In working on the upcoming fall college schedule we noticed something.
As readers might remember, we have discussed the difference between fall-15s-only teams and fall-to-spring-15s teams and how many games they play.
It's not a massive change, but it's noticeable, at least to us.
So in the past the top NCR teams have been seen to play about four 15s games fewer than do top D1A teams., with the average being about 12 games.
Well this season we're seeing one or two more games squeezed into D1 schedules in NCR. Queens, by far the most 15s-active team in the competition, has 10 games scheduled before the playoffs start, and the could play up to 14 games in the fall. Queens played three 15s games during this past spring to get to 16, and they could, if they repeat that plan, get to 17 this time.
OK, that's just one game more.
But we're seeing this all over the Big Rivers and ARC. Wheeling will have at least two more games than last season. Indiana Tech has increased their number of conference and regular-season games by two to four matches.
Iowa Central CC played seven games in the fall of 2025 before the conference playoffs. This year they will play 10, and if they do well they might play as many as 15. In the ARC, Kutztown will go from seven to nine games before they enter any playoffs. Thomas More's regular-season schedule has increased by two.
Independent Southern Nazarene has increased their pre-playoff schedule by two games.
This is all a positive move. On their own, these NCR teams have decided they can squeeze in one or two more games, or leverage a long weekend for more 15s games. Why? Because it's a good thing for the players who want to play 15s. Maybe, also, these teams saw GRR's observations and were influenced to try to do something about it (that's a big maybe).
We've found eight games (so far) that are ARC-vs-Big Rivers games, and we're seeing a small uptick in games between top-rated NCR D1 teams and D1A teams. An easing of tensions? Maybe. A recognition that good competition is good for developing your players and attractive to those players? Probably.
Interestingly, St. Bonaventure has one fewer regular-season game than in 2025. It's not a massive trend, but it's enough for us to notice.
