Just a few days left in open Conference voting.
For 16 days, voters have filed their choices in all 80 conference polls. Some teams lead by hundreds of votes, others by scores, and others by dozens. Some teams lead by just a handful of votes.
Conference voting ends at noon (Central) on Monday, September 30.
Conference Championship Brackets
In Helmet Bowl III Conference play, the top four teams in each conference qualify for the Conference Championship Brackets. The team with the most votes will be seeded #1 and will face off against the fourth seed. The second and third teams with the most votes will face each other. Bracket voting begins October 7 and each round lasts one week.
We crown Conference Champions On October 21.
Conference Champions Repeat
A dozen teams won their conference championship in Helmet Bowl I then repeated their winning ways in Helmet Bowl II.
How are they doing?
We checked the voting.
New Jersey Lions – New Jersey Athletic Conference
The Lions appear safely into the Conference Championship bracket, but trail the William Paterson Pioneers for the #1 Seed. In this strong voting conference, the Kean Cougars and Wesley Wolverines round out the bracket, so far.
Gallaudet Bison (DC) – Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
The Helmet Bowl I National Champions hold a strong lead in the Eastern Collegiate. Unless challenged by Monday, they will be seeded number one. The other three teams leading now, vie for the other seeds: Dean Bulldogs, Alfred STate Pioneers, and Maritime Privateers.
Ottawa Braves (KS) – Kansas Collegiate Athletic
The Braves always submit a wonderful image for their contest. They lead the Bethany Bison by just a dozen votes. However, it’s the third and fourth place teams in jeopardy. The Sterling Warriors and Bethel Threshers lead by just one and two votes respectively. Any of the Kansas Collegiate teams could qualify for the Conference Championship bracket.
Oregon Ducks (OR) – Pac 12
The Ducks lead the Buffs of Colorado by just six votes as of this writing. If they want to three-peat, votes must push hard; harder than Ralphie. The Stanford Cardinals and Oregon State Beavers may round out the bracket, but are challenged by the Washington State Cougards and the always attractive helmets of the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Look, if you don’t qualify for your Conference Championship, you sure aren’t gonna make it into the National Championship bracket. Get voting!
Idaho State Bengals (OR) – Big Sky
When we first looked to update the Big Sky the thought crossed our minds: Did the Idaho State leave this conference? The defending repeat Conference Champion Bengals are currently in EIGHTH place! The top four here: Montana State Bobcats, Eastern Washington Eagles, Sacramento State Hornets, and the Montana Grizzlies. However, less than three dozen votes separate the last place California-Davis Aggies from the Bobcats, so the Big Sky is truly up for grabs.
Northwest Missouri Bearcats – Mid-America Intercollegiate
The Bearcats provided a great struggle against the Central Missouri Mules in Helmet Bowl I conference voting. In HB3, so far, they rest in second place, trailing the Northeastern State RiverHawks. The Mules are in third, and the Nebraska Kearney Lopers hold down fourth place, just three votes ahead of the Missouri Western Griffons.
College of Idaho Coyotes – Frontier
The Yotes lead the Conference with strong voting ahead of the Montana Western Bulldogs, Southern Oregon Raiders, and Montana Tech Orediggers. Just one vote out of the bracket, as of now, are the diagonally designed helmets of the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers.
Finlandia Lions (MI) – Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Light voting here, but the Lions lead by four votes over a unique Alma Scots lid. The Hope Flying Dutchmen (with an oddly placed anchor) and the Kalamazoo Hornerts round out the top four. Yet, light voting means a couple of handfuls could push anyone into the conference bracket.
Misericordia Cougars (PA) – Middle Atlantic Conference
WHOA! The Fairleigh Dickinson Devils somehow got out the vote! WHOA! They lead the defending Cougars by a factor of about 8X the vote! In third and fourth: he Alvernia Golden Wolves and Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen. A bit of advice – avoid fourth place here as the 4th seed will be matched up against the Devils. Take a look at this conference – lots of strong helmets here.
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Southwestern Athletic Conference
Seventh place.
The Delta Devils barely register in the Southwestern Athletic this time around. It’s not too late, we suppose, if they want to make a strong run before noon on Monday. They need to catch the fourth place Jaguars of Southern University and A&M. In first is the helmet of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lions, followed by the Prairie View A&M Panthers and the gold-chromed lid of the Alcorn State Braves.
Kennesaw State Owls (GA) – Big South
The Owls reached the quarterfinals of Helmet Bowl I as well as repeating as Conference Champions. Today they sit in third place behind the Garner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs and Campbell Fighting Camels (unique helmet, that). In fourth place, by just a few votes, is the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Just out of it is the Presbyterian College Blue Hose (the Blue Hose helmet gives no indication of what a Blue Hose is, or why).
Valdosta State Blazers (GA) – Gulf South
Another strong contender struggles. The Blazers, mired in seventh place, may be out of it. The first-place West Florida Argonauts and second-place North Greenville Crusaders are way WAY out front. The third-place West Alabama Tigers and fourth-place Delta State Statesmen could be caught for a place in the Conference Championship bracket.
TOP TEN
The TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are:
| Sun Belt Conference (NCAA I – FBS) |
| Gulf South Conference (NCAA II) |
| Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| Southeastern Conference (NCAA I – FBS) |
| New Jersey Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (NCAA III) |
| Southland Conference (NCAA I – FCS) |
| American Southwest Conference (NCAA III) |
| American Athletic Conference (NCAA I – FBS) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference (NCAA I – FCS) |
Sun Belt remains the top vote-getter.
New to the TOP TEN: Gulf South and Missouri Valley conferences.
Dropping out of the top ten: Big 12 and Mid-Atlantic conferences.
Bottom TWENTY
Why is this important? Because only the top 60 Conference Champion vote-getters automatically qualify for the Helmet Bowl National Championship Bracket of 64. That leaves out possibly 20 Conference Champions. If your team is in one of these two charts, you are in danger of celebrating your Conference Championship, then going home.
The bottom TEN Conferences with the least votes are:
| Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
| Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| USA South Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Mid-South Conference (NAIA) |
| Northeast-10 Conference (NCAA II) |
| North Star Athletic Association (NAIA) |
| Sooner Athletic Conference (NAIA) |
| Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II) |
New to the bottom ten: Upper Midwest Athletic and USA South Athletic conferences.
No longer in the bottom ten: Norther Sun Intercollegiate (11th from last) and South Atlantic conferences.
Bottom 11 through 20:
| North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Northwest Conference (NCAA III) |
| Presidents' Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (NCAA III) |
| Great Plains Athletic Conference (NAIA) |
| Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |
| Old Dominion Athletic Conference 2019 |
| Heart of America Athletic Conference (NAIA) |
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA III) |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NCAA II) |
South Atlantic Conference
In fact, the South Atlantic rose to the conference with the 25th most votes in Helmet Bowl III from the fifth from last.
WOW!
Let’s take a look at their helmets.
At the top are the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears with a healthy lead over 2) Limestone Saints (LAX powerhouse), 3) Carson-Newman Eagles, and 4) Newberry Wolves. The Tusculum Pioneers are just 4 votes shy of making the final bracket.
Your Top Ten
Got a list of top ten helmets? Shoot us an email at helmetbowl@helmettracker.com and we will feature your picks in next week’s update.