How Conference Realignment Led to Division III's Version of The Frisco Bowl

“We want our players to be able to look back and say, ‘I was able to experience this, and that was because I was a college football player.”

One of the grandest spectacles in Division III this season will occur thanks to conference realignment, a desire to give players a special experience, and a love for the Dallas Cowboys. Howard Payne will host Simpson College (IA) at The Ford Center at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. The game is just the third college football game to occur at the site and the first Division III game.

Like many things, conference realignment indirectly led to Howard Payne and Simpson’s game at The Ford Center. Gipson explained that Howard Payne had previously scheduled the American Southwest Conference’s two 2026 additions, McMurry and Schreiner, as non-conference opponents. This created a pair of openings for the Yellow Jackets.

While the Yellow Jackets easily filled one of the openings, they had issues filling the other. This is where Simpson came in. Simpson had an opening on the same date as Howard Payne. However, both schools still ran into a dilemma. Both Simpson and Howard Payne sought a home game.

Luckily, both compromised on a neutral site: The Ford Center at The Star. Unlike most neutral-site games, no outside organizer or sponsor assisted Howard Payne in their efforts.

“Does being a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan count?” laughed Howard Payne head coach Coby Gipson when asked if his school had any preexisting partnership with the franchise to facilitate the game.

Additionally, Gipson wanted to give his players an experience to remember.

“It all comes down to the student-athlete experience, [which] is very important to us. We think this will be a great experience for both sides,” Gipson opined.

Although Howard Payne is the de facto home team for the September 26th matchup against Simpson, it is still a considerable distance from Frisco. Brownwood is a three-hour drive to The Ford Center, creating issues for the student body.

Nonetheless, Gipson explained that a significant portion of Howard Payne’s alumni base lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This offsets some of the concerns with the student body. More importantly, he pointed to the close-knit on-campus community at Howard Payne in response to concerns of the student body being reluctant to travel.

“And you know, we really try in this program to reach out to other programs, other organizations. For example, there was a Friday night event involving the fraternities and sororities here called Spring Sing, and we took the entire football team there to cheer them on, support them, and recognize the hard work that they've put in. I think our guys had a really good time.”

Gipson further elaborated, “I think that at a school this size, you can do that to where it's not just hey, I'm going to go, I'm going to drive three hours to watch a football team and say, I'm gonna drive three hours to watch the linebacker that sits next to me in English class, that came to my came to Spring Sing.”

This neutral site game likely will not be a one-off for Howard Payne’s program. Gipson mentioned his program was willing to play at one of the many other pro venues in the DFW area.

“Truth be told, this was, this was kind of a 2028 vision that just happened to work out in 2026, so this is not something that is going to be a one-and-done thing for us. The logistical part of what those other stadiums look like, what they're willing to do for us, being able to work through contracts, times, and things like that, obviously, is very important”, Gipson expressed.

Howard Payne’s game against Simpson promises to be an unforgettable experience for both teams and fan bases. If not for conference realignment, it may have never happened. For once, the fruits of conference realignment produced something worth salvaging.