Omaha Mavericks Claim Summit League Title as Findlay Oilers Chase Undefeated DII Football Season

The Omaha Mavericks aren’t just winning games—they’re rewriting their legacy. On March 2, 2025, they crushed the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 80-57 in their regular season finale, locking up the outright Summit League Men's Basketball Championship regular season title and the coveted No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament. The win wasn’t just a formality; it was a statement. After sharing the title the week before, they went out and dominated a team that had struggled all year. Now, they’re headed to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the March 5–9 tournament, hungry for their first conference title since 2017 and 2019—two heartbreaking losses in the final game. This time, they’re not just hoping. They’re built for it.

How the Summit League Tournament Unfolds

The bracket is set. Ninth-seeded Oral Roberts opens against eighth-seeded Kansas City Roos on Wednesday, 25 minutes after the women’s first-round tip-off at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. The winner faces top-seeded Omaha in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the St. Thomas Tommies, ineligible for the NCAA Tournament despite their on-court success, will face Denver Pioneers—the same team that stunned everyone last year by reaching the title game as a ninth seed. Here’s the twist: if St. Thomas somehow wins the whole thing, Omaha still gets the NCAA automatic bid. Because they won the regular season. That’s the rule. It’s not fair? Maybe. But it’s the system. And Omaha’s players know it. "We didn’t work all year to get here just to watch someone else take the spot," said senior guard Marcus Bell after the win over Oral Roberts. "We’re taking it. No ifs, ands, or buts." All first-round and quarterfinal games will be broadcast on Midco Sports and streamed via the Summit League Network powered by the Midco Sports Plus app. For fans in Nebraska and across the Midwest, this is more than just basketball. It’s validation. The program has been building for a decade. Now, they’re on the brink.

Findlay Oilers: The Unseen Force in DII Football

While Omaha prepares for hoops, another team is making history in a different sport, a different division, and a different part of the country. The Findlay Oilers are one of just six undefeated teams left in NCAA Division II football as of Week 10, 2025. Their defense? Unrelenting. They allow just 12.0 points per game—the third-fewest in DII—and only 47.6 rushing yards per contest, the second-best in the nation. Their front seven doesn’t just stop runs; it crushes them. Opposing quarterbacks don’t just get sacked—they get buried. And the guy leading the charge? Michael Shimek of Ashland, with 13.5 sacks. But Findlay’s defensive line, anchored by Elisha Baldridge (7.5 sacks), has made sure Ashland hasn’t had an easy night since 2021.

The Oilers’ Week 10 showdown against Ashland was billed as the de facto Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) championship game. A win would give Findlay a perfect 10-0 regular season—something they haven’t done since 2017, the last time they made the NCAA DII playoffs. And here’s the catch: in their last 12 meetings, Findlay has beaten Ashland just twice. Ashland won the last three, two by double digits. This isn’t just a game. It’s a reckoning.

Divisional Divide: Why Omaha and Findlay Will Never Meet

Let’s clear up a common confusion. The Omaha Mavericks play in NCAA Division I basketball. The Findlay Oilers compete in Division II—for both football and basketball. That means, even if both teams won their respective tournaments, they’d never face off in the NCAA March Madness bracket. The divisions don’t intersect. The tournament structures are separate. The funding, the scholarships, the exposure—all different. It’s like comparing a Formula 1 car to a rally truck. Both are fast. Both are impressive. But they’re built for entirely different tracks.

And while the article mentions the Minnesota State Mavericks (based in Mankato), that’s a different team altogether. They’re a DII football powerhouse with the top scoring defense in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), allowing just 16.4 points per game. They’re scheduled to play Findlay on November 22, 2025. That’s a real matchup. That’s a game that matters. But it has nothing to do with Omaha’s basketball team. The Dallas Mavericks? That’s the NBA. Completely unrelated. Don’t let the names fool you.

What’s Next for Both Programs

For Omaha, the next step is clear: win the Summit League tournament. They’ve been here before—in 2017, they lost to North Dakota State. In 2019, they fell to South Dakota State. This year, they’re deeper, tougher, and more experienced. Their starting backcourt averages over 30 points per game. Their bench outscored Oral Roberts’ reserves by 18 in the final game. If they get past the quarterfinals, they’ll likely face a hot team like Denver or North Dakota. But they’ve got the talent to go all the way.

For Findlay, the stakes are even higher. A win over Ashland doesn’t just mean a perfect season—it means a playoff berth, a chance to host a regional game, and a shot at the national title. Their offense is balanced, their special teams are clean, and their defense? It’s the kind that changes how opponents approach the game. If they make the playoffs, expect them to be one of the most feared teams in DII.

Historical Context: Why This Matters

The Omaha Mavericks basketball program was revived in 2011 after a 30-year hiatus. Since then, they’ve gone from Division II to Division I, from obscurity to relevance. Their rise has been quiet but steady. This season, they’ve won 13 of 16 league games. They’ve beaten every top-4 team in the conference at least once. This isn’t luck. It’s culture.

Findlay’s football program, meanwhile, has quietly built a reputation as a perennial DII contender. They’ve made the playoffs five times since 2010. But they’ve never gone undefeated. That’s the last barrier. The last trophy they haven’t claimed. And now, with a defense that ranks among the best in the nation, they’re standing on the edge of history.