MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- St. Norbert College 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, Nov. 4.
The Green Knights received 323 points and 15 first-place votes from the voting pool, finishing just eight markers ahead of second-place Aurora University (315 points; 9 first-place votes). Benedictine University was picked third with 252 points, just ahead of Concordia University Wisconsin (242) and Milwaukee School of Engineering (233; 2 FPV), while Marian University edged Wisconsin Lutheran College, 194-185, for sixth place.
There is expected to be a tight battle for the eighth and final spot in the NACC tournament as Concordia University Chicago sits eighth with 143 points, just two points ahead of ninth-place Rockford University (141), and three ahead of 10th-place Lakeland University (140). Illinois Institute of Technology (80), Edgewood University (69), and Dominican University (49) 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.
2025-26 Recap
MSOE (19-8, 16-2 NACC) and St. Norbert (20-7, 16-2 NACC) shared the NACC title, but neither program was able to advance to the NACC Tournament championship game after suffering losses in the semifinals. Instead, it was third-seeded Aurora (23-6, 15-3 NACC) edging fifth-seeded Marian (17-11, 11-7 NACC), 67-66, to win its seventh tournament crown and first since 2019.
The Spartans earned the NACC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship, falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 84-60, in a first-round game at La Crosse, Wisconsin.
MSOE senior guard Mason Dopirak was named NACC Player of the Year after engaging in a spirited scoring battle with CUW senior forward Logan Landers. Dopirak ended his career second on the NACC's all-time scoring list, just 24 points behind Lakeland's Jake Schwarz. He and Landers also broke the NACC single-season scoring mark, with Dopirak finishing with 678 points compared to Landers' 655. Aurora junior center Devon Richardson was named the NACC Defensive Player of the Year, while Marian guard Marvin Haslett was named the top freshman.
New Coaches
There are two new coaches in the NACC this season, but both have plenty of experience on sidelines throughout the league.
Aaron Jacobs is the new coach at Rockford. Most recently, he was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at North Park. He also spent time as an assistant at Wabash from 2022-24, and started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Wisconsin Lutheran during the 2021-22 season.
Tyler Jones, who is the new head coach at Marian, is a case of a familiar face in a new place. He was an assistant coach for the Sabres the last three seasons, and has spent most of the last two decades patrolling NACC sidelines. From 2008-2015, he was head men's coach at Concordia Chicago. Jones was also an assistant at Aurora (2018-2023) before joining the Marian staff.
2026-27 Schedule
Three NACC programs will open their seasons on Friday, Nov. 6, the first allowable game date. Lakeland hosts Beloit, while Marian travels to Saint Mary's (Minn.), and Aurora entertains Adrian as part of the Mickey Johnson Tip-Off Classic.
Four other programs begin their season the following day (Saturday, Nov. 7) with Dominican hosting Principia, St. Norbert making the short jaunt to Lawrence, and MSOE traveling to Wheaton (Ill.). Concordia Chicago faces Bethel (Minn.) Saturday and host Loras Sunday as part of the Loras Tip-Off Classic. The remaining six programs will start their seasons over the following week. Wisconsin Lutheran is at Lawrence on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Edgewood hosts Dubuque and Illinois Tech travels to Wheaton (Ill.) on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Concordia Wisconsin tangles with North Park on Friday, Nov. 13, and Rockford travels to Knox and Benedictine challenges No. 12 Trinity (Texas) on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The NACC schedule begins with a trio of pre-Thanksgiving contests - Aurora hosts Concordia Chicago on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Cougars then host Dominican on Tuesday, Nov. 24, while Lakeland entertains St. Norbert that same evening. The league schedule begins in earnest on Wednesday, Dec. 2 with six games - Marian at Concordia Wisconsin, Rockford at St. Norbert, Lakeland at Illinois Tech, MSOE at Dominican, Concordia Chicago at Edgewood, and Aurora at Wisconsin Lutheran, while Benedictine drew the opening bye. Each program will play 18 NACC contests before the regular season schedule concludes on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2027.
NACC Tournament
The top eight teams in the final NACC regular-season standings will qualify for the 2027 NACC Men's Basketball Tournament. The tournament gets underway Wednesday, Feb. 24 with four quarterfinal games, then continues with a pair of semifinals Friday, Feb. 26, before concluding with the tournament final on Sunday, 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 2027 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
| Men's Basketball |
Points |
| St. Norbert College (15) |
323 |
| Aurora University (9) |
315 |
| Benedictine University |
252 |
| Concordia University Wisconsin |
242 |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering (2) |
233 |
| Marian University |
194 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran College |
185 |
| Concordia University Chicago |
143 |
| Rockford University |
141 |
| Lakeland University |
140 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology |
80 |
| Edgewood University |
69 |
| Dominican University |
49 |