2025 NCAA Division II football season

2025 NCAA Division II football season
Total No. of teams	161
Regular season	August 28 – November 15, 2025
Playoffs	November 22 – December 20, 2025
National Championship	McKinney Independent School District Stadium McKinney, TX December 20, 2025
← 2024 NCAA Division II football seasons

The 2025 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on August 28 and will end on December 20 with the Division II championship at the McKinney Independent School District Stadium in McKinney, Texas.

Conference changes and new programs

• Conference Carolinas resumed sponsoring football in 2025, after dropping the sport 50 years earlier prior to the 1975 season.

School	Former conference	New conference	Ref
Barton Bulldogs	SAC	Carolinas	[1]
Chowan Hawks	Gulf South	Carolinas	[1]
Erskine Flying Fleet	Gulf South	Carolinas	[1]
Ferrum Panthers	ODAC (D-III)	Carolinas	[2]
Jamestown Jimmies	North Star (NAIA)	NSIC	[3]
Limestone Saints	SAC	School closed	[4] [5]
Mississippi College Choctaws	Gulf South	Dropped program	[6]
New Haven Chargers	NE-10	Northeast (FCS)	[7]
North Greenville Trailblazers	Gulf South	Carolinas	[1]
Shorter Hawks	Independent (D-II)	Carolinas	[1]
UNC Pembroke Braves	Mountain East	Carolinas	[1]

Headlines

• January 17 – At the 2025 NCAA Convention, Division II's football-sponsoring delegates approved a proposal to award automatic bids to the playoffs for the conference champion of each football-sponsoring conference, replacing the earned access model. ^[8]
• April 23 – In accordance with Division II championship policy, which states that automatic qualifiers must make up no more than 50% of the playoff field, the Division II Executive Board approved the expansion of the football playoff bracket from 28 to 32 teams, effective with the 2025 season. ^[9]

Rankings

Main article: 2025 NCAA Division II football rankings

Conference standings

Super Region 1

2025 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Virginia Union y   7 – 0     9 – 1   No. 16 Johnson C. Smith y   6 – 1     9 – 1   Fayetteville State   6 – 1     6 – 4   Virginia State   4 – 3     6 – 4   Elizabeth City State   4 – 3     4 – 6   Livingstone   3 – 4     5 – 5   Winston-Salem State   2 – 5     4 – 6   Bluefield State   2 – 5     3 – 7   Bowie State   2 – 5     3 – 7   Shaw   2 – 5     2 – 8   Lincoln (PA)   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Mountain East Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Frostburg State   6 – 1     8 – 2   Charleston (WV)   6 – 1     7 – 3   Wheeling   5 – 2     6 – 4   Glenville State   4 – 3     5 – 5   West Virginia State   4 – 3     5 – 5   Fairmont State   3 – 4     6 – 4   West Liberty   2 – 5     2 – 8   Concord   2 – 6     3 – 7   West Virginia Wesleyan   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Northeast-10 Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Assumption   6 – 1     7 – 2   Bentley   6 – 1     6 – 3   Franklin Pierce   4 – 2     5 – 4   Saint Anselm   4 – 3     5 – 4   Southern Connecticut   3 – 3     3 – 6   American International   2 – 5     2 – 7   Post   1 – 5     4 – 5   Pace   0 – 6     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 4 Kutztown x   7 – 0     10 – 0   Shepherd   6 – 1     6 – 4   East Stroudsburg   5 – 2     7 – 3   Lock Haven   4 – 3     5 – 5   Shippensburg   3 – 4     3 – 7   West Chester   2 – 5     4 – 6   Bloomsburg   1 – 6     2 – 8   Millersville   0 – 7     0 – 10   West Division IUP xy   5 – 1     7 – 2   Edinboro x   5 – 1     6 – 4   California (PA)   3 – 3     7 – 3   Slippery Rock   3 – 3     6 – 3   Clarion   2 – 4     6 – 4   Seton Hill   2 – 4     4 – 6   Gannon   1 – 5     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

Super Region 2

2025 Conference Carolinas football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Greenville y   6 – 0     6 – 4   No. 25 UNC Pembroke y   5 – 1     8 – 2   Ferrum*   3 – 3     4 – 6   Barton   2 – 3     2 – 7   Chowan   2 – 4     3 – 7   Erskine   1 – 4     1 – 8   Shorter   1 – 5     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Ferrum ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Gulf South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 West Florida   2 – 0     9 – 0   Valdosta State   2 – 0     5 – 4   Delta State   1 – 2     7 – 3   West Alabama   0 – 3     5 – 3   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 South Atlantic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 19 Newberry $   8 – 1     9 – 1   Wingate   6 – 2     8 – 2   Catawba   5 – 3     7 – 3   Emory & Henry   5 – 3     6 – 3   Carson–Newman   5 – 3     6 – 3   Lenoir–Rhyne   4 – 4     5 – 5   Mars Hill   4 – 4     5 – 5   Anderson (SC)   3 – 6     5 – 6   UVA Wise   1 – 7     1 – 8   Tusculum   0 – 8     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Albany State y   8 – 0     9 – 1   No. 23 Benedict y   7 – 1     9 – 1   Kentucky State   7 – 1     8 – 2   Allen   5 – 3     5 – 5   Edward Waters   4 – 4     5 – 5   Fort Valley State   4 – 4     4 – 6   Savannah State   3 – 5     4 – 6   Tuskegee   3 – 5     4 – 6   Morehouse   3 – 5     3 – 7   Central State (OH)   3 – 5     3 – 7   Miles   3 – 5     3 – 8   Clark Atlanta   2 – 6     3 – 7   Lane   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

Super Region 3

2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Ferris State $   7 – 0     11 – 0   No. 21 Grand Valley State   5 – 2     7 – 3   Saginaw Valley State   5 – 2     6 – 5   Michigan Tech   4 – 3     7 – 4   Davenport   4 – 3     5 – 5   Northern Michigan   2 – 5     3 – 8   Roosevelt*   1 – 6     2 – 8   Wayne State (MI)   0 – 7     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Roosevelt ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NAIA Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Indianapolis   7 – 0     9 – 1   Upper Iowa   6 – 1     8 – 2   Truman   6 – 1     7 – 3   McKendree   4 – 3     4 – 6   Missouri S&T   4 – 4     6 – 5   Quincy   3 – 4     5 – 5   Southwest Baptist   2 – 5     3 – 6   Lincoln (MO)   0 – 7     2 – 8   William Jewell   0 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 Findlay $   8 – 0     10 – 0   No. 20 Ashland   7 – 1     8 – 2   Northwood   6 – 2     8 – 2   Tiffin   5 – 3     6 – 4   Walsh   4 – 4     6 – 4   Ohio Dominican   4 – 4     5 – 4   Hillsdale   4 – 4     5 – 5   Lake Erie   2 – 6     2 – 8   Kentucky Wesleyan   0 – 8     0 – 10   Thomas More   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 11 Minnesota Duluth   8 – 1     9 – 1   MSU Moorhead   6 – 3     7 – 3   Northern State   5 – 4     6 – 4   Mary   3 – 6     4 – 6   Minot State   3 – 6     3 – 7   Bemidji State   3 – 6     3 – 7   Jamestown*   1 – 8     1 – 8   South No. 13 Augustana (SD)   8 – 1     9 – 1   No. 14 Minnesota State   7 – 2     8 – 2   Wayne State (NE)   6 – 3     6 – 4   Sioux Falls   5 – 4     6 – 4   Winona State   5 – 4     5 – 5   Concordia–St. Paul   2 – 7     2 – 8   SW Minnesota State   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Jamestown ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NAIA Rankings from AFCA poll

Super Region 4

2025 Great American Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Harding $   10 – 0     10 – 0   Arkansas Tech   7 – 3     7 – 3   Henderson State   7 – 3     7 – 3   Ouachita Baptist   7 – 3     7 – 3   Southern Arkansas   7 – 3     7 – 3   East Central   6 – 4     6 – 4   SW Oklahoma State   5 – 5     5 – 5   SE Oklahoma State   4 – 6     4 – 6   Arkansas–Monticello   2 – 8     2 – 8   Oklahoma Baptist   2 – 8     2 – 8   NW Oklahoma State   2 – 8     2 – 8   Southern Nazarene   1 – 9     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll	2025 Lone Star Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Central Washington $   9 – 0     10 – 1   No. 24 Western Oregon   7 – 2     8 – 3   No. 15 UT Permian Basin   7 – 2     9 – 2   West Texas A&M   7 – 2     7 – 4   Angelo State   4 – 5     6 – 5   Texas A&M–Kingsville   4 – 5     5 – 6   Eastern New Mexico   3 – 6     3 – 8   Midwestern State   3 – 6     3 – 8   Western New Mexico   1 – 8     2 – 9   Sul Ross*   0 – 9     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Sul Ross ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III Rankings from AFCA Poll	2025 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Pittsburg State $   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 12 NW Missouri State $   8 – 1     9 – 2   Central Oklahoma   6 – 3     6 – 5   Fort Hays State   5 – 4     6 – 5   Central Missouri   5 – 4     5 – 6   Nebraska–Kearney   4 – 5     6 – 5   Emporia State   4 – 5     5 – 6   Missouri Western   2 – 7     3 – 8   Washburn   2 – 7     3 – 8   Missouri Southern   1 – 8     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 CSU Pueblo   8 – 0     9 – 1   No. 22 Chadron State   8 – 0     8 – 2   No. 18 Western Colorado   6 – 2     8 – 2   Colorado Mesa   5 – 3     6 – 4   Colorado Mines   4 – 4     6 – 4   New Mexico Highlands   4 – 4     6 – 4   Black Hills State   2 – 6     2 – 8   South Dakota Mines   2 – 6     2 – 8   Fort Lewis   1 – 7     2 – 8   Adams State   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll	2025 NCAA Division II independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Northeastern State   –     7 – 3

Postseason

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

Automatic bids (16) Automatic bids Super Region Conference School Record Appearance Last Super Region 1 CIAA Johnson C. Smith 10–1 1st — Mountain East Frostburg State 9–2 1st — Northeast-10 Bentley 7–3 4th 2021 PSAC Kutztown 11–0 8th 2024 Super Region 2 Carolinas North Greenville 7–4 5th 2016 Gulf South Valdosta State 6–4 21st 2024 South Atlantic Newberry 9–1 6th 2021 SIAC Albany State 10–1 15th 2021 Super Region 3 GLIAC Ferris State 11–0 16th 2024 GLVC Indianapolis 10–1 10th 2024 Great Midwest Findlay 10–1 3rd 2021 Northern Sun Minnesota Duluth 10–1 13th 2021 Super Region 4 Great American Harding 11–0 8th 2024 Lone Star Central Washington 10–1 9th 2024 MIAA Pittsburg State 9–2 22nd 2024 Rocky Mountain CSU Pueblo 10–1 11th 2024

At-large bids (16) At-large bids Super Region School Conference Record Appearance Last Super Region 1 Super Region 2 Super Region 3 Super Region 4

Bracket

Super Region 1

First Round November 22, 2025 Campus sites

Second Round November 29, 2025 Campus sites

Quarterfinals December 6, 2025 Campus sites

Super Region 2

First Round November 22, 2025 Campus sites

Second Round November 29, 2025 Campus sites

Quarterfinals December 6, 2025 Campus sites

Super Region 3

First Round November 22, 2025 Campus sites

Second Round November 29, 2025 Campus sites

Quarterfinals December 6, 2025 Campus sites

Super Region 4

First Round November 22, 2025 Campus sites

Second Round November 29, 2025 Campus sites

Quarterfinals December 6, 2025 Campus sites

Semifinals & Championship

Teams are re-seeded prior to semifinals.

	Semifinals December 13, 2025 Hosted by higher seeded team					Championship December 20, 2025 McKinney, Texas

Bowl games

Two bowl games will be held which featured teams that did not qualify for the Division II postseason tournament.

Date	Time (EST)	Game	Site	Television	Teams	Affiliations	Results
Dec 6	1:00 pm	Heritage Bowl	Tiger Stadium Corsicana, Texas	Livestream		LSC MIAA
	2:00 pm	America's Crossroads Bowl	Hobart High School Hobart, Indiana			GLVC GMAC

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2025, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Seton Hill	Daniel Day	June 6, 2025	Resigned	Kevin May [10]	Seton Hill defensive coordinator and linebackers coach (2019–2024)
Edward Waters	Toriano Morgan	July 16, 2025	Hired as co-offensive coordinator by Tennessee State [11]	Brian Jenkins (interim; named full-time on September 19, 2025) [12] [13]	Edward Waters offensive coordinator and associate head coach (2019–2024)
Mars Hill	Tim Clifton	August 11, 2025	Retired [14]	Kevin Barnette [15]	Mars Hill defensive coordinator (1989–2024)
Millersville	J. C. Morgan	October 6, 2025	Fired [16]	Brian Ferguson (interim)	Millersville offensive coordinator (2025)
Northern Michigan	Shane Richardson	November 7, 2025	Resigned [17]	Billy Lindquist (interim)	Northern Michigan offensive coordinator and associate head coach (2023–2025)

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Arkansas–Monticello	Hud Jackson	November 9, 2025	Resigned (became school's athletic director, effective at season's end) [18]
Winston-Salem State	Robert Massey	November 9, 2025	Fired [19]
West Liberty	Roger Waialae	November 10, 2025	Retired (effective at season's end) [20]
Shippensburg	Mark Maciejewski	November 10, 2025	Retired (effective at season's end) [21]

See also

• 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2025 NCAA Division III football season
• 2025 NAIA football season
• 2025 U Sports football season

References

1. "Conference Carolinas Unveils Addition of Shorter University and Return of Football in 2025" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. January 26, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
2. "Conference Carolinas Unveils Addition of 16th Member in Ferrum College" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. April 5, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
3. "NSIC extends invitation to the University of Jamestown" (Press release). Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. November 21, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
4. Keener, Julia; Meadows, Eriana; Johnson, Joanna; Martin, Isabel (April 29, 2025). "Limestone University board announces closure of school". WSPA-TV . Retrieved May 18, 2025.
5. "Limestone University Board Votes To Close The School, Discontinuing Both On-Campus & Online Degree Programs". Limestone University. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
6. "Important Message from Mississippi College". mc.edu. Mississippi College. November 18, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
7. "Charging Ahead: University of New Haven accepts Northeast Conference membership invite". newhavenchagers.com. New Haven Chargers. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
8. "Division II approves automatic-qualification privileges for football". NCAA (Press release). January 17, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
9. "DII Executive Board approves football bracket expansion, $2.5 million in budget requests". NCAA (Press release). April 23, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
10. "Football's Day Steps Down; DC Kevin May Promoted to Head Coach" (Press release). Seton Hill Griffins Athletics. June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
11. "Barlow Adds Experienced, Championship-Caliber Coaches to 2025 Staff" (Press release). Tennessee State Tigers Athletics. July 19, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
12. "Edward Waters University Names Brian Jenkins Interim Head Football Coach Ahead of Promising 2025 Campaign" (Press release). Edward Waters Tigers Athletics. July 16, 2025. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
13. "Edward Waters Promotes Brian Jenkins to Head Football Coach After Historic 3-0 Start" (Press release). Edward Waters Tigers Athletics. September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
14. "End of an Era: Tim Clifton retires after 32 seasons" (Press release). Mars Hill Lions Athletics. August 11, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
15. "Kevin Barnette named Head Football Coach" (Press release). Mars Hill Lions Athletics. August 12, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
16. "Millersville makes change at head football coach" (Press release). Millersville Marauders Athletics. October 6, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
17. "Northern Michigan Announces Football Leadership Change" (Press release). Northern Michigan Wildcats Athletics. November 7, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
18. "Veteran Coach Hud Jackson to Step Down from Football, Transition to Full-Time Athletic Director" (Press release). Arkansas-Monticello Athletics. November 9, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
19. Gaither, Steven (November 9, 2025). "WSSU, Robert Massey parting ways" (Press release). HBCU Gameday. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
20. "West Liberty University Head Football Coach Roger Waialae to Retire After 2025 Season" (Press release). West Liberty Athletics. November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
21. "Shippensburg University Head Football Coach Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski Announces Retirement" (Press release). Shippensburg Athletics. November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.