After the 2022 season, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference moved to a two-division format and the introduction of a championship game between the two winners that would decide the conference champion and which team would earn the SCIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship.

The change coincided with the loss of a team, which left the conference with six participating football programs – California Lutheran University, Chapman, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer, and Redlands. 

The other part of the change was a stipulation that the makeup of the divisions would change every third year, and that time has come.

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In 2023, Pomona-Pitzer and Chapman won their respective divisions, with Chapman taking the inaugural title tilt, 41-20. In 2024, the scene was the same, but Pomona-Pitzer got redemption with a 37-34 victory.

With the reshuffle for 2025, Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer both will play in the Surf Division, joined by La Verne. The Sun Division will include California Lutheran, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and Redlands.

By design, the schools play each team in their division twice and the teams in the other division once each.

Before things in the SCIAC get going during the first week of September, here’s a look at last year’s final conference standings and a few fun facts about each team.

2024 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Standings

Sun Division

• Pomona-Pitzer 8-3 (7-1 conference)
• Redlands 3-7 (3-5 conference)
• La Verne 0-10 (0-8 conference)

Surf Division

• Chapman 7-3 (6-2 conference)
• Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-2 (6-2 conference)
• California Lutheran 2-8 (2-6 conference)

Final Standings 

• Pomona-Pitzer
• Chapman
• Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
• Redlands
• California Lutheran
• La Verne

About The Teams Of The SCIAC

Fast facts about each team in the conference:

Pomona-Pitzer Football

Believe it or not, as well as the Pomona-Pitzer football team has been playing, the Sagehens’ conference title in 2024 was the first one they’ve won outright since the 1950s. 

They did share the last standings-based title with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in 2022, and even that hadn’t happened for Pomona-Pitzer since 1955.

The Sagehens were 7-2 in the 2024 regular season and went 6-1 in conference action to win the Sun Division and set up the championship rematch with Chapman.

The SCIAC title earned Pomona-Pitzer a spot in the Division III Playoffs, but it was short-lived, as the Sagehens were dispatched by Whitworth in the opening round, 21-13.

The Sagehens finished the 2024 season 8-3 overall, which was an improvement from 6-4 in 2023. 

Chapman Football

While the majority of Pomona-Pitzer’s success on the football field came more than 70 years ago, Chapman has been a bit of a late bloomer. 

Why is that? Because the program, originally known as California Christian, went on hiatus after the 1932 season and didn’t return until 1994.

Then, it took until the 2012 season for the Panthers to permanently rejoin the SCIAC, where success was nearly immediate. Chapman went on to claim conference titles in 2014, 2017, 2019 and then 2023, via a win in the first championship game.

Chapman will endure another transition in 2025, as longtime head coach Bob Owens has retired after 18 seasons and more than 100 wins with the team. 

On July 18, the school announced that offensive coordinator Casey Shine will serve as the interim head coach for the 2025 season. He served in his previous role for 13 years and will look to improve on the Panthers’ 7-3 performance in 2024.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Football

Last season, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was 8-2 overall, winning seven or more games for the fourth consecutive season and eight contests for the fourth time in program history – 1970, 1986, 2023, and 2024.

Despite the recent success, the SCIAC format has continued to keep the Stags from the playoffs, as their losses have come in important head-to-head matchups that end up deciding which teams advance and which teams go home.

Since 2011, Kyle Sweeney has been the head coach of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football, and he’ll be back at the helm in 2025 to guide the Stags in their new division. 

Perhaps this is the year the Panthers snag their 11th SCIAC championship. It would be their first since sharing the honor with Pomona-Pitzer in 2022 and their first outright since 1986.

Redlands Football

Jim Good was named head coach of the Redland football program in 2021 and led the team to an 8-2 record overall, a 6-0 showing in SCIAC play, the program’s record 28th conference title, and a spot in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

Unfortunately, the success did not continue, and the Bulldogs have gone 4-6, 5-5, and 3-7 in the years since. 

Good’s debut wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan situation, though, as he’d already been part of the Redlands staff for almost a decade and had helped the team to many wins and multiple conference titles. 

Perhaps the Bulldogs also can benefit from the shaking up of the SCIAC divisions in 2025.

California Lutheran Football

California Lutheran is looking to return to the glory it experienced more than a dozen years ago with four consecutive 8-2 seasons and four straight SCIAC titles from 2009-2012. 

The Kingsmen have only won more than five games one time since (six in 2021) and are coming off a 2-8 campaign under head coach Anthony Lugo, whose first year at the helm was that 2021 season.

On a positive note, Cal Lutheran ended its 2024 season with a 38-14 win over conference foe La Verne and had 11 players earn All-SCIAC recognition – two individual awards, three first-team selections and seven second-teamers.

La Verne Football

La Verne was the only winless team in the SCIAC in 2024. The Leopards were 0-10 overall and 0-8 in conference play.

The last time the program had a winning season was 2015, and that was one of just two in the last 20 years. 

During that 2015 campaign, La Verne was 7-0 in conference play and finished the year 8-2 overall, which included a first-round loss to Minnesota’s St. Thomas in the first round of the playoffs. 

The perfect SCIAC performance also earned the Leopards their sixth conference title. 

When the 2025 season kicks off, it’ll be under the leadership of new head coach Richard Sanchez, who was introduced in March after a nationwide search.

Sanchez previously was the head coach and associate director of athletics at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rose, California.

How To Stream SCIAC Football Games In 2025

Every SCIAC football game will stream live on FloCollege and the FloSports app. 

Game replays, highlights and breaking news will also be available on both platforms.

When Do The 2025 NCAA Division III College Football Playoffs Start?

The first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Playoffs will be Nov. 22.

The 2025 Division III Football Championship title game will be played Jan. 10, 2026, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

College Football Rankings 2025 – AFCA Division III Preseason Coaches Poll

2025 Preseason

1. North Central (51) 15-0
2. Mount Union 14-1
3. Johns Hopkins 12-2
4. St. John’s (Minn.) 11-1
5. Susquehanna 12-2
6. Hardin-Simmons 10-1
7. Salisbury 12-1
8. Mary Hardin-Baylor 8-4
9. Wartburg 10-2
10. UW-La Crosse 8-4
11. Cortland 11-1
12. Bethel (Minn.) 11-3
13. Springfield 12-1
14. UW-Platteville 9-2
15. Linfield 10-2
16. DePauw 11-1
17. Wheaton 9-2
18. Carnegie Mellon 10-2
19. UW-River Falls 7-3
20. Hope 11-1
21. Randolph-Macon 10-2
22. UW-Whitewater 6-4
23. Grove City 9-2
24. Aurora 9-2
25. John Carroll 9-3

Others Receiving Votes: Washington & Jefferson, 71; UW-Oshkosh, 70; Endicott, 46; Whitworth, 38; Alma, 35; Trinity (Tex.), 27; Hobart, 19; Ithaca, 18; Delaware Valley, 17; Coe, 15; UW-Stout, 13; Berry, 12; Brockport, 8; Lake Forest, 5; Chapman, 3; Mount St. Joseph, 2; UMass-Dartmouth, 2; Baldwin-Wallace, 1; Central (Iowa), 1; Rowan, 1; Washington (Mo.), 1; Wesleyan, 1; Westminster (Pa.), 1.

Highlights: Cal Lutheran Vs. Claremont M-S | 2024 SCIAC

Watch Division III college football highlights from Cal Lutheran vs. Claremont M-S in 2024.

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