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2025 Harding Bisons football team

The 2025 Harding Bisons football team represented Harding University in the 2025 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Great American Conference (GAC). The Bisons were led by ninth-year head coach Paul Simmons and played their home games at First Security Stadium in Searcy, Arkansas.

The team entered the 2025 season as the 2024 GAC co-champions. They were undefeated in the 2025 regular season, winning the GAC conference outright.

In the NCAA Division II playoffs, Harding defeated Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State and Texas-Permian Basin, on the way to the program's third playoff semifinals. Against UTPB, the Bisons' rushed for 389 yards, pushing their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsing the all-division college football record of 6,160 yards set by the 2023 Harding squad. The Bisons also broke their own single-season record for rushing touchdowns, scoring four times on the ground to bring their season total to 80. In the semi-finals, the Bisons defeated Kutztown to reach Harding's second national championship game in history. The next week, Harding lost to Ferris State 21-42..

On January 6, 2026, Coach Paul Simmons was promoted to the newly created position of general manager of the Bisons football program, and longtime assistant and defensive coordinator Roddy Mote was promoted to head coach.

Preseason

The GAC released its preseason prediction poll on August 5, 2025. Harding was the preseason favorite to win the conference and received 9 of the 12 first-place votes, with Ouachita Baptist receiving the other 3 votes.

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

At Northwestern Oklahoma State

Southwestern Oklahoma State

At Southern Arkansas

Ouachita Baptist

East Central

At Southeastern Oklahoma State

At Henderson State

Arkansas–Monticello

Oklahoma Baptist

At Southern Nazarene

At Arkansas Tech

No. 14 Northwest Missouri State (NCAA Division II First Round)

No. 6 Pittsburg State (NCAA Division II Second Round)

No. 10 UT Permian Basin (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)

At No. 3 Kutztown (NCAA Division II Semifinal)

Vs. No. 1 Ferris State (NCAA Division II Championship Game)

Personnel

References