2015 NCAA Division III football season

Last updated

The 2015 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 on September 5, 2015, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, on December 18, 2015, at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Mount Union, which made its 11th consecutive appearance in the title game, defeated St. Thomas (Minnesota) 49–35 to claim its 19th national title.

Contents

Conference changes and new programs

One school added football at the Division III level and eight programs changed conference affiliations. [1]

School2014 conference2015 conference
Belhaven Mid-South (NAIA)Independent
Christopher Newport USA South NJAC
Finlandia No programIndependent
Frostburg State Empire 8 NJAC
McMurry Lone Star (D-II)Independent
Morrisville State NJAC Empire 8
Salisbury Empire 8 NJAC
SUNY Cortland NJAC Empire 8
Wesley Independent NJAC

A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website. [2]

Conference standings

2015 American Southwest Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 7 Mary Hardin–Baylor +^ 41  112 
No. 12 Hardin–Simmons +^ 41  92 
East Texas Baptist + 41  73 
Louisiana College  14  37 
Sul Ross  14  37 
Howard Payne  14  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Centennial Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 13 Johns Hopkins $^ 90  111 
Moravian  72  83 
Muhlenberg  72  83 
Gettysburg  63  73 
Franklin & Marshall  54  64 
Susquehanna  45  55 
Dickinson  36  37 
Juniata  27  37 
Ursinus  27  37 
McDaniel  09  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 9 Wheaton (IL) $^ 70  111 
North Central (IL)  61  73 
Illinois Wesleyan  43  73 
Carthage  43  55 
Augustana (IL)  34  46 
North Park  25  37 
Elmhurst  16  46 
Millikin  16  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Husson + 61  73 
Norwich +^ 61  65 
Castleton  52  73 
Becker  52  73 
Maritime  34  55 
Mount Ida  25  28 
Anna Maria  16  19 
Gallaudet  07  09 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 15 Cortland +^ 62  93 
St. John Fisher + 62  74 
Alfred  53  83 
Buffalo State  53  74 
Morrisville State  44  64 
Brockport  35  55 
Utica  35  46 
Ithaca  26  46 
Hartwick  26  46 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Franklin (IN) $^ 80  83 
Rose–Hulman  62  82 
Mount St. Joseph  62  73 
Bluffton  53  64 
Manchester  53  54 
Anderson (IN)  26  28 
Defiance  26  28 
Hanover  26  28 
Earlham  08  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 23 Dubuque $^ 70  83 
No. 24 Wartburg  61  91 
Central (IA)  43  64 
Coe  34  46 
Loras  34  46 
Simpson (IA)  34  46 
Luther  25  46 
Buena Vista  07  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Liberty League football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
RPI + 61  92 
St. Lawrence +^ 61  83 
Hobart  52  73 
WPI  43  74 
Rochester (NY)  34  54 
Springfield  25  46 
Merchant Marine  25  36 
Union (NY)  07  010 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Framingham State $^ 80  92 
Fitchburg State  62  83 
Bridgewater State  62  74 
Western Connecticut  44  55 
Worcester State  44  46 
Massachusetts Maritime  35  46 
UMass Dartmouth  35  46 
Plymouth State  17  28 
Westfield State  17  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Olivet + 51  91 
Albion +^ 51  92 
Adrian  42  73 
Trine  42  64 
Alma  24  55 
Kalamazoo  15  37 
Hope  06  28 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 17 Albright $^ 81  102 
Stevenson  72  92 
Delaware Valley  72  92 
Widener  63  64 
Lebanon Valley  54  55 
Lycoming  45  46 
King's  36  37 
FDU Florham  27  37 
Wilkes  27  28 
Misericordia  18  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Midwest Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
North
St. Norbert xy$^ 50  101 
Carroll (WI)  41  64 
Ripon  32  73 
Macalester  23  46 
Beloit  14  37 
Lawrence  05  19 
South
Monmouth (IL) xy 50  82 
Cornell (IA)  32  55 
Illinois College  32  55 
Lake Forest  32  46 
Knox  14  37 
Grinnell  05  28 
Championship: St. Norbert 16, Monmouth 7
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 2 St. Thomas (MN) $^ 80  141 
No. 10 Saint John's (MN) ^ 71  102 
Concordia–Moorhead  53  73 
Gustavus Adolphus  53  73 
Augsburg  44  55 
Bethel (MN)  44  55 
Hamline  26  46 
St. Olaf  17  28 
Carleton  08  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 New England Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Western New England $^ 70  101 
Salve Regina  52  82 
Endicott  52  55 
Coast Guard  43  55 
Curry  34  46 
Maine Maritime  25  36 
MIT  25  28 
Nichols  07  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Amherst $ 80  80 
Trinity (CT)  71  71 
Tufts  62  62 
Middlebury  53  53 
Wesleyan  53  53 
Bates  26  26 
Bowdoin  26  26 
Hamilton  26  26 
Williams  26  26 
Colby  17  17 
  • $ Conference champion
2015 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 Wesley $^ 81  112 
Salisbury ^ 71  73 
Kean  63  83 
Frostburg State  54  64 
Rowan  54  64 
TCNJ  44  45 
Montclair State  45  46 
Christopher Newport  45  46 
William Paterson  18  28 
Southern Virginia # 09  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • # – Provisional NCAA Division III member
2015 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 8 Wabash $^ 90  121 
DePauw  72  82 
Wittenberg  72  82 
Denison  63  73 
Ohio Wesleyan  54  55 
Hiram  45  46 
Oberlin  36  37 
Kenyon  27  28 
Wooster  27  28 
Allegheny  09  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Lakeland $^ 60  83 
Benedictine (IL)  51  73 
Wisconsin Lutheran  42  55 
Concordia (WI)  33  37 
Aurora  24  37 
Rockford  15  37 
Concordia (IL)  06  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Linfield $^ 70  121 
No. 20 Whitworth ^ 61  92 
Puget Sound  52  63 
Pacific (OR)  43  64 
George Fox  25  46 
Pacific Lutheran  25  27 
Willamette  25  27 
Lewis & Clark  07  09 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 Mount Union $^ 90  150 
No. 22 John Carroll  72  82 
No. 19 Ohio Northern ^ 72  93 
Baldwin Wallace  72  73 
Heidelberg  54  55 
Otterbein  45  46 
Capital  36  37 
Marietta  27  28 
Muskingum  18  19 
Wilmington (OH)  09  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 21 Washington and Lee $^ 70  101 
Guilford  61  91 
Emory & Henry  43  64 
Hampden–Sydney  43  64 
Randolph–Macon  34  46 
Bridgewater  25  46 
Shenandoah  16  46 
Catholic University  16  37 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 Thomas More $^ 80  111 
Westminster (PA)  71  92 
Washington & Jefferson  62  82 
Carnegie Mellon  62  83 
Case Western Reserve  62  73 
Bethany (WV)  44  55 
Saint Vincent  35  46 
Waynesburg  26  37 
Geneva  17  28 
Thiel  17  28 
Grove City  08  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Southern Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Hendrix $^ 71  83 
Centre  62  82 
Berry  62  73 
Chicago  53  64 
Washington University  53  64 
Birmingham–Southern  35  55 
Rhodes  26  46 
Millsaps  26  37 
Sewanee  08  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
2015 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
La Verne $^ 70  82 
Claremont–Mudd–Scripps  61  72 
Occidental  43  54 
Chapman  43  45 
Redlands  43  45 
Cal Lutheran  25  45 
Pomona–Pitzer  16  27 
Whittier  07  09 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 18 Texas Lutheran $ 30  82 
Trinity (TX)  21  82 
Austin  12  55 
Southwestern (TX)  03  28 
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
St. Scholastica $^ 90  92 
Northwestern (MN)  81  83 
Westminster (MO)  63  64 
MacMurray  54  64 
Eureka  45  55 
Crown  45  46 
Minnesota–Morris  45  46 
Greenville  36  37 
Martin Luther  18  28 
Iowa Wesleyan # 18  19 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • # – Provisional NCAA Division III member
2015 USA South Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 25 Huntingdon $^ 70  102 
Maryville (TN)  52  82 
North Carolina Wesleyan  52  55 
Averett  24  27 
LaGrange  24  27 
Methodist  25  46 
Greensboro  25  37 
Ferrum  25  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 Wisconsin–Oshkosh $^ 70  112 
No. 4 Wisconsin–Whitewater ^ 61  122 
No. 14 Wisconsin–Platteville  52  82 
Wisconsin–Stevens Point  34  55 
Wisconsin–River Falls  34  46 
Wisconsin–La Crosse  25  37 
Wisconsin–Stout  25  37 
Wisconsin–Eau Claire  07  010 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2015 NCAA Division III independents football records
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
McMurry #   46 
Finlandia    37 
Belhaven #   28 
Maranatha Baptist    18 
Alfred State #   19 
  • # – Provisional Division III member

Conference summaries

ConferenceChampionRecordOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
ASC East Texas Baptist
Hardin–Simmons
Mary Hardin–Baylor
7–3
9–2
10–1
Jessie Ramos, HSUTeidrick Smith, UMHB Joshua Eargle, ETBU
Centennial Johns Hopkins 11–0Bradley Munday, Johns HopkinsKeith Corliss, Johns HopkinsJeff Pukszyn, Moravian
CCIW Wheaton (IL) 11–0Sam Frasco, Augustana Adam Dansdill, WheatonMike Swider, Wheaton
ECFC Norwich 6–5John Smith, Husson Bryant Wade, HussonMike Lichten, Becker
Empire 8 SUNY Cortland 9–2Dan Andrews, SUNY Brockport Tarik Bennett, SUNY BrockportDaniel MacNiell, SUNY Cortland
HCAC Franklin 8–3Chase Burton, FranklinRyan Aelker, Bluffton Nick Johnson, Earlham
IIAC Dubuque 8–3Logan Schrader, Wartburg Blaine Snitker, Dubuque Stan Zweifel, Dubuque
Liberty St. Lawrence 8–3Jeff Avery, RPI
Mike Lefflbine, St. Lawrence
Max Nacewicz, Springfield Mark Raymond, St. Lawrence
MSCAC Framingham State 9–2Matt Silva, Framingham StateMatt Mangano, Framingham StateTom Kelley, Framingham State
MIAA Albion 9–2Dominic Bona, AlbionTerry Calagon, Alma
MAC Albright 10–1Malik Pressley, FDU-Florham Brandon Jones, Widener John Marzka, Albright
Midwest St. Norbert 10–1Jacob Bunk, St. NorbertZach Hauser, Macalester Dan McCarty, St. Norbert
Chad Braun, Monmouth
MIAC St. Thomas (MN) 11–0Ayrton Scott, Augsburg Ryan Winter, St. ThomasGlenn Caruso, St. Thomas
Peter Haugen, Gustavus Adolphus
NEFC Western New England 10–1Tyler Ward, Western New EnglandObi Etuka, Western New EnglandKeith Emery, Western New England
NESCAC Amherst 8–0Chance Brady, Tufts Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, AmherstE.J. Mills, Amherst
NJAC Salisbury 7–3Joe Callahan, Wesley Darren Dungee, Rowan Sherman Wood, Salisbury
NCAC Wabash 11–0Mason Zurek, WabashTyler McCullen, WabashEric Raeburn, Wabash
NACC Lakeland 8–3Michael Whitley, LakelandLandon Deringer, Lakeland
Tanner Behnke, Wisc. Lutheran
Colin Bruton, Lakeland
Northwest Linfield 10–0Sam Riddle, LinfieldAlex Hoff, LinfieldJoseph Smith, Linfield
OAC Mount Union 11–0Justin Magazine, Ohio Northern
Anthony Latina, John Carroll
Devon Price, Ohio Northern
Tom Lally, Mount Union
Tre Jones, Mount Union
Hank Spencer, Mount Union
Dean Paul, Ohio Northern
ODAC Washington and Lee 10–1Matt Pawlowski, Guilford Jake Payne, Shenandoah Scott Abell, Washington and Lee
PAC Thomas More 11–0Sam Benger, Carnegie Mellon Erick Butler, Thomas MoreRegis Scafe, Thomas More
SAA Hendrix 8–3Dayton Winn, HendrixMichael Shield, Rhodes Buck Buchanan, Hendrix
SCIAC La Verne 8–2Kwame Do, Occidental Paul Slaats, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Chris Krich, La Verne
SCAC Texas Lutheran 8–2Trenton White, Texas LutheranJulian Turner, Trinity Danny Padron, Texas Lutheran
UMAC St. Scholastica 9–2Latif Adams, Westminster (MO) Alex Mangan, St. ScholasticaChris Douglas, MacMurray
USA South Huntingdon 10–1Malik Adams, NC Wesleyan Anthony White, HuntingdonMike Turk, Huntingdon
WIAC UW–Oshkosh 10–1Brett Kasper, UW-OshkoshAndrew Robinson, UW-Platteville Pat Cerroni, UW-Oshkosh

Postseason

Twenty-five conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, two conferences had no Pool A bid. The American Southwest, which had fallen below the required seven members in 2013, lost its Pool A bid after the two-year grace period; the SCAC had only four members. The MASCAC and SAA gained Pool A bids for the first time, having passed through the two-year waiting period.

Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 25 Pool A conferences contained 220 schools, an average of 8.8 teams per conference. Twelve schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.

The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Playoff bracket

First round
November 21, 2015
Second round
November 28, 2015
Quarterfinals
December 5, 2015
Semifinals
December 12, 2015
Championship
December 18, 2015
Salem Football Stadium
Salem, Virginia
St. Thomas (MN) * 57
La Verne 14 St. Thomas (MN)* 38
St. John's (MN) * 51St. John's (MN) 19
Dubuque 7 St. Thomas (MN)* 38
Thomas More * 51Wabash 7
Washington and Lee 21 Thomas More 27
Wabash * 35Wabash* † 33
Albion 14 St. Thomas (MN)* 38
Linfield * 48Linfield 17
Whitworth 10 Linfield* 38
SUNY Cortland * 45SUNY Cortland 22
Salisbury 21 Linfield* 38
Huntingdon * 38Mary Hardin–Baylor 35
Hendrix 27 Huntingdon 23
Hardin–Simmons* 19 Mary Hardin–Baylor* 43
Mary Hardin–Baylor 37St. Thomas (MN) 35
Mount Union * 55Mount Union49
St. Lawrence 23 Mount Union* 66
Albright * 49Albright 7
Norwich 0 Mount Union* 56
Wesley * 42Wesley 35
Framingham State 22 Wesley42
Johns Hopkins * 52Johns Hopkins* 37
Western New England 20 Mount Union* 36
Wisconsin–Oshkosh * 48Wisconsin–Whitewater 6
St. Scholastica 0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh* 42
Franklin* 22 Ohio Northern 7
Ohio Northern 27Wisconsin–Oshkosh* 29
Wisconsin–Whitewater * 48Wisconsin–Whitewater31
St. Norbert 0 Wisconsin-Whitewater31
Wheaton (IL) * 55Wheaton (IL)* 17
Lakeland 6

* Home team    Overtime   Winner

Bowl games

DateBowlLocationHome teamAway teamScore
Nov. 20, 2015 ECAC Chapman Bowl Arute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
Husson Salve Regina 42–39
Nov. 20, 2015ECAC President's BowlArute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
WPI Kean 24–6
Nov. 21, 2015 Centennial MAC Bowl SeriesScotty Wood Stadium
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Muhlenberg Stevenson 14–9
Nov. 21, 2015Centennial-MAC Bowl SeriesJames Work Memorial Stadium
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Delaware Valley Moravian 20–16
Nov. 21, 2015ECAC Lynah BowlArute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
St. John Fisher Westminster (PA) 42–21
Nov. 21, 2015ECAC Bushnell BowlArute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
Buffalo State RPI 20–13
Nov. 22, 2015ECAC Legacy BowlArute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
Bridgewater State Carnegie Mellon 48–13
Nov. 22, 2015ECAC Whitelaw BowlArute Field
New Britain, Connecticut
Alfred Fitchburg State 11–10

See also

References

  1. "NJAC goes big for 2015", D3football.com. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  2. "Division III Team Pages", D3football.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.