What's going on in the Liberty D1AA league?
Teams that challenged for a title last year have been upended. Teams that were under suspension are pushing for wins. No one is a sure thing.
Yale, not necessarily thought to be a conference contender, started the season losing to Iona, a team that had moved back to D1AA from NCR's D1. That was not a surprise. And when they lost convincingly to Buffalo the Ivy League side seemed to be destined for the lower half of the conference.
Then they beat Babson this week. That was a surprise.
Rhode Island, under suspension last season, almost beat the University at Buffalo on the opening weekend. That, along with URI's close loss to Columbia, tells us that Rhode Island spent their 2025-26 season getting ready.
Then Buffalo goes and hangs 50 on Yale.
So ... we asked around.
"There are a lot of good teams in this conference, and the teams that came from D1, Iona, Harvard, are making it more competitive," said Northeastern DOR Ed Tubridy. "
"The 13-team division is a little difficult to track because not everyone plays each other," said Yale Head Coach Craig Wilson. "But it is extremely competitive and I expect it to remain tight. It feels like plenty still has to unfold."
The Buffalo Turnaround
UB Head Coach Owen Lawther is happy to see his team get a couple of wins. But there's a collective memory of humility among the group.
"I'm very proud of the boys," Lawther told GRR. "This year's senior class was the freshman class that came in when I became head coach, the majority of them finding A-side spots as soon as they arrived at UB. We took a little bit of time to find our structure but it seemed to all come together finally vs Yale."
Many of the players on the UB team were on the squad when UB joined Liberty's D1AA and were winless.
Now that experience is coming to the fore.
"Our forward pack is quite upperclassman-heavy," said Lawther. They are led up front by the front row of Kieran Hayden, Liam Bruckner (also the team captain), and George Thompson.
Other four-year players Nico Ricciadiello, Dylan Rager, and Khaleel Adegoke provide depth.
"We look to dominate set pieces and build our attack from there," Lawther said.
UB won despite several injuries in the baclline, but those playrs are coming back. Josh Kavanagh has done well, however, scoring two tries against URI and one against Yale.
"Our fall season only gets harder from here," said Lawther, who looked ahead to Babson, Northeastern, Niagara, Iona, and Princeton. "I think the road will be tough, but I do believe UB does have all the tools necessary this year to own our own destiny and I couldn't be more honored to be able to coach these young men."
Ivy Hopes
Having lost to UB, Yale still is in a good place.
"We knew we had a tough opening three matches: Iona at home after they came down from D1, Buffalo away following an eight-hour bus journey, and then Babson at home," said Yale's Wilson.
