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, will begin 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 they dropped 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

The top 25 from the AFCA Coaches' Poll.

Conference standings

Super Region 1

2025 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 21 Johnson C. Smith   1 – 0     3 – 0   Winston-Salem State   1 – 0     2 – 1   Bowie State   0 – 0     1 – 1   Livingstone   0 – 0     1 – 1   Virginia State   0 – 0     1 – 1   No. 22 Virginia Union   0 – 0     1 – 1   Bluefield State   0 – 0     1 – 2   Shaw   0 – 0     0 – 2   Fayetteville State   0 – 0     0 – 3   Elizabeth City State   0 – 1     0 – 3   Lincoln (PA)   0 – 1     0 – 3   $ – 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   Fairmont State   0 – 0     2 – 0   Frostburg State   0 – 0     2 – 0   No. 18т Charleston (WV)   0 – 0     1 – 1   Concord   0 – 0     1 – 1   West Virginia State   0 – 0     1 – 1   Glenville State   0 – 0     0 – 2   West Liberty   0 – 0     0 – 2   West Virginia Wesleyan   0 – 0     0 – 2   Wheeling   0 – 0     0 – 2   $ – 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   Saint Anselm   1 – 0     1 – 1   Post   0 – 0     1 – 0   Southern Connecticut   0 – 0     0 – 0   American International   0 – 0     0 – 1   Assumption   0 – 0     0 – 1   Bentley   0 – 0     0 – 1   Franklin Pierce   0 – 0     0 – 1   Pace   0 – 1     0 – 2   $ – 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. 6 Kutztown   0 – 0     1 – 0   Lock Haven   0 – 0     1 – 0   West Chester   0 – 0     1 – 0   East Stroudsburg   0 – 0     1 – 1   Bloomsburg   0 – 0     0 – 1   Millersville   0 – 0     0 – 1   Shepherd   0 – 0     0 – 1   Shippensburg   0 – 0     0 – 1   West Division Clarion   0 – 0     2 – 0   No. 10 California (PA)   0 – 0     1 – 0   Edinboro   0 – 0     1 – 0   No. 4 Slippery Rock   0 – 0     1 – 0   Seton Hill   0 – 0     1 – 1   IUP   0 – 0     0 – 1   Gannon   0 – 0     0 – 2   $ – 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   1 – 0     1 – 1   UNC Pembroke   0 – 0     2 – 1   Chowan   0 – 0     1 – 2   Ferrum*   0 – 0     1 – 2   Erskine   0 – 0     0 – 2   Shorter   0 – 0     0 – 3   Barton   0 – 1     0 – 3   $ – Conference champion ^ – 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   0 – 0     3 – 0   No. 13 West Alabama   0 – 0     3 – 0   Delta State   0 – 0     2 – 1   No. 20 Valdosta State   0 – 0     2 – 1   $ – 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   Emory & Henry   1 – 0     2 – 0   No. 21 Lenoir–Rhyne   1 – 0     1 – 1   Newberry   1 – 0     1 – 0   Anderson (SC)   0 – 0     2 – 0   No. 23 Carson–Newman   0 – 0     1 – 0   Wingate   0 – 0     1 – 0   Mars Hill   0 – 0     0 – 1   Catawba   0 – 1     1 – 1   Tusculum   0 – 1     1 – 1   UVA Wise   0 – 1     0 – 2   $ – 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   Edward Waters   2 – 0     3 – 0   Benedict   1 – 0     2 – 0   Albany State   1 – 0     2 – 1   Clark Atlanta   1 – 0     2 – 1   Tuskegee   1 – 0     2 – 1   Kentucky State   1 – 1     1 – 2   Lane   0 – 0     0 – 1   Allen   0 – 0     0 – 2   Morehouse   0 – 0     0 – 2   Savannah State   0 – 1     1 – 1   Fort Valley State   0 – 1     0 – 2   Miles   0 – 1     0 – 3   Central State (OH)   0 – 3     0 – 3   $ – 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   0 – 0     3 – 0   No. 24 Michigan Tech   0 – 0     3 – 0   No. 10 Grand Valley State   0 – 0     2 – 1   Davenport   0 – 0     1 – 1   Roosevelt*   0 – 0     1 – 1   Saginaw Valley State   0 – 0     1 – 2   Wayne State (MI)   0 – 0     0 – 2   Northern Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 3   $ – 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   Lincoln (MO)   0 – 0     2 – 0   William Jewell   0 – 0     2 – 0   Indianapolis   0 – 0     2 – 1   Missouri S&T   0 – 0     2 – 1   Quincy   0 – 0     1 – 1   Southwest Baptist   0 – 0     1 – 1   Upper Iowa   0 – 0     1 – 1   Truman   0 – 0     1 – 2   McKendree   0 – 0     0 – 2   $ – 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   Findlay   0 – 0     2 – 0   Northwood   0 – 0     2 – 0   Walsh   0 – 0     2 – 0   Ohio Dominican   0 – 0     1 – 0   Ashland   0 – 0     1 – 1   Hillsdale   0 – 0     1 – 1   Tiffin   0 – 0     1 – 1   Kentucky Wesleyan   0 – 0     0 – 2   Lake Erie   0 – 0     0 – 2   Thomas More   0 – 0     0 – 2   $ – 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. 24т Minnesota Duluth   1 – 0     2 – 0   MSU Moorhead   1 – 0     2 – 0   Mary   0 – 1     1 – 1   Northern State   0 – 1     0 – 1   Jamestown*   0 – 1     0 – 1   Bemidji State   0 – 1     0 – 2   Minot State   0 – 1     0 – 2   South No. 11 Augustana (SD)   1 – 0     2 – 0   No. 7 Minnesota State   1 – 0     2 – 0   Sioux Falls   1 – 0     2 – 0   Wayne State (NE)   1 – 0     1 – 1   Winona State   1 – 0     1 – 1   SW Minnesota State   0 – 1     0 – 1   Concordia–St. Paul   0 – 1     0 – 2   $ – 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   Arkansas Tech   2 – 0     2 – 0   East Central   2 – 0     2 – 0   No. 2 Harding   2 – 0     2 – 0   Henderson State   2 – 0     2 – 0   Southern Arkansas   2 – 0     2 – 0   Ouachita Baptist   1 – 1     1 – 1   SE Oklahoma State   1 – 1     1 – 1   Arkansas–Monticello   0 – 2     0 – 2   NW Oklahoma State   0 – 2     0 – 2   Oklahoma Baptist   0 – 2     0 – 2   Southern Nazarene   0 – 2     0 – 2   SW Oklahoma State   0 – 2     0 – 2   $ – 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 Angelo State   1 – 0     3 – 0   West Texas A&M   1 – 0     1 – 2   No. 11 UT Permian Basin   0 – 0     2 – 0   No. 17 Central Washington   0 – 0     1 – 1   Texas A&M–Kingsville   0 – 0     1 – 1   Western Oregon   0 – 0     1 – 1   Midwestern State   0 – 0     0 – 2   Sul Ross*   0 – 0     0 – 2   Western New Mexico   0 – 1     1 – 2   Eastern New Mexico   0 – 1     0 – 3   $ – 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   Fort Hays State   1 – 0     2 – 1   NW Missouri State   1 – 0     2 – 1   No. 15 Central Oklahoma   1 – 0     1 – 1   Missouri Southern   0 – 0     2 – 0   Emporia State   0 – 0     1 – 1   Missouri Western   0 – 0     1 – 1   Central Missouri   0 – 0     0 – 2   Nebraska–Kearney   0 – 1     2 – 1   No. 24т Pittsburg State   0 – 1     1 – 2   Washburn   0 – 1     1 – 2   $ – 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. 14 CSU Pueblo   1 – 0     1 – 1   New Mexico Highlands   0 – 0     2 – 0   No. 9 Western Colorado   0 – 0     2 – 0   Colorado Mines   0 – 0     1 – 0   Colorado Mesa   0 – 0     1 – 1   Fort Lewis   0 – 0     1 – 1   Adams State   0 – 0     0 – 2   Black Hills State   0 – 0     0 – 2   Chadron State   0 – 0     0 – 2   South Dakota Mines   0 – 1     0 – 2   $ – 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   –     1 – 2

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 Mountain East Northeast-10 PSAC Super Region 2 Carolinas Gulf South South Atlantic SIAC Super Region 3 GLIAC GLVC Great Midwest Northern Sun Super Region 4 Great American Lone Star MIAA Rocky Mountain

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

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)

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.