INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 27) – The California (PA) football program was listed among the 10 teams from Super Region One in consideration for NCAA post-season play, announced on Monday evening.
The initial set of regional rankings is listed in alphabetical order with no numerical order assigned. The NCAA Division II Football Committee will begin ranking the teams numerically with the second set of regional rankings, which will be released next week.
The NCAA Playoff field will expand from 28 to 32 teams in 2025, with each region advancing eight teams to post-season play. The top seed in each region will no longer receive a first-round bye. Additionally, each conference champion will now earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Playoffs, meaning Super Region One will include four automatic qualifiers and four at-large selections.
Super Region One consists of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), Mountain East Conference (MEC), Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Conference and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The PSAC and CIAA both hold championship games, while the MEC and NE-10 will award their automatic berths to their regular-season champions.
The PSAC occupies four of the 10 teams in the initial rankings, as the Vulcans are joined by IUP, Kutztown and Slippery Rock. Cal is tied for the toughest strength of schedule in the region at .575 and sits ninth in the region in the performance indicator. The Vulcans have already faced three teams included in the first set of rankings, highlighted by victories over Charleston (WV) and Slippery Rock, and will face another team under consideration this weekend.
Elsewhere in the region, a key matchup between teams under consideration will feature Johnson C. Smith traveling to Fayetteville State, which enters the weekend tied for first place in the CIAA standings with an undefeated conference record.
Cal will host MEC-leading Frostburg State in a pivotal contest with post-season implications on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Bobcats, which transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2019, currently hold a two-game lead in the MEC standings.
