HADLEY, Mass. – The 2026 season marks the first time in conference history NESCAC Football teams may participate in the NCAA Football Championship.
 
After the final weekend of the regular season, Amherst, Trinity, and Wesleyan finished with identical 8-1 records in the NESCAC standings and are NESCAC Tri-Champions.
 
To determine which team received the NESCAC’s first-ever automatic qualifier, the teams were compared using adopted tie-breaking procedures. Since all three teams posted identical 8-1 records, the teams were compared head-to-head, with the teams finishing 1-1 against each other. After exhausting the remaining tie-breaking procedures, the teams remained tied and a random action was needed to determine the automatic qualifier. As a result of the random action, Trinity will be the automatic qualifying team from the NESCAC.
 
Other NESCAC teams are eligible to receive at-large berths to the NCAA Championship.
 
The NCAA Football Championship selection show is set for Sunday, November 15 at 5 p.m. via NCAA.com.