NCAA Division III football championship



The NCAA Division III football championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division III level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. Over the past 50 seasons, the number of participants has grown to 32, with the current bracket size dating from 2005. In 2023, 28 playoff bids went to conference champions via automatic qualification, leaving just four places for at-large selections.

The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl (named after football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg), was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia in 2023, where it was previously held annually from 1993 to 2017. Other Stagg Bowl sites have included Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland (2022), Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio (2021), Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah, Texas (2018–2019), Hawkins Stadium in Bradenton, Florida (1990–1992), Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama (1973–1982, 1985–1989), and Galbreath Field at the College Football Hall of Fame, when the Hall was located in Kings Island, Ohio (1983–1984).

West and East Region Championships (1969–1972)
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl was founded by the NCAA in October 1969. Along with its counterpart, the Knute Rockne Bowl, it was "created by the NCAA ... for its College Division II schools, those 100-plus smallest schools in the NCAA." Eligible schools were divided into an East Region (the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states) and West Region (the rest of the country), with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl serving as the championship of the West Region, and the Knute Rockne Bowl as the championship of the East Region.

The NCAA thus provided postseason opportunities for College Division teams too small to compete for spots in the four regional bowls it had established in 1964 (as of 1969, these were the Camellia Bowl for the West, the Pecan Bowl for the Midwest, the Grantland Rice Bowl for the Mideast, and the Boardwalk Bowl for the East). At least for the sport of football, this accommodation in 1969 foreshadowed the decision to subdivide the College Division four years later, into Division II and Division III.

National Championships (1973–present)
When the College Division was subdivided into the current Division II and Division III in 1973, the NCAA made the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl the Division III national championship game. Initially, Phenix City, Alabama (site of the 1971 and 1972 Stagg Bowls) continued as the host city.

Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl
§ - On October 10, 2019, the NCAA vacated the 2016 championship due to violations self-reported by UMHB. The appeal was unsuccessful, therefore there was no champion declared for the 2016 season. In late June 2020, UMHB's 2016 and 2017 seasons' wins and records were also vacated.

National championships by team
Programs that no longer compete in Division III are indicated in italics with a pink background.

§ October 10, 2019 the NCAA vacated the 2016 championship due to violations self-reported by Mary Hardin–Baylor. The appeal was unsuccessful, therefore there was no champion declared for the 2016 season. Mary Hardin–Baylor also had its wins and records from that season and in 2017 vacated.

Championship game appearances
Programs that no longer compete in Division III are indicated in italics with a pink background.

As of the upcoming 2024 season, all of the programs that no longer compete in D-III compete in Division I FCS. West Georgia is the most recent of these to move to FCS, with the 2024 season being its first at that level.

Stagg Bowl Most Outstanding Player Award
As voted by the media at the game since 2000.