DII Men's College Season Ramps Up This Weekend

Almost 30 Men's DII college games and while we know that several teams are struggling to bring their numbers back to pre-COVID levels, we are also seeing some games that mean a lot to how the conferences might pan out.

The Southern Conference kicks off and perhaps the most intriguing game is tonight, with always-a-contender UNC Charlotte visiting a new contender in Belmont Abbey. Starting their new varsity program with a round-robin of shortened games two weeks ago, the Knights did well, losing a close one to Furman, tying South Carolina, and beating the Citadel.

This past week Belmont Abbey beat the Gastonia men's club 47-19 with Niah Parkinson scoring three tries and adding seven points with the boot.

Also on the slate for Southern is Friday's East Carolina at UNC Chapel Hill, another game that might expose a contender.

The SCRC has Mississippi State at Memphis with Memphis in good position to stake a claim early. We're interested to see where Mississippi State is here.

The Gateway teams look to be struggling for numbers, at least some are, but UMS&T at Central Missouri could be a playoff preview. Similarly, we're not sure where some of the Great Lakes teams are, but we still think that Central Michigan at GVSU is a big game.

Xavier at Thomas More in the MCRC is a clash of two of the best, but at the other end of the spectrum there are reports that Ball State is going to struggle to field a team.

The Tri-State kicks off with a really interesting Sunday clash between Marist and RPI. Marist returns more than 20 experienced players, plus a good group of first-years with some rugby time under their belts, and they've got some new talent at flyhalf to put it all together. RPI usually is in the thick of the Tri-State conversation, so this game has all the hallmarks of a chance to put down a marker early.

Check back for scores.