0.  This year, they start the season with what may be a murderer's row of historically strong programs: @ Chicago, Wash. U., Milwaukee School of Engineering, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pacific Lutheran (@ Wheaton), @ Kalamazoo, @ Trine before three straight home games against Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wheaton, and Wisconsin-Platteville.  Some of those teams had down years last season, but holy cow!  Those games should be fun to watch.

And fun to call, too.

[Kuiper]

Millsaps

They are playing some school named "United States Sports University" for the second year in a row. Apparently, it's been around since 1972, but for some reason it only started offering intercollegiate athletic teams in 2024. I guess they offer majors in sports-related areas but it seems odd that someone wouldn't have thought earlier that actually having sports teams would be mission-related, right?  In any event, the really crazy thing is that Millsaps is playing AT Southwestern and AT Trinity for a second year in a row.  Many conferences rotate home-and-away, but I guess not in the SAA.  That's kind of rough.  At least they do it in one weekend and they play LeTourneau at home this year rather than traveling to Texas again.  They also host Centenary instead of traveling to East Texas Baptist.

Earlham

After going 3-11-3 last season, Earlham needs to schedule a few more wins.  They did add two NCCAA teams:  Kuyper (which was on the schedules last season, but Kuyper cancelled its entire season after the first two games for what looks like lack of players since they only had 11 in each of their first two games) and Ohio Christian (NCCAA).  They also, however, added Albion, which had a strong 12-3-2 season, and dropped Muskingum, which was one of their wins.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Millsaps

They are playing some school named "United States Sports University" for the second year in a row. Apparently, it's been around since 1972, but for some reason it only started offering intercollegiate athletic teams in 2024. I guess they offer majors in sports-related areas but it seems odd that someone wouldn't have thought earlier that actually having sports teams would be mission-related, right?  In any event, the really crazy thing is that Millsaps is playing AT Southwestern and AT Trinity for a second year in a row.  Many conferences rotate home-and-away, but I guess not in the SAA.  That's kind of rough.  At least they do it in one weekend and they play LeTourneau at home this year rather than traveling to Texas again.  They also host Centenary instead of traveling to East Texas Baptist.

Apparently, Mike "the Pirate" Leach got a masters from the sports college which is located in Alabama. Never heard of it before.

[Kuiper]

La Verne

La Verne gets the prize for the most diverse (geographically, division, conference) non-conference schedule thus far.  They open in Santa Barbara against DII Westmont, then hosts George Fox (Oregon/NWC) and Russell Sage (NY/Empire 8) and the following week travels to Texas to play Southwestern and Trinity from the SAA.  They play at SCIAC newcomer Azusa Pacific on 10/7, which is a foe that could become a rival considering that the two campuses are about 8.5 miles away from each other.  The other interesting note about Azusa Pacific joining the SCIAC is that it changes the patterns.  They now play 4 teams twice and 4 teams only once.  La Verne only plays once against Occidental, Whittier, CMS, and Azusa Pacific this season.

Rockford

After going 2-15-1 last season, this is another team looking for winnable games.  They replace Olivet, Elmhurst, Beloit, Ripon (although they do play them in an exhibition) with Lawrence, Waldorf, Iowa (NAIA), Knox, and Illinois Wesleyan.

[Ron Boerger]

Millsaps

[...]In any event, the really crazy thing is that Millsaps is playing AT Southwestern and AT Trinity for a second year in a row.  Many conferences rotate home-and-away, but I guess not in the SAA.  That's kind of rough.  At least they do it in one weekend and they play LeTourneau at home this year rather than traveling to Texas again.  They also host Centenary instead of traveling to East Texas Baptist.

Maryville joins the conference in 2026-27, so the SAA had to adjust schedules and this sounds like a side effect of that.

As a side note, the Texas schools have to head back east for virtually every SAA championship next year, and for the bulk of the next three seasons.  Of the 21 championships held annually, three were in Texas this year and (as of now) only one is next season.  With a quarter of the conference's schools in state and fine facilities at both you'd expect 4-5.