The Landmark Conference debuted in 2023, and Susquehanna has been in complete control of the seven-team conference since Day 1.
The River Hawks have gone 6-0 in Landmark play each of the two seasons and were relatively untested on the way to back-to-back conference titles.
The continued success earned Susquehanna the opportunity to represent the Landmark Conference in the NCAA Division III Football Championship, and while the team’s trip to the playoffs in 2023 didn’t go so well, 2024 was a memorable experience.
In 2023, the River Hawks were one and done in the postseason, losing a first-round heartbreaker to Grove City College, 21-20.
Last season, Susquehanna received a first-round bye in the expanded (40 teams from 32) playoff bracket and took advantage of the extra rest, rolling through Hobart College (42-35) in the second round, Saint John’s University (41-38) in the third round and Bethel University (24-21) in the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately for the River Hawks, their trip to the national semifinals was spoiled by one of the hottest teams in Division III as of late, eventual national champion North Central College.
Susquehanna lost 66-0, and North Central went on to defeat Mount Union 41-25 for its third national championship since 2019.
Entering the 2025 campaign, there’s no reason to think Susquehanna won’t be out for redemption and prepared to take it out on the other six teams in the Landmark Conference.
The question is, are any of those teams even at the level of the River Hawks, who are 22-3 overall during the Landmark’s existence and were 10-1/9-0 on the way to the Centennial Conference title in 2022?
Wilkes has put up a pretty good fight over the last two seasons, winning 9 of 12 conference games, while newcomer Western Connecticut State could be a talented wild card. The other teams are Catholic, Juniata, Lycoming and Moravian.
Before things in the Landmark Conference get going during the first week of September, here’s a look at last year’s conference standings and a few fun facts about each team.
2024 Landmark Conference StandingsSusquehanna 12-2 (6-0 conference)Wilkes 7-4 (5-1 conference)Moravian 7-4 (4-2 conference)Catholic 5-5 (3-3 conference)Lycoming 4-6 (2-4 conference)Juniata 2-8 (1-5 conference)*Keystone 1-9 (0-6 conference)
*Departed Landmark conference amid ongoing accreditation issues.
2025 Landmark Conference Coaches Preseason PollSusquehannaMoravianWilkesWestern Connecticut StateLycomingCatholicJuniataAbout The Teams Of The Landmark Conference
Fast facts about each team in the conference:
Susquehanna Football
There’s not much more that could be said about Susquehanna than what’s posted above.
The River Hawks enter the 2025 season at No. 5 in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Division III Poll and as the favorite in the Landmark Conference, as voted on by the conference’s coaches.
Susquehanna is aiming for its fourth straight conference title and fourth consecutive appearance in the Division III Playoffs.
The River Hawks have won eight or more games each year since 2017 and 10 or more four times in the last five complete seasons.
They’ll again take the field under the watchful eye of head coach Tom Perkovich, who is 73-22 in his nine seasons at the helm, a .768 winning percentage.
Susquehanna finished the 2024 season 12-2 overall.
Wilkes Football
Wilkes has won nine conference games in two seasons of Landmark action, including a 5-1 effort and second-place finish behind Susquehanna in 2024.
The Colonels were recognized at the end of the year with nine players on the All-Landmark first team and five on the second team, while five more earned honorable mentions.
The team’s finish in the conference standings also earned Wilkes a second consecutive appearance in the Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series, where the Colonels fell to Washington & Lee University in the Cape Henry Bowl, 40-21.
Wilkes finished the 2024 season 6-4 overall.
Moravian Football
Moravian was 4-2 in conference play last season, finishing third behind Susquehanna and Wilkes. While there’s not normally a consolation prize for being the second runner-up, there is for teams in the Landmark Conference and Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
They get to compete in the Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series, which was introduced in 2023 and includes two teams from each conference.
With Susquehanna off to the Division III Playoffs and Wilkes in the Cape Henry Bowl, Moravian got to play against Shenandoah University in the Cape Charles Bowl, where the Greyhounds won 35-14.
Moravian finished the 2024 season 7-3 overall.
Catholic Football
Catholic finished in the middle of the 2024 Landmark Conference standings at 3-3, just like 2023, but even though the results were mediocre, the Catholic coaches were named Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year for 2024.
Why did the staff earn such praise for a second consecutive 5-5 campaign?
Because the coaches came together in the absence of head coach Mike Gutelius, who was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer prior to the season and missed time on the field for surgeries and treatment.
Sometimes, being part of a team is about more than just football, and the life lessons go well beyond the gridiron and four years of college.
In addition to the recognition for the coaches, Catholic landed seven players on the Landmark all-conference teams.
Lycoming Football
Though Lycoming tied for second place in the inaugural Landmark Conference standings, the Warriors have been slow out of the gate overall in their new surroundings.
They were 4-2 in conference play in 2023, but 5-6 overall. In 2024, they were 4-6 overall and slipped to 2-4 in Landmark contests.
Longtime head coach Mike Clark has top-tier credentials, so it’s just a matter of things finally falling into place for his team.
There’s not more to do other than keep working hard, aim for improvement, and give it their all.
Juniata Football
Juniata has also struggled in recent years and has hovered around the bottom of the Landmark standings over the past two years.
The Eagles were 1-9 in 2023 (0-6 in Landmark play) and then 2-8 (1-5) in 2024, finishing seventh and sixth, respectively in the conference standings.
The biggest change for Juniata this year will be the addition of Matt Adolph, who joined the team in February as the squad’s new defensive coordinator.
Last season, the Eagles allowed 588 yards and 51.1 points per game, while averaging 405.5 yards and just 23.9 points per contest.
Western Connecticut State Football
Western Connecticut State is the wild card in the Landmark Conference this season and will be the first new addition to the conference, which is entering its third season.
Keystone, which finished last in the Landmark in 2024 with a 0-6 record in conference games, has since moved on, making room for the Wolves.
Western Connecticut State moved from the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, where the Wolves were 7-2 overall in 2023, earning a share of the conference title and the MASCAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
Though that playoff run was short-lived, featuring a 62-20 loss to Johns Hopkins in the first round, the Wolves rebounded with a successful 2024 campaign that included a 9-2 overall record and an 8-1 mark in MASCAC play.
However, since WestConn finished behind UMass-Dartmouth in the MASCAC standings in 2024, there would be no return to the NCAA postseason. Instead, the Wolves played in the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Game, where they defeated Alfred University, 45-14.
Now, WestConn enters a new season and new conference with a new head coach, too.
Within a week of former head coach Joe Loth announcing his departure, defensive coordinator Kevin Jones became the program’s primary contact and then the interim head coach.
How To Stream Landmark Football Games In 2025
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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
North Central (51) 15-0Mount Union 14-1Johns Hopkins 12-2St. John’s (Minn.) 11-1Susquehanna 12-2Hardin-Simmons 10-1Salisbury 12-1Mary Hardin-Baylor 8-4Wartburg 10-2UW-La Crosse 8-4Cortland 11-1Bethel (Minn.) 11-3Springfield 12-1UW-Platteville 9-2Linfield 10-2DePauw 11-1Wheaton 9-2Carnegie Mellon 10-2UW-River Falls 7-3Hope 11-1Randolph-Macon 10-2UW-Whitewater 6-4Grove City 9-2Aurora 9-2John 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.
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