2019 NCAA Division III football season
Total No. of teams247
Regular seasonSeptember 5 – November 16, 2019
PlayoffsNovember 23 – December 21, 2019
Woodforest Bank Stadium
Shenandoah, TX
December 21, 2019
ChampionNorth Central (IL)
Gagliardi TrophyBroc Rutter (QB),
North Central (IL)
← 2018 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 2020 →

The 2019 NCAA Division III football season is the component of the 2019 college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States. The regular season began on September 5 and culminated on November 16.[1][2]

The season's playoffs ended with the NCAA Division III Football Championship (also known as the Stagg Bowl) at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah, Texas, hosted by the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor.

The annual Cortaca Jug game between Ithaca and Cortland on November 16 was moved to MetLife Stadium in honor of the 150th anniversary of college football. It became the most-attended game in Division III history, with 45,161 fans watching Ithaca defeat Cortland 32–20.[3]

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

School Former conference New conference
Buffalo State Bengals Empire 8 Liberty League
Earlham Quakers HCAC Suspended program
Thomas More Saints Independent Mid-South (NAIA)
Frostburg State Bobcats NJAC Mountain East (D-II)
Husson Eagles ECFC Commonwealth Coast
Southern Virginia Knights NJAC ODAC

Belhaven completed its transition to Division III and became eligible for the postseason.

Conference standings

2019 American Rivers Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 17 Central (IA) +^   7 – 1     10 – 2  
No. 14 Wartburg +^   7 – 1     10 – 2  
Dubuque   6 – 2     7 – 3  
Coe   5 – 3     6 – 4  
Loras   4 – 4     5 – 5  
Simpson   4 – 4     5 – 5  
Buena Vista   1 – 7     3 – 7  
Nebraska Wesleyan   1 – 7     3 – 7  
Luther   1 – 7     1 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 American Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^   9 – 0     12 – 1  
Texas Lutheran   8 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 21 Hardin–Simmons   7 – 2     8 – 2  
East Texas Baptist   6 – 3     6 – 4  
Howard Payne   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Southwestern (TX)   3 – 6     4 – 6  
Louisiana College   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Sul Ross   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Belhaven   2 – 7     2 – 8  
McMurry   0 – 9     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Centennial Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Muhlenberg $^   9 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 16 Susquehanna   8 – 1     10 – 1  
Johns Hopkins   6 – 3     8 – 3  
Franklin & Marshall   5 – 4     7 – 4  
Dickinson   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Ursinus   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Moravian   4 – 5     4 – 6  
McDaniel   2 – 7     3 – 7  
Juniata   2 – 7     2 – 8  
Gettysburg   1 – 8     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Wheaton (IL) $^   9 – 0     12 – 1  
No. 1 North Central (IL) ^   8 – 1     14 – 1  
Washington University   6 – 3     7 – 3  
Illinois Wesleyan   6 – 3     6 – 4  
Augustana (IL)   5 – 4     6 – 4  
Millikin   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Carthage   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Carroll (WI)   1 – 8     2 – 8  
Elmhurst   1 – 8     1 – 9  
North Park   1 – 8     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Commonwealth Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Western New England $^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
Endicott   6 – 1     9 – 2  
Nichols   4 – 3     6 – 4  
Husson   4 – 3     4 – 6  
Salve Regina   3 – 4     4 – 6  
New England   2 – 5     4 – 6  
Curry   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Becker   0 – 7     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Dean $#   4 – 1     4 – 6  
SUNY Maritime ^   3 – 2     5 – 6  
Alfred State   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Gallaudet   2 – 3     2 – 6  
Castleton   2 – 3     2 – 7  
Anna Maria   2 – 3     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • # – Provisional Division III member
2019 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 25 Brockport +^   5 – 1     9 – 3  
Cortland +   5 – 1     8 – 3  
Morrisville State   4 – 2     6 – 5  
Utica   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Alfred   2 – 4     5 – 5  
St. John Fisher   2 – 4     5 – 5  
Hartwick   0 – 6     1 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Hanover $^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
Mount St. Joseph   5 – 2     7 – 3  
Rose-Hulman   5 – 2     6 – 4  
Franklin (IN)   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Manchester   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Bluffton   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Anderson (IN)   1 – 6     3 – 7  
Defiance   1 – 6     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Liberty League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 12 Union (NY) $^   6 – 0     11 – 1  
Hobart   4 – 2     9 – 2  
Ithaca   4 – 2     8 – 3  
RPI   3 – 3     6 – 5  
St. Lawrence   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Buffalo State   1 – 5     1 – 9  
Rochester (NY)   0 – 6     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Framingham State $^   8 – 0     8 – 3  
Western Connecticut   6 – 2     8 – 3  
Bridgewater State   6 – 2     6 – 4  
UMass Dartmouth   5 – 3     7 – 3  
Massachusetts Maritime   4 – 4     6 – 4  
Plymouth State   4 – 4     6 – 4  
Westfield State   2 – 6     2 – 8  
Fitchburg State   1 – 7     2 – 8  
Worcester State   0 – 8     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Hope $^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
Albion   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Olivet   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Alma   4 – 3     6 – 4  
Adrian   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Trine   2 – 5     5 – 5  
Kalamazoo   1 – 6     2 – 8  
Finlandia   0 – 7     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Delaware Valley $^   8 – 0     11 – 2  
Stevenson   7 – 1     8 – 3  
Wilkes   6 – 2     8 – 3  
Misericordia   5 – 3     5 – 5  
Widener   4 – 4     5 – 5  
King's (PA)   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Lycoming   3 – 5     4 – 6  
Lebanon Valley   3 – 5     3 – 7  
FDU Florham   2 – 6     3 – 7  
Albright   2 – 6     2 – 8  
Alvernia   1 – 7     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Midwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North
St. Norbert xy   5 – 0     6 – 3  
Lake Forest   4 – 1     7 – 3  
Ripon   3 – 2     4 – 6  
Macalester   2 – 3     4 – 6  
Beloit   1 – 4     1 – 9  
Lawrence   0 – 5     1 – 8  
South
Monmouth (IL) xy$^   4 – 0     7 – 3  
Chicago   3 – 1     6 – 3  
Illinois College   2 – 2     6 – 3  
Cornell (IA)   1 – 3     4 – 5  
Knox   0 – 4     3 – 6  
Grinnell *   0 – 0     0 – 3  
Championship: Monmouth 10, St. Norbert 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • * – Grinnell canceled seven games, including all five divisional games.
2019 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Saint John's (MN) +^   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 15 St. Thomas (MN) +   7 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 23 Bethel (MN)   6 – 2     8 – 2  
Gustavus Adolphus   5 – 3     7 – 3  
Concordia–Moorhead   5 – 3     5 – 5  
St. Olaf   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Carleton   2 – 6     4 – 6  
Augsburg   1 – 7     2 – 8  
Hamline   0 – 8     1 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Middlebury $   9 – 0     9 – 0  
Wesleyan   8 – 1     8 – 1  
Williams   7 – 2     7 – 2  
Trinity (CT)   5 – 4     5 – 4  
Amherst   4 – 5     4 – 5  
Hamilton   4 – 5     4 – 5  
Tufts   4 – 5     4 – 5  
Bates   2 – 7     2 – 7  
Colby   2 – 7     2 – 7  
Bowdoin   0 – 9     0 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
2019 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
WPI +   6 – 1     10 – 1  
MIT +^   6 – 1     7 – 3  
Merchant Marine   5 – 2     6 – 3  
Springfield   5 – 2     6 – 4  
Coast Guard   2 – 5     5 – 5  
Norwich   2 – 5     5 – 5  
Catholic University   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Maine Maritime   0 – 7     0 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 9 Salisbury $^   7 – 0     11 – 1  
No. 11 Wesley ^   6 – 1     10 – 2  
Montclair State   5 – 2     6 – 4  
Rowan   4 – 3     4 – 6  
Kean   2 – 5     3 – 7  
Christopher Newport   2 – 5     2 – 8  
TCNJ   2 – 5     2 – 8  
William Paterson   0 – 7     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Denison +   7 – 2     8 – 2  
Wittenberg +   7 – 2     7 – 3  
Wabash +^   7 – 2     7 – 4  
Ohio Wesleyan   6 – 3     7 – 3  
DePauw   6 – 3     6 – 4  
Wooster   5 – 4     6 – 4  
Allegheny   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Kenyon   2 – 7     3 – 7  
Oberlin   1 – 8     1 – 9  
Hiram   0 – 9     0 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 Aurora $^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
Benedictine (IL)   6 – 1     7 – 3  
Eureka   4 – 3     6 – 4  
Concordia (IL)   3 – 4     5 – 5  
Concordia (WI)   3 – 4     5 – 5  
Lakeland   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Wisconsin Lutheran   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Rockford   0 – 7     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 19 Linfield $^   7 – 0     8 – 2  
Whitworth   5 – 2     6 – 3  
Puget Sound   4 – 3     6 – 4  
George Fox   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Pacific (OR)   4 – 3     4 – 6  
Lewis & Clark   3 – 4     4 – 5  
Pacific Lutheran   1 – 6     2 – 7  
Willamette   0 – 7     1 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Mount Union $^   9 – 0     11 – 1  
No. 13 John Carroll   8 – 1     9 – 1  
Baldwin Wallace   6 – 3     7 – 3  
Ohio Northern   6 – 3     6 – 4  
Heidelberg   5 – 4     6 – 4  
Marietta   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Wilmington (OH)   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Muskingum   2 – 7     3 – 7  
Otterbein   2 – 7     2 – 8  
Capital   0 – 9     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 20 Bridgewater $^   8 – 0     10 – 1  
Randolph–Macon   7 – 1     9 – 2  
Emory & Henry   6 – 2     8 – 3  
Washington and Lee   5 – 3     6 – 4  
Shenandoah   4 – 4     6 – 4  
Ferrum   3 – 5     4 – 6  
Southern Virginia   2 – 6     4 – 6  
Guilford   1 – 7     2 – 8  
Hampden–Sydney   0 – 8     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Case Western Reserve $^   8 – 1     9 – 2  
Grove City   7 – 2     9 – 2  
Carnegie Mellon   7 – 2     8 – 3  
Washington & Jefferson   6 – 3     8 – 3  
Westminster (PA)   6 – 3     8 – 3  
Bethany (WV)   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Geneva   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Saint Vincent   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Waynesburg   1 – 8     1 – 9  
Thiel   0 – 9     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Southern Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Berry +^   7 – 1     9 – 2  
Trinity (TX) +   7 – 1     8 – 2  
Birmingham–Southern   6 – 2     7 – 3  
Hendrix   5 – 3     7 – 3  
Austin   4 – 4     5 – 5  
Centre   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Millsaps   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Rhodes   1 – 7     1 – 9  
Sewanee   0 – 8     0 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Chapman $^   7 – 0     10 – 1  
No. 18 Redlands ^   6 – 1     9 – 2  
Pomona-Pitzer   4 – 3     5 – 4  
Cal Lutheran   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   3 – 4     5 – 5  
La Verne   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Whittier   1 – 6     2 – 8  
Occidental   0 – 7     0 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2019 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Martin Luther $^   8 – 0     9 – 2  
Greenville   7 – 1     8 – 3  
St. Scholastica   5 – 3     7 – 3  
MacMurray   5 – 3     5 – 5  
Northwestern (MN)   4 – 4     4 – 6  
Westminster (MO)   4 – 4     4 – 6  
Crown   2 – 6     3 – 7  
Minnesota–Morris   1 – 7     1 – 9  
Iowa Wesleyan   0 – 8     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2019 USA South Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Huntingdon $^   6 – 1     8 – 4  
Brevard #   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Averett   5 – 2     7 – 3  
North Carolina Wesleyan   5 – 2     6 – 4  
Methodist   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Maryville (TN)   3 – 4     3 – 7  
LaGrange   1 – 6     3 – 7  
Greensboro   0 – 7     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • # – Provisional Division III member
2019 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Wisconsin–Whitewater +^   6 – 1     13 – 2  
No. 22 Wisconsin–Oshkosh +^   6 – 1     8 – 3  
Wisconsin–La Crosse   5 – 2     7 – 3  
Wisconsin–Platteville   4 – 3     7 – 3  
Wisconsin–Stout   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Wisconsin–Stevens Point   2 – 5     3 – 7  
Wisconsin–Eau Claire   1 – 6     3 – 7  
Wisconsin–River Falls   1 – 6     2 – 8  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com

Postseason

Twenty-seven conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs.

There were no "Pool B" bids this year, slots normally allocated to schools not in a Pool A conference.

The remaining five playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Qualified teams

Automatic bids (27)

Conference Team Appearance Last
American Southwest Conference Mary Hardin–Baylor 18th 2018
American Rivers Conference Central (IA) 21st 2009
Centennial Conference Muhlenberg 9th 2018
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Wheaton (IL) 11th 2016
Commonwealth Coast Football Western New England 6th 2018
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference SUNY Maritime 2nd 2010
Empire 8 Brockport 7th 2018
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Hanover 8th 2018
Liberty League Union (NY) 12th 2006
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Framingham State 5th 2018
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hope 5th 2006
Middle Atlantic Conference Delaware Valley 9th 2018
Midwest Conference Monmouth (IL) 7th 2017
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saint John's (MN) 26th 2018
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference MIT 3rd 2018
New Jersey Athletic Conference Salisbury 11th 2015
North Coast Athletic Conference Wabash 10th 2015
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Aurora (IL) 5th 2008
Northwest Conference Linfield 15th 2017
Ohio Athletic Conference Mount Union 31st 2018
Old Dominion Athletic Conference Bridgewater (VA) 7th 2005
Presidents' Athletic Conference Case Western Reserve 5th 2017
Southern Athletic Association Berry 3rd 2018
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Chapman 3rd 2017
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Martin Luther 2nd 2018
USA South Athletic Conference Huntingdon 5th 2017
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wisconsin–Oshkosh 5th 2017

At-large bids (5)

Team Conference Appearance Last
North Central (IL) CCIW 12th 2018
Redlands SCIAC 9th 2016
Wartburg ARC 14th 2018
Wesley NJAC 15th 2017
Wisconsin–Whitewater WIAC 17th 2018

Playoff bracket

First round
November 23 		Second round
November 30 		Quarterfinals
December 7 		Semifinals
December 14 		Championship
Stagg Bowl
December 20
Shenandoah, Texas
               
* Mary Hardin–Baylor 43
Redlands 14
* Mary Hardin–Baylor 42
Huntingdon 6
* Berry 24
Huntingdon 27
* Mary Hardin–Baylor 7
Wisconsin–Whitewater 26
* Wisconsin–Whitewater 35
Monmouth (IL) 10
* Wisconsin–Whitewater 41
Wartburg 28
* Hope 3
Wartburg 41
* Wisconsin–Whitewater 35
Saint John's (MN) 32
* Wheaton (IL) 51
Martin Luther 7
* Wheaton (IL) 49
Central (IA) 13
* Central (IA) 38†
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 37
* Wheaton (IL) 33
Saint John's (MN) 34
* Chapman 68†††
Linfield 65
* Chapman 26
Saint John's (MN) 55
* Saint John's (MN) 51
Aurora 47
* Wisconsin–Whitewater 14
North Central (IL) 41
* Salisbury 83
SUNY Maritime 0
* Salisbury 62
Union (NY) 41
* Union (NY) 24
Case Western Reserve 21
* Salisbury 8
Muhlenberg 24
* Muhlenberg 38
MIT 0
* Muhlenberg 42
Brockport 0
* Western New England 28
Brockport 33
* Muhlenberg 14
North Central (IL) 45
* Mount Union 65
Hanover 14
* Mount Union 52
North Central (IL) 59
* North Central (IL) 51
Wabash 15
* North Central (IL) 31
Delaware Valley 14
* Wesley 58
Framingham State 21
* Wesley 10
Delaware Valley 45
* Bridgewater (VA) 22
Delaware Valley 30

See also

References

  1. ^ "2019 Division III football scoreboard". D3football. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "2019 Division III football scoreboard". D3football. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Otis, John (November 15, 2019). "Ithaca-SUNY Cortland Rivalry Leads to Division III Attendance Record". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
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