MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Concordia University Wisconsin has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2025-2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's basketball crown according to the annual preseason poll released Wednesday, Oct. 29.
The Falcons received 305 points and eight first-place votes from the voting pool, finishing just three markers ahead of second-place Milwaukee School of Engineering (302) and 10 clear of third-place St. Norbert College (295). Three-time defending regular-season champion Wisconsin Lutheran College, which was heavily impacted by graduation, rounds out a clear-cut top four with 277 points. The quartet at the top also accounted for all of the 26 first-place votes. In addition to CUW's eight, MSOE received 10 and St. Norbert and Wisconsin Lutheran received four apiece.
Aurora University sits fifth with 204 points, followed by Benedictine University (178) and Marian University (167), while Rockford University (159) sits eighth in the final presumptive NACC Tournament qualifying spot by just five points over Concordia University Chicago (154). Lakeland University (132), Edgewood University (86), Dominican University (61), and Illinois Institute of Technology (46) round out this year's poll, which consists of votes from the conference's 13 head coaches as well as an athletics communications representative from each campus.
2024-25 Recap
Wisconsin Lutheran (27-4, 16-2 NACC) edged St. Norbert (23-7, 15-3 NACC) by one game to win its fifth NACC title in six years. It was the Green Knights who emerged victorious in the NACC Tournament championship game, however, defeating the Warriors by a 70-52 score.
Both programs were selected for the field of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. St. Norbert defeated Carthage, 92-89, in its opener before falling to UW-La Crosse, 77-67. Wisconsin Lutheran defeated Calvin (73-61) and UW-Platteville (75-73 OT) to advance to the second week of championship play before bowing out with a 59-56 loss to Washington University in St. Louis.
Preseason Polls
MSOE (12), Concordia Wisconsin (6), and Wisconsin Lutheran (3) are all receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll. Trinity (Conn.) holds the top spot with 623 points on the strength of 23 first-place votes, while Nutmeg State neighbor St. Joseph (Conn.) is 25th with 69 points.
2025-26 Schedule
Six NACC programs will open their seasons on Friday, Nov. 7, the first allowable game date. Benedictine faces Simpson at the Illinois College Tournament, St. Norbert travels to UW-Eau Claire, Lakeland hosts Lawrence, and Dominican entertains Eureka, while Aurora and Rockford compete in a four-team weekend classic at Aurora with the Regents playing Bethany Lutheran and the Spartans hosting Gustavus Adolphus.
Five more programs begin their seasons the following day (Saturday, Nov. 8) with Wisconsin Lutheran entertaining Lawrence, MSOE hosting UW-Stevens Point, Marian traveling to UW-Superior, Concordia Chicago welcoming Greenville, and Concordia Wisconsin hosting Wheaton (Ill.). The final two programs - Edgewood and Illinois Tech - wait until Wednesday, Nov. 12 to get their seasons underway. Edgewood travels to the University of Dubuque, while Illinois Tech hosts Trine.
The NACC schedule begins a pair of pre-Thanksgiving contests - Benedictine hosts Aurora on Saturday, Nov. 15, and St. Norbert welcomes Lakeland on Monday, Nov. 24. The league schedule begins in earnest on Wednesday, Dec. 3 with six games - Concordia Wisconsin at Marian, Wisconsin Lutheran at Aurora, Dominican at MSOE, Edgewood at Concordia Chicago, St. Norbert at Rockford, and Illinois Tech at Lakeland, while Benedictine has the bye and steps out of league play for a road contest at UW-Oshkosh. Each program will play 18 NACC contests before the regular season schedule concludes on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
NACC Tournament
The top eight teams in the final NACC regular-season standings will qualify for the 2026 NACC Men's Basketball Tournament. The tournament gets underway Tuesday, Feb. 24 with four quarterfinal games, then continues with a pair of semifinals Thursday, Feb. 26, before concluding with the tournament final on Saturday, Feb. 28. All games will be hosted by the higher seed in each contest. The tournament champion will receive the NACC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
| Men's Basketball |
Points |
| Concordia University Wisconsin (8) |
305 |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering (10) |
302 |
| St. Norbert College (4) |
295 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran College (4) |
277 |
| Aurora University |
204 |
| Benedictine University |
178 |
| Marian University |
167 |
| Rockford University |
159 |
| Concordia University Chicago |
154 |
| Lakeland University |
132 |
| Edgewood University |
86 |
| Dominican University |
61 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology |
46 |