Welcome back, sports fans, to episode 653 of the GCR as we move to the 20th most-challenged Division I (D1) conference, using our preseason strength of schedule (PS-SOS) metric. So far, we’ve reviewed the Pioneer League (25th at an average PS-SOS of 3.341), the SWAC (24th at 3.396), the MEAC (23th at 3.563), the Southland Conference (22nd at 3.626), and the Big South/Ohio Valley Conference (21st at 3.672). These PS-SOS values are based on GCR’s 2025 final Score (a combination of performance and strength of schedule metrics) but applied to each team’s 2026 schedule. We have no preseason rankings as we begin the season with each team tied for first (or last, depending on your perspective), so we have to use last year’s data for this countdown. Note: in previous year’s the PS-SOS was based solely on opponent’s previous year’s victories, which created inconsistencies based on opponent’s games played (more games, more chances to win). The Score is more “accurate”, although it assumes consistent play from every team year over year.
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But, just like everything we post at GCR headquarters (okay, G’s couch) is just for entertainment purposes, the preseason conference rankings are just that – directionally correct enough to tell us a few things but not presented as perfect in any way.
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Today, we turn our attention to the 20th most-challenged conference which is also the largest FCS conference with a whopping 13 members, the Coastal Athletic Association or CAA. A couple of years ago, the CAA changed their name from Colonial to Coastal and has changed members a good bit. Currently, they have teams from North Carolina to Maine – all represented states have ocean coasts. They members have a mean PS-SOS of 3.808 including Towson’s FCS Top 3 metric of 4.72 – the two teams rated higher both have PS-SOS metrics above 5.000. While the PS-SOS does not use wins, per se, as an input, we can consider the metric as the average number of opponent wins for each team, assuming an FBS schedule at neutral sites. The most-challenged teams float around 10.000 while the least-challenged hang around 3.000. In the table below, (4) indicates a Core 4 (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, Notre Dame) challenge, (G) indicates a Group of 6 (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, Sun Belt, UCONN) opponent, (F) indicates a non-conference FCS foe, (D) indicates a non-D1 team, and (N) indicates a neutral site game. Without further ado, we are proud to present the 2026 version of the CAA.
| Team (Conf Rank) | Home Field | 2025 Record (Rank) | 2026 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games | Hardest | Easiest |
| Towson Tigers (1) | Towson, MD | 6-6 (200) | 4.72 (142) | Maine, Morgan St (F), Stony Brook, Hampton, Elon | Navy (G), South Carolina (4), Delaware St (F), Monmouth, Campbell, Sacred Heart, Rhode Island | at Navy (10.42) | Hampton (1.94) |
| Maine Black Bears (2) | Orono, ME | 6-6 (195) | 4.07 (177) | Merrimack (F), Sacred Heart, Bryant, Campbell, New Hampshire | Towson, App St (G), Boston College (4), Elon, Rhode Island, Albany | at App St (7.24) | Campbell (1.96) |
| Bryant Bulldogs (3) | Smithfield, RI | 3-9 (245) | 4.03 (179) | Princeton (F), NC A&T, Stony Brook, Albany, Rhode Island | Stonehill (F), Army (G), Hampton, Brown (F), Maine, Monmouth, Sacred Heart | at Army (9.02) | NC A&T (1.45) |
| New Hampshire Wildcats (4) | Durham, NH | 8-5 (163) | 4.03 (180) | Stonehill (F), Harvard (F), Elon, Monmouth, Rhode Island, Stony Brook | Albany, Syracuse (4), Sacred Heart, NC A&T, Merrimack (F), Maine | at Syracuse (7.20) | Elon (1.82) |
| Campbell Camels (5) | Bules Creek, NC | 2-10 (250) | 3.96 (185) | W Carolina (F), NC A&T, Towson, Stony Brook, Monmouth | E Tenn St (F), Florida (4), Hampton, NC Central (F), Maine, Albany, Elon | at Florida (8.98) | NC A&T (1.45) |
| Albany Great Danes (6) | Albany, NY | 2-10 (252) | 3.94 (190) | New Hampshire, Monmouth, Delaware St (F), Campbell, Maine | Buffalo (G), Long Island (F), Princeton (F), Stony Brook, Rhode Island, Bryant, NC A&T | at Buffalo (7.08) | at NC A&T (1.67) |
| Monmouth Hawks (7) | West Long Beach, NJ | 9-3 (139) | 3.81 (206) | Sacred Heart, Towson, Bryant, NC A&T, Merrimack (F) | TN Tech (F), W Michigan (G), Albany, Dartmouth (F), New Hampshire, Hampton, Campbell | at W Michigan (9.93) | NC A&T (1.45) |
| Rhode Island Rams (8) | Kingston, RI | 11-3 (144) | 3.79 (209) | Elon, Brown (F), Albany, Maine, Towson | Merrimack (F), Temple (G), Stony Brook, NC A&T, Yale (F), New Hampshire, Bryant | at Temple (7.36) | Brown (1.82) |
| Sacred Heart Pioneers (9) | Fairfield, CT | 8-4 (171) | 3.56 (230) | New Hampshire, Stonehill (F), Hampton, Towson, Bryant | Monmouth, UMASS (G), Elon, Maine, Stony Brook, Merrimack (F) | at Monmouth (5.54) | Hampton (1.94) |
| Stony Brook Seawolves (10) | Stony Brook, NY | 6-6 (182) | 3.50 (234) | Lindenwood (F), Rhode Island, Albany, Sacred Heart, Hampton | Delaware St (F), Ball St (G), Fordham (F), Towson, Bryant, Campbell, New Hampshire | at Ball St (6.27) | Hampton (1.94) |
| Elon Phoenix (11) | Elon, NC | 6-6 (190) | 3.46 (237) | Glenville St (D), Sacred Heart, Maine, Wofford (F), Hampton, Campbell | Davidson (F), Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Stanford (4), NC A&T, Towson | at Stanford (8.34) | Glenvill St (0.08) |
| Hampton Pirates (12) | Hampton, VA | 2-10 (251) | 3.38 (243) | Lynchburg (D), Bryant, Campbell, Monmouth, NC A&T | Maryland (4), Norfolk St (F), Howard (NF), Sacred Heart, Towson, Elon, Stony Brook | at Maryland (8.08) | Lynchburg (0.07) |
| NC A&T Aggies (13) | Greensboro, NC | 2-10 (260) | 3.26 (255) | Morgan St (F), Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Chicago St, Elon, Albany | Georgia St (G), NC Central (F), Campbell, Bryant, Monmouth, Hampton | at Monmouth (5.54) | Chicago St (0.00) |
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That’s it for today. Tune in Sunday for the 19th most challenged conference as we continue our countdown to kickoff! Thank you for reading (it is why we do this), commenting and suggesting (it’s how we improve our product, and for sharing with others (it’s how we grow). Have a great weekend and we will see you soon, JoJo and G.
