ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University football team was a unanimous pick of the SCIAC coaches to repeat as conference champions in 2026. The Panthers won their fifth SCIAC title in 2025.

Chapman's five conference titles have all come in the last 12 seasons but have yet to win back-to-back conference titles. Chapman also played in all three SCIAC Championship games during the brief divisional era, winning two of them at home.

The Panthers' undefeated SCIAC season resulted in 16 All-SCIAC honors. Although both major award winners graduated, head coach Casey Shine and the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year have eight All-SCIAC performers returning to the field this year. Fischer Huss, Teddy Buettner and Lane Forti return on offense while Jacob Gaudi, Andrew Buck and Tyler Boynton return on defense. Kicker/punter Carson Nichols and returner Brendon Manzano also return to lead the special teams.

The Panthers face another challenging start to the season with a trip to Hardin-Simmons on Sep. 5 and their home-opener against Linfield on Sep. 19. The re-addition of football at Whittier and SCIAC-newcomer Azusa Pacific expanded the conference to eight team in 2026. The top two teams after a seven-week conference schedule will meet for the SCIAC Championship on Nov. 14.