SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University field hockey team has been ranked No. 3 in the Atlantic Region and No. 3 in NCAA Division II in the initial release of the NCAA Power Index (NPI) as posted Monday morning by the national office.
 
The NPI has replaced the NCAA regional rankings and is used to determine the teams that will qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships in each applicable sport. It can be accessed here.
 
The next NPI ranking will be published on Monday Oct. 26, followed by Monday Nov. 2. After Monday Nov. 2, rankings will be updated daily.
 
Per the NCAA, NPI is a ranking system used to evaluate a team's performance based on results and strength of opponents. Each contest contributes to a team's overall NPI, and that value can change throughout the season as additional games are played and opponents' NPI values change.
 
Individual sport committees establish settings, referred to as "dials," that determine how certain factors are applied within the calculation. This allows the system to account for differences among sports while providing a consistent framework for evaluating teams across all team sports.
 
More information about the NPI is available here.
 
There are 34 NCAA Division II Field Hockey teams. The Atlantic Region is comprised of all 10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams and all seven South Atlantic Conference (SAC) teams as well as independent Maryville – a total of 18 teams. The East Region is comprised of all 10 Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) teams and all six East Coast Conference (ECC) teams – a total of 16 teams.

Per the NCAA Pre-Championships manual, five teams from the Atlantic Region and three teams from the East Region will be selected to the 2026 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships following the completion of the regular season and respective conference championships.

Also, for the third straight year, conference champions will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. New in 2026 is the addition of the East Coast Conference (ECC), meaning there are now four automatic berths instead of three.
 
Upon selection, the eight qualifying teams will be re-seeded No. 1 through No. 8 without consideration for region.
 
The first round of the NCAA Tournament will feature four quarterfinals hosted at school sites – those games will take place Saturday, Nov. 21.
 
The 2026 NCAA Division II Fall Championships Festival is being held December 3-5, with Kansas City playing host to this year's national finals for field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's cross country and women's cross country. The Kansas City Sports Commission and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) are serving as festival hosts.
 
Robert L. Hicks Field, located at the Pembroke Hill School, is the host of the NCAA Semifinals (12:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3) and the NCAA Championship Game (1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5).
 
The announcement of the teams officially selected for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships will take place Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. via webcast on ncaa.com.
 
More information about this year's NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships can be accessed through the Pre-Championships Manual available here.