2002 NCAA Division III football season

2002 NCAA Division III football season
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Regular season	August – November 2002
College football seasons « 2001 2003 »

The 2002 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 2002, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2002 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their seventh, and third consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Trinity (TX) Tigers, 48−7.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Dan Pugh, running back from Mount Union.

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division III football seasons

Conference champions

American Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor Atlantic Central Football Conference – Frostburg State Centennial Conference – Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, and Muhlenberg College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Wheaton (IL) Dixie Intercollegiate Football Conference – Christopher Newport and Ferrum Empire 8 Conference – Ithaca Freedom Football Conference – Springfield Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Hanover Illini-Badger Football Conference – MacMurray Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA), Coe, and Wartburg Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Alma Middle Atlantic Conference – King's College and Widener Midwest Conference – Lake Forest and St. Norbert Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Westfield State (Bogan Division), UMass Dartmouth (Boyd Division) Championship Game: UMass Dartmouth 16, Westfield State 0 New England Small College Athletic Conference – Trinity (CT) and Williams New Jersey Athletic Conference – Rowan North Coast Athletic Conference – Wabash Northwest Conference – Linfield Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Bridgewater Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Redlands Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Washington–Saint Louis Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwestern–St. Paul Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – Hobart Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–La Crosse

Postseason

The 2002 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 30th 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 10th time. This was the fourth bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.

Playoff bracket

	First Round Campus Sites				Second Round Campus Sites				Quarterfinals Campus Sites				Semifinals Campus Sites				National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia
					Mount Union	42
	Wheaton (IL)	42			Wheaton (IL)	21
	Alma	14							Mount Union	45
	Wabash	42							Wabash	16
	MacMurray	7			Wabash	25
	Wittenberg	34			Wittenberg	14
	Hanover	33											Mount Union	57
													John Carroll	19
					Rowan	12
	Brockport	16			Brockport	15
	Springfield	0							Brockport	10
	John Carroll	27							John Carroll	16*
	Hobart	7			John Carroll	21
	Muhlenberg	56			Muhlenberg	10
	UMass Dartmouth	6															Mount Union	48
																	Trinity (TX)	7
					Linfield	52
	Wartburg	45			Wartburg	15
	Lake Forest	0							Linfield	14
	Saint John's (MN)	31							Saint John's (MN)	21
	Redlands	24			Saint John's (MN)	45
	Coe	21			Coe	14
	UW–La Crosse	18											Saint John's (MN)	34
													Trinity (TX)	41
					Bridgewater (VA)	19
	King's (PA)	28			King's (PA)	17
	Salisbury State	0							Bridgewater (VA)	32
	Trinity (TX)	48							Trinity (TX)	38
	Mary Hardin–Baylor	38			Trinity (TX)	45
	Wash. & Jefferson	24			Wash. & Jefferson	10
	Christopher Newport	10

* Overtime

See also

• 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 2002 NCAA Division II football season