NCAA_Division_II_national_football_championship
NCAA Division II Football Championship
American college football tournament
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 playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, and 28 teams in 2016.
| NCAA Division II Football Championship | |
|---|---|
Logo used for the 2005 NCAA Division II National Championship Game | |
| In operation | 1973–present |
| Preceded by | Small college polls |
| Number of playoff teams | 28 |
| Championship trophy | NCAA Division II National Championship Trophy |
| Television partner(s) | ESPNU |
| Most playoff appearances | Northwest Missouri State (24) |
| Most playoff championships | Northwest Missouri State (6) |
| Current champion | Harding (1) |
The National Championship game has been held in eight different cities. Former sites include 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).[1] Since 2018, the championship game has been played at the McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas.[2] Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on ESPN.
Prior to 1973, for what was then called the NCAA College Division, national 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. From 1964 to 1972, postseason bowls crowned four regional champions. NCAA Division II bowl games still exist, but only as postseason contests for teams not qualifying for the championship playoffs.
Polls were conducted by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) at the end of each regular season. The AP polled a panel of writers, while UPI polled a panel of coaches.
National champions by polling
†While the NCAA started Division II playoffs in 1973, AP and UPI still conducted their polls these years.
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. They are organized into 4 super-regions of 7 teams each, with the top-seeded team in each super-region getting a bye during the first round. Prior to the championship game, all contests are hosted by the higher-seeded team. the semi-final games are held at the home stadiums of the two highest-seeded remaining teams. Since 2018, the championship game has been played at the McKinney Independent School District Stadium, a 12,000 seat facility that opened in August 2018.
† Mississippi College's 1989 tournament participation, along with its championship, were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.[5]
Team titles
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 Northwest Missouri State  North Dakota State  Grand Valley State Valdosta State  North Alabama  Texas State Troy Pittsburg State Northern Colorado Minnesota–Duluth  Louisiana Tech Central Michigan Northern Michigan Montana State Lehigh Eastern Illinois Delaware Cal Poly Jacksonville State Delta State North Dakota West Florida Texas A&M– Commerce CSU– Pueblo Ferris State Harding Schools that have won the Division II Championship  6,  5,  4,  3,  2,  1
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Programs that no longer compete in Division II are indicated in italics with a pink background.
| Team | Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Missouri State | 10 | 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016 |
| North Dakota State | 7 | 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990 |
| Grand Valley State | 6 | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 |
| Valdosta State | 6 | 2002, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2018, 2021 |
| Pittsburg State | 5 | 1991, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2011 |
| North Alabama | 5 | 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2016 |
| Jacksonville State | 4 | 1977, 1989, 1991, 1992 |
| Carson–Newman | 3 | 1996, 1998, 1999 |
| Delaware | 3 | 1974, 1978, 1979 |
| Ferris State | 3 | 2018, 2021, 2022 |
| Colorado Mines | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| Delta State | 2 | 2000, 2010 |
| Eastern Illinois | 2 | 1978, 1980 |
| Indiana (PA) | 2 | 1990, 1993 |
| Minnesota–Duluth | 2 | 2008, 2010 |
| Minnesota State–Mankato | 2 | 2014, 2019 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 2001, 2003 |
| Northern Colorado | 2 | 1996, 1997 |
| Portland State | 2 | 1987, 1988 |
| Texas State[a] | 2 | 1981, 1982 |
| Troy[b] | 2 | 1984, 1987 |
| Western Kentucky | 2 | 1973, 1975 |
| West Florida | 2 | 2017, 2019 |
| Akron | 1 | 1976 |
| Bloomsburg | 1 | 2000 |
| Cal Poly | 1 | 1980 |
| Central Michigan | 1 | 1974 |
| Central State | 1 | 1983 |
| CSU–Pueblo | 1 | 2014 |
| Harding | 1 | 2023 |
| Lehigh | 1 | 1977 |
| Lenoir–Rhyne | 1 | 2013 |
| Louisiana Tech | 1 | 1973 |
| Montana State | 1 | 1976 |
| New Haven | 1 | 1997 |
| Northern Michigan | 1 | 1975 |
| Shepherd | 1 | 2015 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 1986 |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | 1 | 2017 |
| Texas A&M–Kingsville | 1 | 1994 |
| UC Davis | 1 | 1982 |
| Wayne State (MI) | 1 | 2011 |
| Winston-Salem State | 1 | 2012 |
| Youngstown State | 1 | 1979 |
| Mississippi College | 0 |
Of the programs that no longer compete in D-II, Akron, Central Michigan, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky currently compete in Division I FBS. All others compete in Division I FCS.
Notes
† Mississippi College's 1989 tournament participation, along with its championship, were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
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:
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Regional bowls
From 1964 to 1972, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action,[5] 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
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.
- "Kansas City to host 14 NCAA championships". Sporting Kansas City. December 11, 2013.
- "NCAA seeks new D2 football title game host because Sporting KC will renovate field". KansasCity.com. Kansas City Star. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- "Cal Poly-SLO, Martin wreck Eastern Illinois". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. AP. December 14, 1980. Retrieved February 26, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "North Alabama vs. Northwest Missouri State - Game Summary". ESPN. December 18, 2016.
- "Division II All-Time Championship Results Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 2. Retrieved March 3, 2014.