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Helmet Bowl II Conference Championships

November 13, 2018 By Jeff Zogg

Man O Man.

If you havn't scrolled through the Conference Championship match-ups yet, there are a ton of great helmets vying for your vote.

More than 100,000 votes have been cast, and yet we have not one Conference Championship to hoist upon our collective victorious shoulders.

That all changes this week as the one-on-one, helmet-to-helmet bracket matchups come down to the final two helmets in each conference.

Monday at 3 p.m. CST every Conference will crown a Champion and you can be the deciding vote! Vote daily in your favorite conferences, or really push yourself and click that NEXT button and vote in all of them.

National Championship Qualifying

To qualify for the National Championship, helmets must win their Conference. Then, the top 64 helmets which have received the most votes throughout the Conference bracket qualify for the Helmet Bowl II National Championships.

The four regional brackets will be announced Wednesday, November 21 for you to submit your bracket predictions.

National Championship voting begins on Monday November 26 at 3 p.m. CMT.

Key Match-ups

Amazing helmets. The Conference USA will crown a new Champion soon and the choice is anything but clear. Florida International volleyed several helmets to us before settling on this winner, but it may not be enough against the fire-breathing dragon of the Alabama Blazers. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/conference-usa-hb2/

The Mountain West features the angry white stencil horse head with the orange eye of Boise State vs the green island map on black Hawaii helmet. Broncos or Rainbow Warriors? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/mountain-west-conference-hb2/

We pointed these Presidents Athletic helmets out last week: Carnegie Mellon sports a terrier on its helmet to represent the Tartans while Waynesburg has a bare-knuckled fighting Yellow Jacket. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/presidents-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Mid-South will have a new Champion as the Ramblin' Rams of Bluefield College face the Kentucky Christian Knights. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/mid-south-conference-hb2-1/

The newly minted Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats, who began their first football season this year, face the St. Francis Fighting Saints in the Mid-States. Two really nice helmets! VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/mid-states-football-association-hb2/

The charging ursine of the Maine Black Bears hold a lead over the chrome red Spider of Richmond in early voting in the Colonial. Will they get bit by Monday afternoon? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/colonial-athletic-association-hb2/

In the Central Intercollegiate Athletic, two winning helmets face each other. Either the Shaw Bears or the Saint Augustine Falcons, if they garner enough votes to qualify, could make a deep run in the National Championship. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/central-intercollegiate-athletic-association-hb2/

The self-destructive Dragon of Minnesota State (Morehead) faces off against the Upper Iowa Peacocks for the rights to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Championship. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/northern-sun-intercollegiate-conference-hb2/

Conference Champions Defending

This matchup for the American Athletic Conference may produce a National Championship helmet this year. The defending Navy Midshipmen bring us the traditional Annapolis lid with the anchor/rope combination on a white field over a diagonal golden and blue base. Challenging is the elegant grey helmet of Tulsa with the Hurricane flags blowing in the wind. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/american-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripts upgraded its Southern California Intercollegiate winning helmet, but the Redlands Bulldogs make a run for the championship. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/southern-california-intercollegiate-athletic-conference-hb2/

In the Patriot League, once again the Colgate Raiders vie for the Championship. This time, the simple red L of Lafayette Leopards on a white helmet challenge. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/patriot-league-hb2/

The Southern Athletic is being defended by the Trinity Tigers while the Rhodes Lynx challenge. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/southern-athletic-association-hb2/

The Culver-Stockton Wildcats of the Heart of America Athletic Conference defend their title with a bright blue helmet carrying a snarling white, black, and blue cat. Opposing them is the new shiny gray helmet of Grand Valley with the initials GV in a chrome-like red. No mention of Vikings here. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/heart-of-america-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils look to repeat in the Southwestern Athletic against the Southern & A & M Jaguars. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/southwestern-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Braves of Ottawa defend the Kansas Collegiate Athletic with a black helmet holding yellow OU initials inside yellow arrowhead design. Vying for the championship is the Sterling Warriors white helmet with a metal-helmeted soldier of old brandishing a sword in black and red. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/kansas-collegiate-athletic-conference-hb2/

Kansas State ekked out a win last week to defend their Big 12 Championship against the Iowa State Cyclones. Two classic helmets. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/big-12-conference-hb2/

The Oregon Ducks may have begun the alternative helmet craze, yet they defend the PAC 12 with the standard green helmet with the yellow O. Challenging them is the orange buck-toothed beaver (are there any other kind, you may ask) of Oregon State. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/pac-12-conference-hb2/

Arkansas may struggle in the SEC on the field, but their chrome Razorback on a red chrome helmet defends the Conference Championship against the distressed black and grey helmet with the enlarged gold-chrome anchor of the Vanderbilt Commodores. WOW. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/southeastern-conference-hb2/

The Georgia State Panthers defend the highest honor in the Sun Belt against a new helmet from the Texas State – San Marcos Bobcats. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/sun-belt-conference-hb2/

Sacramento State submitted their bright green helmet with the angry diving white Hornet and it's turning out to be formidable. Is it enough, through, to unseat Big Sky Champion Idaho State with its stacked orange IS on a bright white helmet? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/big-sky-hb2/

The Endicott Gulls are challenged in the Commonwealth Coast by the Western New England Golden Bears. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/commonwealth-coast-conference-hb2/

Kennesaw State and Gardner-Webb finished 1 – 2 last year. Both return the same helmet and now face off. The Owls won last year and used the momentum to run all the way to the National Semi-finals. Will the Runnin' Bulldogs unseat them? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/big-south-hb2/

28 Conference Champions Defend their titles

McKendree Bears bring their Championship purple helmet to defend the Great Lakes Valley against the Missouri S & T Miners talus-colored helmet with the stricking pick (or is it a pollack?). VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/great-lakes-valley-conference-hb2/

The Northwest Missouri Bearcats, who won the Mid-America Intercollegiate last year in stunning fashion, defend against the Nrotheastern State River Hawks. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/mid-america-intercollegiate-athletics-association-hb2/

The Howard Bison present a gorgeous 125th Anniversary helmet to defend the Mid-Eastern Athletic, but the newly minted orange helmet with the striking viper of the Florida A&M Rattlers present a formidable challenge. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/mid-eastern-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Sycamores (that's a tree) of Indiana State defend the Missouri Valley championship against the red chrome paw print of the South Dakota Coyotes. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/missouri-valley-football-conference-hb2/

The Valdosta State Blazers have quietly defended the Gulf South – up until now. The Shorter Hawks challenge. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/gulf-south-conference-hb2/

The North Coast Athletic Conference was won by the Oberlin Yoemen last year and this year they have a chance to repeat if the Wooster Fighting Scots cannot stop them! VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/north-coast-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Buffalo State Bengals defend their Championship of the Empire 8 against the swords of the Alfred Saxons. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/empire-8-athletic-conference-hb2/

The New Jersey Lions bring a dark blue helmet wiht a roaring and wind-blown yellow Lion head to defend the New Jersey Athletic against Southern Virginia with their simple, but pleasing Knight helmet silhouette in red. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/new-jersey-athletic-conference-hb2/

In the Northeast Conference, the Colonials of Robert Morris, with a busy grey helmet, challenge champion Wagner with a Seahawk head on a green helmet. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/northeast-conference-hb2/

Johns Hopkins has its hands full in the Centennial due to the beautiful helmet of the Dickinson Red Devils. Can the Blue Jays hold? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/centennial-conference-hb2/

When you win, there may not be a need to change anything. Is that the tact of the defending Eastern Collegiate and National Helmet Bowl Champion Gallaudet Bison? Do the Pioneers of Alfred State College stand a chance? VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/eastern-collegiate-football-conference-hb2/

The Linfeild College Wildcats defend its Championship in the Northwest while the Willamette Bearcats try to take it away. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/northwest-conference-hb2/

Finlandia defends the defends their crown in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athetlic with a bright blue and white Lion on a white helmet. Challenging is the tartan-colored A on a fading maroon and white helmet for the Alma Scots. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/empire-8-athletic-conference-hb2/

The Fort Lewis Skyhawks defend the Rocky Mountain Athletic with their gold dome and black hawk head. Going after them is the dark red helmet of Colorado Mesa with the relaxed steer head for the Mavericks. VOTE: https://helmettracker.com/helmet-bowl-ii-2018/rocky-mountain-athletic-conference-hb2/

Helmet Bowl II Conference Championship Quarterfinals

November 6, 2018 By Jeff Zogg

In each of about 80 Conferences, there are now 4 helmets left to battle for the final contest to determine the Helmet Bowl Conference Champions.

Remember, the 64 Conference Champions with the most votes through Conference play qualify for the Helmet Bowl II National Championship.

Champions Defeated

22 Conference Champions from Helmet Bowl I – including two National Quarter Finalists from last year – bowed out this past week. Their Conference Championship in the inaugural Helmet Bowl will never be taken away, but they will not repeat nor reign as undefeated Champions.

In the Great Plains Athletic Conference, the Concordia (NE) Bulldogs fell to the Doane Tigers. Though there are four helmets competing now for the Championship Crown, only two (in our view) should have a shot.

The Georgetown College Tigers make way for the Bluefield College Ramblin' Rams in the Mid-South.

Ohio State, sporting the same helmet that won the Big Ten last year, falls to an attractive, yet representative helmet by the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles, under the direction of Assistant Equipment Manager Harley Warren, present the most helmet variations through the Helmet Bowl life. This week, Harley sent an American flag inspired Golden Eagle head on a dark helmet. Then, Florida International forced us to rewrite the rules, allowing as many helmet variations as the Equipment team wanted, and sent us a Monster energy inspired claw-marked black helmet with the Panther eyes peaking out of the claw marks. Astonishingly, Southern Miss relinquishes the Conference USA crown.

The Buffalo Bulls (it is nearly impossible to type the word “Bulls” after typing Buffalo without going back and changing it from “Bills”) defeat Helmet Bowl I National quarter finalist Central Michigan Chippewas with an attractive shiny angry bull head on a matte blue helmet. They advance in the MAC.

This is crazy. The candy-apple red helmet of San Diego State, embossed with the Aztec calendar in black, goes down in defeat to Boise State in the Mountain West. It's not that the Broncos' angry horse head with the red (orange?) piercing eye isn't attractive – it is a great helmet – it's that the Aztecs made a strong challenge for the Helmet Bowl I National Championship, losing in a stunner on the last day to Gallaudet. Wow.

The Phoenix of Elon sport a red dragon in the shape (sort of) of an E. Their Colonial Athletic defense ends at the hands of the Dukes of James Madison who present a gold chrome JMU on the side and gold and purple strip down the middle of a white helmet.

The Butler Bulldogs fall to a nice red helmet with a uniquely treated block D in white and black for the Davidson Wildcats in the Pioneer League.

The Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks, who oddly enough don't announce their lumberjackness on their helmet, fall to a roaring purple bear head on a Central Arkansas Bears white helmet in the strong Southland Conference.

Though the prowling Bowie State Bulldog on the black helmet won the Central Intercollegiate a year ago, the yellow-clawed red helmet of the Shaw Bears handily won this week. Will anyone challenge them (We're talking to you Saint Augustine Falcons) for the Championship?

The stylized dark W of the Wayne State Warriors gold helmet with the green fade from the bottom up, lost (somehow) to the dark Grand Valley State Lakers helmet with the simple GV on the side in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate.

The sword-crossed Battlers of Alderson-Broaddus in the Great Midwest Athletic lost to the orange derrick splitting the U and F on the Findlay Oilers lid. BTW, the GMAC has a nice collection of unique helmets.

The green helmet of the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds with the grey capital E lost to the purple capital T over the state of Texas worn by the Tarleton State Texans in the Lone Star.

The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs wont he Northern Sun last year, but were eliminated this year in Round 2 by the angry Viking apparently in a windstorm on the helmet of Augustana!

The capital L and R in white on the red helmet of the Lenoir-Ryne Bears was defeated by the flying fleur-de-lis on a pleasing blue of the Limestone Saints (hailing from Gaffney, S.C.) in the South Atlantic.

The orange lid of the Louisiana College Wildcats was upended in the American Southwest by the honeycomb-striped black Howard Payne helmet with a Yellow Jacket and HPU on the cutout of Texas.

Illinois Wesleyan were dethroned by the Carroll Pioneers. The Titans ruled the Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a green helmet and large grey W. The Pioneers continue their campaign with the Chicago Bears-inspired C on an orange lid.

In the Northern Athletics, the Eureka Red Devils defeat the Concordia Chicago Cougars.

How do you represent the Blue Streaks of John Carroll in the Ohio Athletic? Their choice is a gold helmet and it lost to the wind-blown armored head of the Heidelberg Student Princes.

The Bethany Bison sport a green helmet with a white decal of a charging (?) bison. They lost the Presidents Athletic crown by dropping their Round 2 match-up with the Carnegie Mellon Tartans who put a black silhouette of a Scottie named Maggie in a shield on a white helmet.

The Greensboro College The Pride fell to the Huntingdon College Hawks in the USA South Athletic. The Hawks sport a triangled black hawk superimposed on a white H on a red helmet.

Finally, the defending Independent Conference Champion Army Black Knights drop to the Liberty Flames. Whoa.

Sorry to See You Go

These helmets made an impression and we are sorry to see them eliminated from Helmet Bowl II.

The simple gold diagonal stripe that sets the white top of Eastern Oregon's helmet apart from the dark blue lower portion give the Mountaineers' helmets style. They also use the uniform number on the left side of the helmet – a tribute to each player and to the equipment team at the same time. This helmet was defeated in Round 2 by the Southern Oregon Raiders, sporting an artistic charging bird of prey in black and red against a white helmet.

While we have an affinity for Pitt's yellow helmet with the script Pitt for its longevity and representative simplicity, we are sorry to see the Hokies removed from the contest. Yes, another diagonally-styled helmet caught our attention. Better luck next year, Virginia Tech.

Kansas and Texas Christian came down to the wire tied. Both helmets present uniqueness, and in similar fashion. Both represent their school mascot with cartoon-ish drawings – a Horned Frog and Jayhawk. Sorry to see the Horned Frogs go. Either way, we see K-State having a challenger in the Big 12.

Hard to believe. The Iowa Hawkeyes black helmet with the familiar yellow Hawkeye head defeated one of the most attractive helmets in the contest: the Maryland flag draped helmet of the Terrapins. When the Maryland campus wakes up to Helmet Bowl, this helmet will be difficult to defeat in the future.

We hate to see either helmet in defeat this week in the Central Intercollegiate. Saint Augustine presents an attractive silver chrome feather bonnet for the win against the muscled Bull (Golden?) of Johnson C Smith.

Sorry to see the Catawba Indians helmet no longer in this competition, though the silver howling wolf sillouette in the red capital N on the white Newberry Wolves helmet is a contender now for the South Atlantic.

Week 2 Helmet Bowl II Conference Championships

October 29, 2018 By Jeff Zogg

Week 2 is underway and there are already upsets in the making. Watch closely, vote daily.

Number of Votes

22,022 votes cast in Round 1 of Helmet Bowl II Conference Championships.

Champions will Fall

Many defending Conference Champions skated through with a bye in Week 1. Others, in smaller conferences, will skate in Week 2.

No Conference Champions were eliminated this week.

Watch out though, Champions will fall. Here are some HB1 Conference Champions facing tough opponents this week:

The Georgetown Tigers face a fairly cool blue helmet with a white, blue, and red mean looking Ram helmet from Bluefield College in the Mid-South.

The classic K-State helmet showing the Wildcat design is threatened by the classic Longhorn of Texas.

Southern Miss loves to mix it up and won the Conference USA last year. They put forth this fantastic red, white, and blue eagle head this week against a strong Florida International champagne chrome FIU with a Golden Panther on a stark white helmet – a striking look.

San Diego State, last year's National runnerup, showcases a wonderfully artistic red helmet with Aztec calendar embossed upon it, but early voting shows the red-eyed, large white-stenciled Bronco of Boise State leading voting in the Mountain West.

The shiny dark purple lid of Northern Iowa showing a charging golden panther is out-showing the Indiana State Sycamore helmet – last year's Missouri Valley champ.

The Bowie State Bulldogs, Champions of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic, face a strong Shaw helmet showcasing a violent yellow bearpaw slash on a red helmet.

What match-ups are you watching closely?

Conferences Beginning this week:

Frontier, NorthStar, Big South, Northeast, PatriotLeague

Great Lakes Valley, GreatNorthwest Athletic, SouthAtlantic, Empire8, LibertyLeague

Michigan Intercollegiate, MiddleAtlantic, NewEngland Women’s and Men’s Athletic, NorthernAthletics Collegiate

Ivy League, CommonwealthCoast,

Northwest, OldDominion Athletic, SouthernCalifornia Intercollegiate, USA South,WisconsinIntercollegiat

Sorry to see you go:

In the Mid South, the Edward Waters College Tigers orange lid with the 1970s-look underlined scripted Tigers in blue looks to eliminate the dark-grey (silver?) helmet with the white and light grey geometric eagle of Cincinnati Christian.

The Marion Knights of the Mid States Football Association sport the school shield. We just don’t see that much anymore, but we like it. Sorry to see them go at the hand of the Saint Francis Fighting Saints – who put forth a unique sketch of a dog (St. Bernard?) carrying a small barrel (whisky keg?) on its collar.

If you pay attention to these musings, you’ll know that we are partial to the diagonally-styled helmets so we are somewhat troubled that the Hokies red and white lid will be seen no more thanks to the white on blue big D of Duke.

The Miami Hawks of the Mid-American Conference submitted a striking white helmet with a very stern bird of prey sporting a chrome silver beak. However, the artistic gold running horse head of the Western Michigan Broncos demolished in Week 1.

In the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, the Elmhurst College Bluejays were eliminated by the North Lake Vikings. It’s not really that the Bluejays had a fantastic helmet, but it is unique and we are ALWAYS partial to unique. Helmet Bowl III, jays, Helmet Bowl III.

In the Midwest Athletic, the Macalester Scots wear a tartan shield on an orange helmet, a unique look. However, the Cornell Rams, with a white block C on red helmet move on and the Scots must look to Helmet Bowl III.

The Washington and Jefferson Presidents have as elegant of helmet that exists in college football with their old style red script W & J on a soft white helmet. Yet, they are out. The Westminster Titans of Pennsylvania move on in the Presidents Athletic Conference.

Other notables:

The cool and somewhat unique animalistic Washington State Cougars WSC silver helmet suffers a strong challenge by the Colorado Buffalos traditional gold-ish helmet with the silhouetted buffalo and the stamped out CU.

The flouted University of Central Florida seem poised to make a quick Helmet Bowl II exit from the American Athletic Conference at the advantage of an unlikely interlocking 3-D white U and H over a shiny red Houston helmet.

Louisville’s chrome red helmet with the angry Cardinal falls to a traditional Carolina blue helmet sporting the white NC on the side with the argyle strip down the middle of the Tarheels’ lid – in the Atlantic Coast.

Also in the Atlantic Coast, mightly Clemson, with its much-copied tiger paw on its orange helmet falls to the angry lupine graphic (which somehow reminds us of a 1930s cartoon character) of North Carolina State.

Did you know?

There are three buttons at the bottom of each Conference contest page – share on Twitter, Facebook, or by email. Use these to drum up interest, challenge your friends, or to entice fans to vote!

Helmet Bowl I Conference Champions

TEAM	CONFERENCE	POINTS
Navy Midshipmen	American Athletic Conference	7
Louisiana Wildcats	American Southwest Conference	6.5
Syracuse Orange	Atlantic Coast Conference	5
Ohio State Buckeyes	Big 10 Conference	6
Kansas State Wildcats	Big 12 Conference	10.5
Idaho State Bengals	Big Sky Conference	7
Kennesaw State Owls	Big South Conference	7
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	Centennial Conference	9
Bowie State Bulldogs	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association	9
Lyon Scots	Central States Football League	4.5
Illinois-Wesleyan Titans	College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	9
Elon Phoenix	Colonial Athletic Association Conference	6
Endicott Gulls	Commonwealth Coast Conference	6.75
Southern Miss Golden Eagles	Conference USA	10
Limestone Saints	Division II Independent Conference	4.25 (tie after 10 weeks)
UNC Pembroke Braves	Division II Independent Conference	4.25 (tie after 10 weeks)
Gallaudet Bison	Eastern Collegiate Football Conference	6.25
Buffalo State Bengals	Empire 8 Conference	8
Army Black Knights	FBS Independents	9
Idaho Coyotes	Frontier Conference	7
Southeastern Savage Storm	Great American Conference	4.25
Wayne State Warriors	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	5
McKendree University	Great Lakes Valley Conference	7
Western Oregon Wolves	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	6.5
Concordia Nebraska Bulldogs	Great Plains Athletic Conference	6
Valdosta State Blazers	Gulf South Conference	10
Culver-Stockton Wildcats	Heart of America Athletic Conference	5.5
Franklin Grizzlies	Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference	7
Coe Kohawks	Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	4.5
Yale Bulldogs	Ivy League	4.5
Ottawa Braves	Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	7.5
Hobart Statesmen	Liberty League	8
Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds	Lone Star Conference	6.5
Bridgewater State Bears	Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference	7.5
Finlandia Lions	Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	7.75
NW Missouri State Bearcats	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference	6
Central Michigan Chippewas	Mid-American Conference	11
Howard Bison	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	10.5
Georgetown Tigers	Mid-South Conference	5.5
Trinity Trojans	Mid-States Football Association	4
Misericordia Cougars	Middle Atlantic Conference	7.25
Illinois Blueboys	Midwest Conference	4.5
St. Thomas Tommies	Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	8
Indiana State Sycamores	Missouri Valley Conference	5.5
UVA-Wise Highland Cavaliers	Mountain East Conference	5.25
San Diego State Aztecs	Mountain West Conference	7.25
Colby Mules	New England Small College Athletic Conference	4
Merchant Marine Mariners	New England W&M Athletic Conference	6.5
New Jersey Lions	New Jersey Athletic Conference	5.5
Oberlin Yeomen	North Coast Athletic Conference	8.5
Valley City State Vikings	North Star Athletic Association	7
Southern Connecticut Owls	Northeast 10 Conference	6
Wagner Seahawks	Northeast Conference	8
Concordia Chicago Cougars	Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference	3 (tie after 10 weeks)
CUW Falcons	Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference	3 (tie after 10 weeks)
UMD Bulldogs	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	5
Linfield Wildcats	Northwest Conference	7.75
John Carroll Blue Streaks	Ohio Athletic Conference	6
Eastern Illinois Panthers	Ohio Valley Conference	8
Bridgewater Eagles	Old Dominion Athletic Conference	7.5
Oregon Ducks	PAC-12 Conference	5
Colgate Raiders	Patriot League Conference	4.5 (tie after 10 weeks)
Georgetown Hoyas	Patriot League Conference	4.5 (tie after 10 weeks)
Cheyney Wolves	Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference	8
Butler Bulldogs	Pioneer Football League Conference	7
Bethany Bison	Presidents' Athletic Conference	5
Fort Lewis Skyhawks	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	6
Lenoir-Rhyne Bears	South Atlantic Conference	7
Arkansas Razorbacks	Southeastern Conference (SEC)	4.5
Trinity Tigers	Southern Athletic Association	5
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags	Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	9
VMI Keydets	Southern Conference	4.5
Lane Dragons	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	7.25
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	Southland Conference	6
MVSU Delta Devils	Southwestern Athletic Conference	5
Georgia State Panthers	Sun Belt Conference	5.5
Greenville Panthers	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	6.5
Greensboro Pride	USA South Athletic Conference	6.5
Stout Blue Devils	Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	7

Helmet Bowl II Begins

October 22, 2018 By Jeff Zogg

The day arrives. The sun comes up. The field prepared. The brackets filled.

The preparation. The practice. The privilege.

Nothing feels quite like today—game day.

Today becomes the last Monday every college football helmet in the United States competes for a Conference Championship, then the National Championship, in Helmet Bowl II.

Today, at 3 p.m. Central, the brackets launch and the votes start adding up. Half the field will be eliminated in a week; half again a week later.

No let up.

No rest.

No off week.

Single Elimination. All the marbles. The whole nine yards. For all the tea in China.

DIII? You could win.

DII? You could win.

NAIA? You could win.

DI? You could win.

Gallaudet, a DIII school, won the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference last year, then entered the National Championship bracket of 64 teams. They beat the Cheyney Wolves, then proved victorious against Ohio State. The Bison battled past Colgate, then the Army Black Knights. In the Quarter Finals, they outvoted the Kennesaw Owls to face heavy National Championship favorite San Diego State Aztecs. The Aztecs jumped out to the lead early in the week and extended it throughout the final weekend. On the morning of the final day, they had a comfortable lead. Then, the Bison began to gain steam. By lunch, they had pulled even, then began to build a lead themselves. By the end, the Bison won by more than 2,000 votes.

This year, Helmet Tracker presents to you a different sort of helmet contest. This year, we’ve eliminated the 10-week Conference play in and, in its place, created 16- and 8-team Conference brackets. Lose once, and you go home. Lose once, and you’re done. Lose once, and pack your bags.

Helmet Bowl II – the Greatest College Football Helmet Contest Ever!

Conference Play

Conferences with 16 or 8 teams fit nicely into brackets. However, most college football conferences do not fit nicely, so we at Helmet Tracker had to figure a way. Of course, it’s easy: byes. We dug up the final conference standings from Helmet Bowl I and seeded the top four teams in each conference for Helmet Bowl II. If we needed two byes, the #1 and #2 seeds earned them. If four byes were needed, we awarded byes to those four teams who scored the most points in conference play last season. After that, placements and match-ups were random.

Helmet Images

We poked around, searched, and asked Equipment Managers and Sports Information Directors for helmet images. Scores of new images were sent. Thank you!

Helmet Bowl II lives and breathes. We will swap out a helmet image any week an Equipment Manager sends us a new helmet image.

Who to vote for? Many voters immediately go to their favorite team. Your Dad went to Georgia? Go vote for the Bulldogs. Your Mom grew up outside of Syracuse? Vote for the Orange. You a big fan of Dr. J? Vote for the University of Massachusetts. Love the Cowboys? You’ve got many choices, from Wyoming and Oklahoma and more. Or you could vote for SMU—it's in Dallas.

Of course, don’t rush to your favorite team or where you went to school, vote for them and then leave. Take a look at some of the other conferences, maybe some you haven’t heard about. You’ll find some amazing helmets, some fantastic designs, and some surprisingly beautiful lids.

Here’s the important things: Vote everyday, get your friends to vote, and use social media to drum up support for your favorite Helmet Bowl helmets.

National Championship

The Monday of Thanksgiving week, all Conferences will crown their Champions. Helmet manufacturer Schutt has agreed to provide us Conference Championship trophies in the form of specially designed mini helmets (more on that in November). The 64 Conference Champions who gain the most votes in their Conference advance to the Helmet Bowl II National Championship. That bracket launches November 26.

The National Championship bracket will run as it did for Helmet Bowl I. Each week we will advance half the field to a smaller bracket; 64 teams to 32, 32 teams to 16, 16 to 8, 8 pared down to the semifinals, then the Championship the first week of 2019.

What Now?

Now, start voting.

Bookmark Helmet Bowl II.

Tell your friends.

Vote again tomorrow.

We will be writing weekly about the contests, the surprises, the contenders, the match-ups.

Have fun!

Calendar

October 22 – Conference play begins with Conferences of more than 8 teams.
October 29 – Conference play begins for Conferences with 8 or less teams.
November 19 – Conference Champions Crowned
November 26 – National Championship Bracket of 64 launched
January 7 – Helmet Bowl II Champion Crowned

Reconditioners Under Pressure

August 29, 2018 By Jeff Zogg

Football season arrives for the fans Friday night and Saturday afternoon and, soon, Sunday. For the players, weeks of practice and conditioning started weeks ago.

But for reconditioners, the two dozen shops around the nation that make sure the helmets sent to them are prepared for the hits, the season this year has stretched from the normal busy times of early winter and late spring to now early fall—a troubling development.

“Some companies mentioned they were getting equipment in later than normal,” one reconditioner told Helmet Tracker this week. A week ago, NAREA, the National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association, met in Lake Tahoe. While the agenda items and business was conducted, some of the talk in the hallway centered around the ever expanding football helmet reconditioning season.

Owners and operators of reconditioning businesses shied away from talking with us on the record, not wanting to alienate customers. One business owner, who we agreed not to identify by name, talked with us about the issue.

Don't Wait to Send in Helmets

“There is always a certain amount of stragglers and late coming orders,” we were told. “When we get calls asking for helmets to be cared for close to the season, we tell them not to wait a week or two weeks before the start of the season—or even a month before the start of the season—because even then you are pushing it.

“We know there are always exceptions—life happens.

“But we will charge a rush fee.”

Football helmets must be reconditioned at least after the second year of use and every other season after to keep the manufacturers’ warranties and meet minimum NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) requirements.

When a reconditioner receives a load of football helmets, or a single helmet, for reconditioning, a long process begins. Each helmet must be inventoried, disassembled, examined, evaluated, cleaned, repainted, reassembled with some new components, and prepared for shipping. Additionally, a certain percentage must undergo specific testing to determine if the helmet does what it was designed to do—offer protection to a football player’s head.

This takes time. Lots of time.

Slim Window for Reconditioning

“We are doing equipment later than normal,” our reconditioning friend told us. “Sometimes this is due to other forces, not just lateness.”

Other forces? Sam Trusner, the intrepid Office Manager for the AEMA (Athletic Equipment Managers Association), explains.

“For colleges, football is a near year-round sport now. Equipment managers must prepare for Spring ball and cannot send helmets out for reconditioning until that is complete. Then, summer workouts and the pre-season begins. There is a small window for reconditioning in there,” Sam expounds.

“For high schools, helmets should be sent out immediately after the season is done.”

It seems, reconditioners say, that the season for reconditioning helmets and other equipment is being stretched to the limits—and beyond.

“One of the biggest needs we talked about (at NAERA) was the need to educate the general public. There is a process to reconditioning a football helmet. It’s not a fast process. You cannot drop off a helmet one day and pick it up the next.”

Do Not Rush Reconditioning

“This is something you cannot rush,” our source said. “We all need to make sure to get it right. Remember, the helmet is going onto someone’s head to help protect, in most cases, a kid—someone’s kid.”

Reconditioners say the shortened off season, the immediate gratification culture, and a lack of education about the reconditioning all tie into helmets being sent in late.

“We live in a society of immediate gratification,” the reconditioner said. “The largest need in our industry is to educate everyone of the process. Plus, helmets are so different today than they were before.”

Additionally, the ever-increasing number of individually-owned football helmets cause slow-downs in the process.

“The numbers of individually owned helmets is going up. We see more and more every year and other reconditioners see the same trend.

“The important thing about that is that we need to educate the kids and the parents. The schools and youth organizations are getting pretty good about making sure the individuals know those helmets need to be reconditioned, but they still don’t know much about the process.”

Sam, at AEMA, agrees. “Parents sometimes go out and think they can just buy a new helmet and be done with it. But you must have that helmet reconditioned. My advise is to do it every two years whether you wear it a lot or not.”

The reconditioner goes a step further, saying parents, and the football coaches and league volunteers, must make sure they know exactly who is reconditioning the helmet.

Be Sure Reconditioner is Authorized

“The first thing to know is that your reconditioner must be an authorized reconditioner—authorized by NOCSEA and typically that means they are a member of NAERA. There are companies out there that say they will recondition helmets, but they are not meeting standards. They are doing it in a way that puts everyone at risk.”

And, Sam Trusner commends, get those helmets in during a reasonable time.

“You cannot expect reconditioners to do it fast. They take the helmets apart, strip them down, clean them, test them, put new pads in and attach new hardware. Each helmet is rebuilt. So, as soon as your season is over, get those helmets together and get them to a reconditioner right away.”

Reconditioners agree. Get those helmets in well before practice starts.

“This is not a drive through business.”