List of NCAA Division III football championship appearances by team

The following is a list of current Division III schools that have participated in the playoffs leading to the NCAA Division III Football Championship.

The playoffs began with four teams in 1973, expanded to 8 teams to 1975, 16 teams in 1985, 28 teams in 1999, and finally 32 teams in 2005.

Qualified programs

 * Teams in bold participated in the 2023 postseason.
 * Updated after the 2023 national championship game on December 15, 2023.

Not yet qualified

 * American Rivers Conference (3) – Loras, Luther, Nebraska Wesleyan
 * American Southwest Conference (3) – Austin, Howard Payne, Sul Ross (leaving in 2024)
 * Centennial Conference (1) – Franklin & Marshall
 * College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (1) – North Park
 * Commonwealth Coast Conference (2) – New England, Nichols
 * Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (2) – Castleton, Dean
 * Empire 8 (1) – SUNY Morrisville
 * Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (2) – Bluffton, Manchester
 * Independents (2) – Hilbert (joining Empire 8 in 2024), Lyon
 * Landmark Conference (1) – Keystone
 * Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (3) – Fitchburg State, Massachusetts Maritime, Worcester State
 * Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1) – Kalamazoo
 * Middle Atlantic Conference (4) – Alvernia, Eastern, FDU Florham, Misericordia
 * Midwest Conference (6) – Beloit, Chicago, Cornell (IA), Grinnell, Knox, Ripon
 * Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1) – Hamline
 * New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (1) – Salve Regina
 * North Coast Athletic Conference (3) – Kenyon, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan
 * Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (2) – Rockford, Wisconsin Lutheran
 * Northwest Conference (4) – George Fox, Lewis & Clark, Pacific (OR), Puget Sound
 * Ohio Athletic Conference (3) – Marietta, Muskingum, Wilmington (OH)
 * Old Dominion Athletic Conference (2) – Averett, Guilford
 * Presidents' Athletic Conference (3) – Geneva, St. Vincent, Westminster (PA)
 * Southern Athletic Association (2) – Sewanee, Southwestern
 * Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (0) – None
 * Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (2) – Crown, Westminster (MO)
 * USA South Athletic Conference (4) – Brevard, Greensboro, Methodist, Southern Virginia

† New England Small College Athletic Conference teams do not participate in any postseason in football, they are only allowed to play in-conference games.

Former Division III members
Former NCAA Division III teams that sponsored football at D-III level and had made at least one appearance in playoffs but had left NCAA Division III.

Defunct Division III programs
Currently NCAA Division III teams that sponsored football at D-III level and had made at least one appearance in playoffs but dropped their football programs.

Program changes

 * Program has since joined Division I FCS.
 * Program has since joined NCAA Division I but has dropped football.
 * Program has since joined Division II.
 * Program has since joined the Division II but has dropped football.
 * Program has since joined the NAIA.
 * College has closed its doors.