• ODAC teams posted a combined 47-37 overall record with six squads (five returning) at .500 or better
• Randolph-Macon ran the table during ODAC play for the third straight season, going 7-0 in conference games on the way to a 10-2 overall mark
  • RMC has not lost more than one ODAC game since going 4-2 in 2017
  • RMC owns a 43-3 (.935) record in ODAC games over the last seven seasons (including the shortened schedule during the COVID pandemic)
• For the first time in the short history of the Chesapeake Challenge with the Landmark Conference, both the Cape Charles Bowl and Cape Henry Bowl were held on the same day in a neutral location in Salem, Va., at Salem Stadium, home to 26 Stagg Bowls
  • In the Cape Charles Bowl, Shenandoah made its first appearance in the bowl series against Moravian University; the Greyhounds posted a 35-14 victory
  • In the Cape Henry Bowl, Washington and Lee proved victorious in its second appearance in the bowl series, defeating Wilkes University, 40-21

• Randolph-Macon, which entered the bracket just outside the D3football.com Top-25 poll but finished 20th on the final chart, went 1-1 in the 2024 event that featured a new 40-team expanded bracket with one additional week of tournament play
  • RMC has gone 6-3 (.667) over the past three Division III tournaments including a 3-1 effort in 2023 that featured a run to the semifinals
• Randolph-Macon's 2024 NCAA slate included:
  • Bye through the first weekend of competition in the new bracket
  • a 38-22 come-from-behind victory at home over then 17th-ranked Washington & Jefferson College that saw the Yellow Jackets go down, 14-0, in the first quarter, but then rattle off 38 unanswered points to claim a second round victory
  • a 35-14 loss at then eighth-ranked Salisbury University in the third round
• ODAC teams are now 20-34 (.370) all-time in the Division III football playoffs

• ODAC football features two new programs to its ranks in 2025 with Gallaudet University joining the league as an associate member in football only and Roanoke College continuing its return to action with its first varsity season following a successful club campaign in 2024
• The Gallaudet Bison…
  • GU is breaking in the program's 37th head coach with Stefan LeFors taking the reins for his first season for the Washington, D.C.-based institution that is recognized as a premier university for the deaf and hard of hearing community
  • LeFors is a 2004 graduate of the University of Louisville and was a former fourth round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2005; this will be his first collegiate head coaching role
  • The Bison bring quality to the field with a strong returning class that includes D3football.com Second Team All-Region return specialist and defensive back Andrae' Green and Second Team All-ECAC defensive back Zefan Nathanson as well as well ECAC Second Teamer Kyle Albertson on the offensive line and Second Team All-ECFC return man and fullback Marcus Brown-Gabriel
• The Roanoke Maroons…
  • Competed in a club season in 2024 in prelude to the official first varsity season since 1942 this year
  • Went 4-0 last season, including wins over JV programs from Hampden-Sydney (34-27), Shenandoah (29-22), and Bridgewater (21-14)
  • That first game against H-SC came in front of more than 9,000 fans at Salem Stadium
  • Head coach Bryan Stinespring has more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience including 26 seasons on Frank Beamer's staff at Virginia Tech
  • Players to watch include receiver Khamani Garner and running back Tyson Miller as well as defensive lineman Luke Conner and defensive back Connor Pleasants

• D3football.com Top-25 Poll
  • Randolph-Macon opens the season as the lone ODAC team represented in the D3football.com Preseason Top-25 Poll
  • The Yellow Jackets are 21st in the opening survey, having received 170 total points
  • The 2024 Stagg Bowl participants – North Central (Ill.) and Mount Union – are the top-two teams in the country; North Central, which won that game, 41-25, in Houston, garnered 24-of-25 first place votes on the way to 616 points; UMU earned the remaining top nod and 594 points
• D3football.com Preseason All-Americans
  • Three ODAC players – all from Randolph-Macon – feature on the list of Preseason All-Americans published by D3football.com
    • Tight end Landon Farriss and tackle Myles Bridges garnered recognition as Third Team Preseason All-Americans on the offensive side of the ball
    • On defense, linebacker Daniel Eliasek was tabbed a Third Team Preseason All-American

Fresh faces will extend beyond just the two new teams joining the ODAC football ranks this season. A total of just 21 All-ODAC standouts from the 2024 season are back in pads this season, down from 33 all-league returners last fall.

Two special individual award winners are back in ODAC stadiums led by Shenandoah Coach of the Year, Scott Yoder, who enjoyed his first ODAC top coaching award in his 12th season at SU. Also back is Averett cornerback Joziah Campbell, who earned ODAC Rookie of the Year laurels after leading the conference with six interceptions.

• OFFENSIVE BACKFIELD, RECEIVERS, TIGHT ENDS (10)
  • Jalen Redfearn – RB, Shenandoah (1st Team)
  • Brendan Robinson – APB, Bridgewater (1st Team)
  • Landon Farris – TE, Randolph-Macon (1st Team)
  • Jaicere Bateman – QB, Bridgewater (2nd Team)
  • Manning Lasso – WR, Hampden-Sydney (2nd Team)
  • Carter Sido – QB, Hampden-Sydney (3rd Team)
  • Dante Casciola – QB, Randolph-Macon (3rd Team)
  • Terry Hicks – RB, Hampden-Sydney (3rd Team)
  • Anthony Crawford – APB, Washington and Lee (3rd Team)
  • Guy Hayes – WR, Shenandoah (3rd Team)
• OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (1)
  • Myles Bridges – Bridgewater (1st Team)
• DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (3)
  • Will Mahmud – DE, Washington and Lee (1st Team)
  • Jeffrey Acheampong – DE, Randolph-Macon (2nd Team)
  • Andrew Brown – DT, Bridgewater (3rd Team)
• LINEBACKERS (3)
  • Daniel Eliasek – Randolph-Macon (1st Team)
  • Matt Conroy – Shenandoah (1st Team)
  • Robert Clarke – Hampden-Sydney (2nd Team)
• DEFENSIVE BACKS (5)
  • Sean Perry – DB, Shenandoah (1st Team)
  • Jack Johnson – DB, Washington and Lee (1st Team)
  • Tristan Bailey – DB, Guilford (2nd Team)
  • Joziah Campbell – CB, Averett (3rd Team)
  • Quentin Mankin – S, Randolph-Macon (3rd Team)
• SPECIALISTS (0)
  • None

The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for major statistical categories from the 2024 season.

Below are the win-loss records for each coach entering the 2025 season.

• ODAC teams kickoff the 2025 slate with all nine in action during week one – September 4-6
  • Averett opens the schedule with a night game at N.C. Wesleyan on Thursday (9/4)
  • Gallaudet and Randolph-Macon both host Friday (9/5) night contests with the Bison welcoming Albright College and the Yellow Jackets squaring off with Dickinson College
  • All remaining squads play on Saturday (9/6) – Hampden-Sydney is the only team on the road as the Tigers head to Delaware Valley University for a noon kick; Shenandoah and Washington and Lee square off with Methodist University and Salisbury University for 1pm starts; Roanoke begins its first game at 2pm against Virginia University of Lynchburg; Bridgewater and Guilford feature in night games against Stevenson University and Greensboro College, the latter marking the Quakers and Pride's annual Gate City Soup Bowl
• With nine teams comprising this year's league table, ODAC contests begin in Week 3 with one team on bye each Saturday through Week 1
• The third edition of the Chesapeake Challenge in association with the Landmark Conference will be conducted the same weekend as the NCAA Tournament opening round (11/22/25)
  • The top-two non-NCAA Tournament qualifiers from both leagues will meet in the Cape Charles Bowl and Cape Henry Bowl
  • The top ODAC seed will host one outing, while the top Landmark seed will be the home team in the other