1997 NCAA Division III football season

Regular season

August – November 1997

Playoffs

November – December 1997

National
championship

Salem Football Stadium
Salem, VA

Champion

Mount Union (3)

Gagliardi Trophy

Bill Borchert (QB), Mount Union

← 1996 ·

NCAA Division III football seasons

· 1998 →

The 1997 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1997, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1997 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their third, and second consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Lycoming Warriors, 61−12.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Bill Borchert, quarterback from Mount Union.^[1]

Conference standings

1997 American Southwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mississippi College $	4	–	1	8	–	2
Howard Payne	3	–	2	7	–	3
Hardin–Simmons	2	–	3	7	–	3
McMurry	2	–	3	5	–	5
Austin	2	–	3	4	–	6
Sul Ross	2	–	3	4	–	6

$ – Conference champion

1997 Centennial Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Western Maryland $^	7	–	0	10	–	1
Dickinson	6	–	1	7	–	3
Johns Hopkins	5	–	2	7	–	3
Franklin & Marshall	4	–	3	4	–	6
Ursinus	3	–	4	4	–	6
Gettysburg	2	–	5	4	–	6
Muhlenberg	1	–	6	1	–	9
Swarthmore	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Augustana (IL) $	6	–	1	7	–	2
Illinois Wesleyan	5	–	2	7	–	2
Carthage	4	–	3	5	–	4
North Central (IL)	4	–	3	5	–	4
Millikin	4	–	3	4	–	5
Wheaton (IL)	4	–	3	4	–	5
Elmhurst	1	–	6	1	–	8
North Park	0	–	7	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1997 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Salve Regina $	4	–	0	7	–	2
Western New England	3	–	1	4	–	3
MIT	2	–	2	5	–	4
Nichols	1	–	3	2	–	7
Curry	0	–	4	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion

1997 Freedom Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Coast Guard $^	6	–	0	9	–	2
Merchant Marine	4	–	2	7	–	2
Plymouth State	4	–	2	7	–	3
Springfield (MA)	3	–	3	4	–	5
WPI	2	–	4	4	–	6
Western Connecticut	1	–	5	4	–	6
Norwich	1	–	5	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Lakeland $	5	–	0	10	–	0
Concordia (WI)	4	–	1	7	–	3
MacMurray	3	–	2	8	–	2
Eureka	2	–	3	5	–	5
Concordia (IL)	1	–	4	2	–	7
Greenville	0	–	5	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1997 Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Hanover $^	6	–	0	10	–	1
DePauw	5	–	1	8	–	2
Wabash	4	–	2	6	–	4
Manchester	2	–	4	6	–	4
Rose–Hulman	2	–	4	3	–	7
Anderson (IN)	1	–	5	2	–	8
Franklin (IN)	1	–	5	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Iowa Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Simpson $^	8	–	0	12	–	1
Central (IA)	7	–	1	8	–	2
Upper Iowa	5	–	3	7	–	3
Wartburg	5	–	3	7	–	3
Loras	4	–	4	6	–	4
Luther	3	–	5	4	–	6
Buena Vista	3	–	5	3	–	7
Dubuque	1	–	7	3	–	7
William Penn	0	–	8	1	–	9
Coe	0	–	0	8	–	1
Cornell (IA)	0	–	0	6	–	3

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Adrian +	4	–	1	8	–	1
Hope +	4	–	1	6	–	3
Albion	3	–	2	6	–	3
Alma	3	–	2	6	–	3
Kalamazoo	1	–	4	3	–	6
Olivet	0	–	5	3	–	6

+ – Conference co-champions

1997 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Commonwealth
Albright x	5	–	0	8	–	1
Moravian	4	–	1	7	–	3
Widener	3	–	2	7	–	3
Susquehanna	2	–	3	6	–	4
Juniata	1	–	4	3	–	7
Lebanon Valley	0	–	5	0	–	10
Freedom
Lycoming x^	4	–	0	12	–	1
Wilkes	3	–	1	5	–	5
Delaware Valley	2	–	2	5	–	5
King's (PA)	1	–	3	3	–	7
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham	0	–	4	0	–	10

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Midwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Division
Ripon x	4	–	1	6	–	3
Carroll (WI) xy$	4	–	1	5	–	5
Lawrence	2	–	3	4	–	5
St. Norbert	2	–	3	4	–	5
Beloit	2	–	3	3	–	6
Lake Forest	1	–	4	2	–	7
South Division
Grinnell xy	3	–	0	5	–	5
Knox	2	–	1	5	–	4
Monmouth (IL)	1	–	2	2	–	7
Illinois College	0	–	3	1	–	8
Championship: Carroll (WI) 20, Grinnell 15
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1997 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Augsburg $^	8	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	7	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Concordia–Moorhead ^	7	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Saint John's (MN)	6	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Bethel (MN)	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Hamline	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
St. Olaf	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Carleton	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Macalester	0	–	9	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 New England Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Worcester State +	7	–	1	8	–	3
Bridgewater State +	7	–	1	7	–	3
UMass Dartmouth	6	–	2	8	–	2
Maine Maritime	4	–	4	4	–	6
Westfield State	4	–	4	4	–	6
UMass–Boston	3	–	5	3	–	6
Massachusetts Maritime	3	–	5	3	–	7
Fitchburg State	1	–	7	3	–	7
Framingham State	1	–	7	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions

1997 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Amherst	7	–	1	7	–	1
Wesleyan	7	–	1	7	–	1
Williams	7	–	1	7	–	1
Trinity (CT)	5	–	3	5	–	3
Bowdoin	4	–	4	4	–	4
Middlebury	4	–	4	4	–	4
Tufts	3	–	5	3	–	5
Hamilton	2	–	6	2	–	6
Bates	1	–	7	1	–	7
Colby	0	–	8	0	–	8

No conference champion recognized

1997 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Rowan $^	5	–	0	11	–	1
TCNJ ^	4	–	1	9	–	3
Montclair State	3	–	2	6	–	4
Jersey City State	2	–	3	5	–	5
Kean	1	–	4	1	–	9
William Paterson	0	–	5	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wittenberg +	7	–	1	9	–	1
Wooster +	7	–	1	9	–	1
Allegheny +^	7	–	1	9	–	2
Denison	3	–	4	4	–	6
Ohio Wesleyan	3	–	4	4	–	6
Kenyon	3	–	5	3	–	7
Case Western Reserve	2	–	4	3	–	7
Earlham	2	–	6	2	–	8
Oberlin	0	–	8	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Northwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Willamette $^	5	–	0	13	–	1
No. 19 Linfield	4	–	1	6	–	3
No. 17 Pacific Lutheran	3	–	2	7	–	2
Lewis & Clark	2	–	3	3	–	6
Whitworth	1	–	4	2	–	7
Puget Sound	0	–	5	2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll

1997 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mount Union $^	9	–	0	14	–	0
John Carroll ^	8	–	1	10	–	2
Ohio Northern	7	–	2	8	–	2
Baldwin–Wallace	6	–	3	7	–	3
Heidelberg	5	–	4	5	–	5
Marietta	3	–	6	4	–	6
Capital	2	–	7	3	–	7
Muskingum	2	–	7	2	–	8
Otterbein	2	–	7	2	–	8
Hiram	1	–	8	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Emory & Henry +	4	–	1	8	–	2
Guilford +	4	–	1	8	–	2
Randolph–Macon +	4	–	1	8	–	2
Washington and Lee	2	–	3	4	–	6
Bridgewater	1	–	4	2	–	8
Hampden–Sydney	0	–	5	0	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions

1997 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Grove City $	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Washington & Jefferson	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Waynesburg	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Bethany (WV)	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Alfred	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Thiel	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1997 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Redlands +	4	–	1	7	–	2
Cal Lutheran +	4	–	1	5	–	4
Whittier +	4	–	1	5	–	4
La Verne	2	–	3	2	–	7
Occidental	1	–	4	1	–	8
Claremont-Mudd	0	–	5	0	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions

1997 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Trinity (TX) $^	4	–	0	10	–	1
Centre	3	–	1	6	–	3
Sewanee	1	–	3	5	–	4
Millsaps	1	–	3	3	–	7
Rhodes	1	–	3	2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
MacMurray $	4	–	0	8	–	2
Westminster (MO)	3	–	1	6	–	4
Greenville	2	–	2	2	–	8
Blackburn	1	–	3	1	–	8
Principia	0	–	4	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1997 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
RPI $	4	–	0	9	–	1
Union (NY)	3	–	1	7	–	2
Hobart	2	–	2	6	–	4
St. Lawrence	1	–	3	2	–	7
Rochester (NY)	0	–	4	1	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1997 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wisconsin–Whitewater $^	7	–	0	9	–	1
Wisconsin–La Crosse	5	–	2	7	–	2
Wisconsin–Stout	5	–	2	6	–	4
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	4	–	3	7	–	3
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	3	–	4	6	–	4
Wisconsin–River Falls	3	–	4	5	–	5
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	1	–	6	3	–	7
Wisconsin–Platteville	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1997 NCAA Division III independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Catholic University ^		–		10	–	1
Methodist		–		9	–	1
Cortland ^		–		8	–	2
Buffalo State		–		7	–	2
Hartwick		–		7	–	2
Pomona-Pitzer		–		6	–	2
Ithaca		–		7	–	3
Wesley		–		7	–	3
Frostburg State		–		6	–	3
Brockport		–		6	–	4
Menlo		–		5	–	5
Thomas More		–		5	–	5
Aurora		–		4	–	5
Chapman		–		4	–	5
Bluffton		–		4	–	6
Ferrum		–		4	–	6
Wilmington (OH)		–		4	–	6
Colorado College		–		3	–	6
Salisbury State		–		3	–	6
Maryville (TN)		–		3	–	7
Chowan		–		2	–	8
Defiance		–		1	–	8

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions
American Southwest Conference – Mississippi College Centennial Conference – Western Maryland College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) Freedom Football Conference – Coast Guard Illini-Badger Football Conference – Lakeland Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference – Hanover Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Simpson Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Adrian^[2] Middle Atlantic Conference – Albright and Lycoming Midwest Conference – Carroll (WI) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Augsburg New England Football Conference – Bridgewater State and Worcester State New Jersey Athletic Conference – Rowan North Coast Athletic Conference – Allegheny, Wittenberg, and Wooster Northwest Conference – Willamette Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry, Guilford, and Randolph-Macon Presidents' Athletic Conference – Grove City Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Cal Lutheran, Redlands, and Whittier Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Carnegie Mellon Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Not available Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – RPI Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater

Postseason

The 1997 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 25th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the second time. As of 2014, Salem has remained the yearly host of the Stagg Bowl. Like the previous twelve tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.^[3]

Playoff bracket

Regionals Campus Sites		Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia

Mount Union	34

Allegheny	30
		Mount Union	59

		John Carroll	7
John Carroll	30

Hanover	20
				Mount Union	54

				Simpson	7
Simpson	34

Wisconsin–Whitewater	31
		Simpson	61

		Augsburg	21
Augsburg	34

Concordia–Moorhead	22
						Mount Union	61

						Lycoming	12
Lycoming	27

Western Maryland	13
		Lycoming	46

		Trinity (TX)	26
Trinity (TX)	44

Catholic University	33
				Lycoming	28

				Rowan	20
Rowan	43

Coast Guard	0
		Rowan	13

		TCNJ	7
TCNJ	34

Cortland	30

References

^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
^ "1997 Final MIAA Football Standings".
^ "1997 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
NCAA University Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

Playoff bracket

See also

References