INDIANAPOLIS  The NCAA has released it initial rankings of the four Division II Super Regions with Western Colorado showing as No. 6 in Super Region Four.

The Super Region rankings will eventually help determine the 32-team field that will comprise the NCAA Division II playoffs. Effective for the 2025 playoffs is the expansion from 28 teams to accommodate the new automatic bid system, which gives each of the 16 conferences an automatic qualifier.

With the expansion to 32 teams, each will play a first round game, differing from previous seasons in which first-round byes were incorporated into the tournament for the top team in each of the four regions.

The initial region release was alphabetical, with now the Nov. 3 and Nov. 10 releases including rankings within each of the four Super Regions.

The playoff field will be announced in a live broadcast on the NCAA network on Sunday, Nov. 16.

Western has been ranked as high as No. 5 in both the D2Football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) polls. The Mountaineers in the Nov. 3 releases of both polls rank No. 9 in the D2Football poll and 11th in the AFCA rankings.

Playoff participants in 2021, 2023 and 2024, Western has earned first-round hosting privileges in each of those seasons, and in 2024 won its first NCAA DII playoff game and the hosting duties of the second-round game.

The Mountaineers are set to finish off their regular season with a Nov. 8 visit to Chadron State (Neb.) College and a Senior Day home game Nov. 15 against Colorado Mesa University at MOJO Field at Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex.