ALLIANCE, Ohio (WKBN) – To celebrate the 150th season of college football, ESPN produced a list of the 50 best college football programs over the sport’s 150-year history and Mount Union is the highest non-Division I program at No. 16.

ESPN’s Stats & Information Group came up with a metric with a goal in its words to “Honor the accomplishments of teams across 150 seasons and all divisions, while rewarding successful programs at the highest level in the sport’s most competitive era.”

Mount Union is ranked just between No. 15 LSU and No. 17 Miami (Fla.). Alabama is ranked No. 1 with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC rounding out the top five.

The site said this about the Purple Raiders…

“It’s hard to argue with this level of success, even at Division III. The coach with the highest winning percentage in the history of the game, Larry Kehres, coached at Mount Union. Under Kehres, the Purple Raiders won 54 straight games, an NCAA record, lost one, then won 55 straight. Kehres retired in 2012, but the Purple Raiders extended their string of Ohio Athletic Conference titles to 24 before falling short in 2016.”

In total, Mount Union has won 13 NCAA Division III National Championships and a record 29 Ohio Athletic Conference titles.

COURTESY: MOUNT UNION SPORTS INFORMATION