NCAA Division II Football Championship

Template:Infobox bowl series The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times; in 1988 it became 16 teams, in 2004 it became 24 teams, and in 2016 it became 28 teams.

The National Championship game has been held in seven different cities; Sacramento, California (1973–1975), Wichita Falls, Texas (1976–1977), Longview, Texas (1978), Albuquerque, New Mexico (1979–1980), McAllen, Texas (1981–1985), Florence, Alabama (1986–2013), and Kansas City, Kansas (2014–2017). The 2018 game will be played at the McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas. Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on ESPN.

Prior to 1973, for what was then called the "NCAA College Division," champions were selected by polls conducted at the end of each regular season by two major wire services; in some years the two polls named different number one teams.

NCAA College Division wire service national champions

Polls were conducted by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) at the end of each regular season. The AP would poll a panel of writers, while UPI would poll a panel of coaches.

National champions by polling

Year	UPI number one	AP number one
1958	[[{{{school}}}|Mississippi Southern]]	(no poll)
1959	Bowling Green	(no poll)
1960	Ohio
1961	Pittsburg State
1962	Southern Miss	Florida A&M
1963	Delaware	Northern Illinois
1964	Cal State Los Angeles	Wittenberg
1965	North Dakota State
1966	San Diego State
1967	San Diego State
1968	San Diego State	North Dakota State
1969	North Dakota State
1970	Arkansas State
1971	Delaware
1972	Delaware
1973	Tennessee State
1974	Louisiana Tech	Central Michigan

While the NCAA started Division II playoffs in 1973, AP and UPI still conducted their polls these years.

NCAA Division II champions

Since 1973, a post-season tournament has been held to determine the Division II Champion. The current format, in use since 2016, features 28 teams. The 28 teams are organized into 4 super-regions of 7 teams each, the top-seeded team in each super-region gets a bye during the first round. The champions of the four super-regions meet in the semi-final round, and the winners of the two semi-final games meet in a neutral-site championship game. Prior to the championship game itself, the game is held at the higher-seeded team's stadium. The championship game has been played at several sites through history, starting in 2018 it will be held at the McKinney Independent School District Stadium, a 12,000 seat facility that opened in August, 2018.

See also: List of NCAA Division II Football Championship appearances by team

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Location	Attendance	Winning head coach
1973	Louisiana Tech (1)	Western Kentucky	34–0	Hughes Stadium	Sacramento, California	12,016	Lambright, MaxieMaxie Lambright
1974	Central Michigan (1)	Delaware	54–14	Hughes Stadium	Sacramento, California	14,137	Kramer, RoyRoy Kramer
1975	Northern Michigan (1)	Western Kentucky	16–14	Hughes Stadium	Sacramento California	12,017	Krueger, GilGil Krueger
1976	Montana State (1)	Akron	24–13	Memorial Stadium	Wichita Falls, Texas	13,200	Holland, SonnySonny Holland
1977	Lehigh (1)	Jacksonville State	33–0	Memorial Stadium	Wichita Falls, Texas	14,114	Whitehead, JohnJohn Whitehead
1978	Eastern Illinois (1)	Delaware	10–9	Lobo Stadium	Longview, Texas	5,500	Mudra, DarrellDarrell Mudra
1979	Delaware (1)	Youngstown State	38–21	University Stadium	Albuquerque, New Mexico	4,000	Raymond, TubbyTubby Raymond
1980	Cal Poly SLO (1)	Eastern Illinois	21–13	University Stadium	Albuquerque, New Mexico	2,056	Harper, JoeJoe Harper
1981	Southwest Texas State (1)	North Dakota State	42–13	Veterans Memorial Stadium	McAllen, Texas	9,415	Wacker, JimJim Wacker
1982	Southwest Texas State (2)	UC Davis	34–9	Veterans Memorial Stadium	McAllen, Texas	8,000	Wacker, JimJim Wacker
1983	North Dakota State (1)	[[{{{school}}}|Central State]]	41–21	Veterans Memorial Stadium	McAllen, Texas	5,275	Morton, DonDon Morton
1984	Troy State (1)	North Dakota State	18–17	Veterans Memorial Stadium	McAllen, Texas	4,500	Gailey, ChanChan Gailey
1985	North Dakota State (2)	North Alabama	35–7	Veterans Memorial Stadium	McAllen, Texas	6,000	Solomonson, EarleEarle Solomonson
1986	North Dakota State (3)	South Dakota	27–7	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	11,506	Solomonson, EarleEarle Solomonson
1987	Troy State (2)	Portland State	31–17	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	10,600	Rhoades, RickRick Rhoades
1988	North Dakota State (4)	Portland State	35–21	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,763	Hager, RockyRocky Hager
1989	Mississippi College†	Jacksonville State	3–0	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,763	Williams, John M.John M. Williams
1990	North Dakota State (5)	[[{{{school}}}|Indiana (PA)]]	51–11	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	10,080	Hager, RockyRocky Hager
1991	Pittsburg State (1)	Jacksonville State	23–6	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	11,500	Broyles, ChuckChuck Broyles
1992	Jacksonville State (1)	Pittsburg State	17–13	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	11,733	Burgess, BillBill Burgess
1993	North Alabama (1)	[[{{{school}}}|Indiana (PA)]]	41–34	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	15,361	Wallace, BobbyBobby Wallace
1994	North Alabama (2)	[[{{{school}}}|Texas A&M–Kingsville]]	16–10	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	13,526	Wallace, BobbyBobby Wallace
1995	North Alabama (3)	Pittsburg State	27–7	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	15,241	Wallace, BobbyBobby Wallace
1996	Northern Colorado (1)	Carson–Newman	23–14	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	5,745	Glenn, JoeJoe Glenn
1997	Northern Colorado (2)	[[{{{school}}}|New Haven]]	51–0	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	3,352	Glenn, JoeJoe Glenn
1998	Northwest Missouri State (1)	Carson–Newman	24–6	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,149	Tjeerdsma, MelMel Tjeerdsma
1999	Northwest Missouri State (2)	Carson–Newman	58–52 (4OT)	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	8,451	Tjeerdsma, MelMel Tjeerdsma
2000	[[{{{school}}}|Delta State]] (1)	[[{{{school}}}|Bloomsburg]]	63–34	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,123	Campbell, SteveSteve Campbell
2001	North Dakota (1)	Grand Valley State	17–14	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,113	Lennon, DaleDale Lennon
2002	Grand Valley State (1)	Valdosta State	31–24	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	9,783	Kelly, BrianBrian Kelly
2003	Grand Valley State (2)	North Dakota	10–3	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,236	Kelly, BrianBrian Kelly
2004	Valdosta State (1)	Pittsburg State	36–31	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	8,604	Hatcher, ChrisChris Hatcher
2005	Grand Valley State (3)	Northwest Missouri State	21–17	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,837	Martin, ChuckChuck Martin
2006	Grand Valley State (4)	Northwest Missouri State	17–14	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,437	Martin, ChuckChuck Martin
2007	Valdosta State (2)	Northwest Missouri State	25–20	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,532	Dean, DavidDavid Dean
2008	[[{{{school}}}|Minnesota–Duluth]] (1)	Northwest Missouri State	21–14	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,215	Nielson, BobBob Nielson
2009	Northwest Missouri State (3)	Grand Valley State	30–23	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,211	Tjeerdsma, MelMel Tjeerdsma
2010	[[{{{school}}}|Minnesota–Duluth]] (2)	[[{{{school}}}|Delta State]]	20–17	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	4,027	Nielson, BobBob Nielson
2011	Pittsburg State (2)	Wayne State (MI)	35–21	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,276	Beck, TimTim Beck
2012	Valdosta State (3)	[[{{{school}}}|Winston-Salem State]]	35–7	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	7,525	Dean, DavidDavid Dean
2013	Northwest Missouri State (4)	Lenoir–Rhyne	43–28	Braly Municipal Stadium	Florence, Alabama	6,543	Dorrel, AdamAdam Dorrel
2014	CSU–Pueblo (1)	[[{{{school}}}|Minnesota State–Mankato]]	13–0	Children's Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kansas	6,762	Wristen, JohnJohn Wristen
2015	Northwest Missouri State (5)	[[{{{school}}}|Shepherd]]	34–7	Children's Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kansas	16,181	Dorrel, AdamAdam Dorrel
2016	Northwest Missouri State (6)	North Alabama	29–3	Children's Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kansas	9,576	Dorrel, AdamAdam Dorrel
2017	Texas A&M–Commerce (1)	West Florida	37–27	Children's Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kansas	4,259	Carthel, ColbyColby Carthel
2018	Valdosta State (4)	[[{{{school}}}|Ferris State]]	49–47	McKinney ISD Stadium	McKinney, Texas	4,306	Bell, KerwinKerwin Bell

† Mississippi College's 1989 tournament participation, along with its championship, were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Teams that moved to Division I

Most of the participants in early national championship games have moved into Division I, the main catalyst for their moves being the creation of Division I-AA, now the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), in 1978. The following Division II title game participants later moved to Division I:

Division I FBS (formerly I-A) Akron (1976 runner-up) Central Michigan (1974 champion) Louisiana Tech (1973 champion) Texas State (champion 1981, 1982 as Southwest Texas State) Troy (1984 and 1987 champion as Troy State) Western Kentucky (1973 and 1975 runner-up)

Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) Cal Poly (1980 champion) Delaware (1979 champion; 1974 and 1978 runner-up) Eastern Illinois (1978 champion; 1980 runner-up) Jacksonville State (1992 champion; 1977, 1989, and 1991 runner-up) Lehigh (champion 1977) Montana State (champion 1976) North Alabama (champion 1993, 1994, and 1995; runner-up 1985 and 2016) North Dakota (champion 2001, runner-up 2003) North Dakota State (champion 1965, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1990; runner-up 1981 and 1984) Northern Colorado (champion 1996 and 1997) Portland State (runner-up 1987 and 1988) South Dakota (runner-up 1986) UC Davis (runner-up 1982) Youngstown State (runner-up 1979)

Postseason bowls

Regional bowls

From 1964 to 1972, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action, however these games took place after the AP and UPI polls were completed, therefore these games did not factor in selecting a national champion for the College Division. The bowl games were:

Region	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972
East	Tangerine Bowl				Boardwalk Bowl
	Orlando, Florida				Atlantic City, New Jersey
Mideast	Grantland Rice Bowl
	Murfreesboro, Tennessee					Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Midwest	Pecan Bowl							Pioneer Bowl
	Abilene, Texas				Arlington, Texas			Wichita Falls, Texas
West	Camellia Bowl
	Sacramento, California

Winners of regional bowls

Year	West	Midwest	Mideast	East
1964	Montana State	State College (IA)	Middle Tennessee State	East Carolina
1965	Cal State Los Angeles	North Dakota State	Ball State / Tennessee State (tie)	East Carolina
1966	San Diego State	North Dakota	Tennessee State	Morgan State
1967	San Diego State	Texas-Arlington	Eastern Kentucky	Tennessee-Martin
1968	Humboldt State	North Dakota State	Louisiana Tech	Delaware
1969	North Dakota State	Arkansas State	East Tennessee State	Delaware
1970	North Dakota State	Arkansas State	Tennessee State	Delaware
1971	Boise State	Louisiana Tech	Tennessee State	Delaware
1972	North Dakota	Tennessee State	Louisiana Tech	Massachusetts

Playoff bowls

From 1973 to 1977, some of the tournament games were also known by bowl names;

• In 1973, one of the first-round games was the final playing of the Boardwalk Bowl.
• From 1973 through 1975, the two semifinal games were the Grantland Rice Bowl and the Pioneer Bowl, while the final game was the Camellia Bowl.
• In 1976 and 1977, the two semifinal games were the Grantland Rice Bowl and the Knute Rockne Bowl, while the final game was the Pioneer Bowl.

See also

File:Nwmsu-trophy.jpg

National football championship trophy room at Bearcat Stadium at Northwest Missouri State University. The two trophies in the middle are for the team's 1998 and 1999 national championships. The four trophies on the left are for appearances in the 2005–2008 title games.

• College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS
• NCAA Division I Football Championship
• NCAA Division I FCS Consensus Mid-Major Football National Championship
• NCAA Division III Football Championship
• NAIA National Football Championship
• NJCAA National Football Championship
• List of college bowl games

External links

• NCAA Division II Football Championship history

Template:NCAA Division II Football Championship