2022 NCAA Division III football season

2022 NCAA Division III football season
Preseason AP No. 1	Mary Hardin–Baylor
Regular season	September 3 – November 12, 2022
Playoffs	November 19 – December 16, 2022
National championship	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD December 17, 2021
NCAA Division III football seasons

The 2022 NCAA Division III football season is the component of the 2022 college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States. The regular season began on September 3 and will end on November 12. This will be the 49th season that the NCAA has sponsored a Division III championship.

Mary Hardin–Baylor, the defending national champions, were the top-ranked team to begin the season.

The season's playoffs will be played between November 19 and December 16, culminating in the national championship—also known as the Stagg Bowl—at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

Team	Former conference	New conference
Allegheny	NCAC	Presidents'
Averett	USA South	ODAC
Belhaven	ASC	USA South
Eastern	New program	Independent
Hilbert	New program	Independent

In addition to the above, the USA South amicably split into two conferences at the end of the 2021–22 school year. In addition to Averett, which left for the ODAC, 10 of the previous 19 full members remained in the USA South, and eight left to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS). Belhaven, which had previously been announced as a new USA South all-sports member for 2021–22, instead joined CCS. Since CCS does not sponsor football, the separation agreement called for all football-sponsoring CCS members to become USA South affiliates. This meant the only changes to USA South football were the arrival of Belhaven and departure of Averett.

Conference standings

2022 American Rivers Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Wartburg $^   8 – 0     13 – 1   Coe   6 – 2     7 – 3   Dubuque   6 – 2     6 – 4   Central (IA)   5 – 3     7 – 3   Loras   5 – 3     5 – 5   Buena Vista   3 – 5     4 – 6   Luther   2 – 6     2 – 8   Simpson (IA)   1 – 7     1 – 9   Nebraska Wesleyan   0 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 American Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^   8 – 0     12 – 2   No. 12 Hardin–Simmons ^   7 – 1     9 – 2   Howard Payne   6 – 2     7 – 3   East Texas Baptist   4 – 4     5 – 5   Sul Ross   4 – 4     4 – 6   Texas Lutheran   3 – 5     4 – 6   Southwestern (TX)   2 – 6     3 – 7   Austin   1 – 7     1 – 9   McMurry   1 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Centennial Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 20 Susquehanna $^   9 – 0     10 – 1   No. 21 Johns Hopkins   8 – 1     10 – 1   Ursinus   7 – 2     9 – 2   Muhlenberg   6 – 3     7 – 4   Franklin & Marshall   5 – 4     6 – 4   Dickinson   3 – 6     3 – 7   Moravian   3 – 6     3 – 7   McDaniel   3 – 6     3 – 7   Gettysburg   1 – 8     1 – 9   Juniata   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2022 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 North Central (IL) $^   9 – 0     15 – 0   No. 17 Wheaton (IL) ^   8 – 1     8 – 3   Washington University   7 – 2     8 – 3   Carroll (WI)   5 – 4     6 – 4   Illinois Wesleyan   5 – 4     6 – 4   Augustana (IL)   4 – 5     5 – 5   Millikin   3 – 6     4 – 6   Carthage   3 – 6     3 – 7   North Park   1 – 8     1 – 9   Elmhurst   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Commonwealth Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 25 Endicott $^   6 – 0     10 – 1   Husson   4 – 2     5 – 6   Salve Regina   3 – 3     6 – 4   New England   3 – 3     5 – 5   Western New England   3 – 3     4 – 6   Nichols   1 – 5     4 – 6   Curry   1 – 5     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Gallaudet $^   5 – 1     7 – 3   Castleton   4 – 2     5 – 5   Anna Maria   3 – 3     5 – 4   Alfred State   3 – 3     5 – 5   Keystone   3 – 3     3 – 7   SUNY Maritime   2 – 4     3 – 7   Dean   1 – 5     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2022 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 19 Cortland $^   6 – 0     9 – 2   No. 22 Utica ^   5 – 1     10 – 2   Brockport   4 – 2     7 – 3   SUNY Morrisville   3 – 3     7 – 4   St. John Fisher   2 – 4     4 – 6   Alfred   1 – 5     2 – 8   Hartwick   0 – 6     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 24 Mount St. Joseph $^   7 – 0     10 – 1   Rose–Hulman   6 – 1     6 – 4   Hanover   5 – 2     5 – 5   Franklin (IN)   4 – 3     4 – 6   Defiance   3 – 4     3 – 7   Bluffton   2 – 5     2 – 8   Anderson (IN)   1 – 6     1 – 9   Manchester   0 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Liberty League football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Ithaca $^   6 – 0     12 – 1   RPI   5 – 1     8 – 3   Union (NY)   4 – 2     7 – 4   Hobart   3 – 3     6 – 4   St. Lawrence   2 – 4     4 – 6   Rochester (NY)   1 – 5     3 – 7   Buffalo State   0 – 6     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   UMass Dartmouth $^   8 – 0     9 – 2   Plymouth State   6 – 2     9 – 2   Western Connecticut   6 – 2     7 – 3   Bridgewater State   6 – 2     7 – 4   Framingham State   4 – 4     5 – 5   Massachusetts Maritime   3 – 5     3 – 7   Westfield State   2 – 6     2 – 8   Worcester State   1 – 7     1 – 9   Fitchburg State   0 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Alma $^   6 – 0     11 – 1   Albion   5 – 1     9 – 1   Trine   3 – 3     7 – 3   Hope   3 – 3     6 – 4   Adrian   3 – 3     6 – 4   Olivet   1 – 5     5 – 5   Kalamazoo   0 – 6     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Delaware Valley $^   8 – 0     12 – 1   King's (PA)   7 – 1     8 – 3   Stevenson   6 – 2     8 – 3   Wilkes   5 – 3     7 – 3   Lebanon Valley   5 – 3     5 – 6   FDU–Florham   4 – 4     6 – 5   Lycoming   3 – 5     4 – 6   Alvernia   2 – 6     3 – 7   Misericordia   2 – 6     3 – 7   Widener   2 – 6     3 – 7   Albright   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2022 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Ripon +   8 – 1     9 – 1   Lake Forest +^   8 – 1     9 – 2   Monmouth (IL) +   8 – 1     9 – 2   Chicago   6 – 3     7 – 3   Illinois College   4 – 4     5 – 4   Knox   4 – 5     5 – 5   Cornell (IA)   3 – 6     3 – 7   Grinnell   2 – 6     2 – 7   Beloit   1 – 8     1 – 9   Lawrence   0 – 9     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Div     Conf Overall Team   W   L         W   L     W   L   Northwoods Division No. 6 Saint John's (MN) xy$^   4 – 0     7 – 1     10 – 2   Gustavus Adolphus   3 – 1     6 – 2     7 – 3   Carleton   2 – 2     5 – 3     7 – 3   St. Olaf   1 – 3     3 – 5     4 – 6   St. Scholastica   0 – 4     2 – 6     3 – 7   Skyline Division No. 8 Bethel (MN) xy^   4 – 0     7 – 1     10 – 3   Augsburg   3 – 1     4 – 4     6 – 4   Concordia–Moorhead   2 – 2     3 – 5     5 – 5   Macalester   1 – 3     3 – 5     5 – 5   Hamline   0 – 4     0 – 8     2 – 8   Championship: Saint John's (MN) 28, Bethel (MN) 10 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Trinity (CT) $   9 – 0     9 – 0   Middlebury   7 – 2     7 – 2   Tufts   6 – 3     6 – 3   Wesleyan   6 – 3     6 – 3   Colby   4 – 5     4 – 5   Bates   3 – 6     3 – 6   Bowdoin   3 – 6     3 – 6   Williams   3 – 6     3 – 6   Hamilton   2 – 7     2 – 7   Amherst   2 – 7     2 – 7   $ – Conference champion
2022 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Springfield $^   6 – 0     9 – 3   Catholic University   5 – 1     6 – 5   Merchant Marine   4 – 2     6 – 3   WPI   2 – 4     4 – 6   Norwich   2 – 4     3 – 7   MIT   1 – 5     3 – 6   Coast Guard   1 – 5     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Salisbury $^   6 – 0     9 – 2   Christopher Newport   5 – 1     7 – 3   Rowan   4 – 2     7 – 3   William Paterson   2 – 4     5 – 5   TCNJ   2 – 4     3 – 6   Kean   2 – 4     3 – 7   Montclair State   0 – 6     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   DePauw $^   7 – 1     9 – 2   Denison   6 – 2     8 – 2   Wabash   6 – 2     7 – 3   Ohio Wesleyan   6 – 2     6 – 4   Wooster   4 – 4     6 – 4   Wittenberg   4 – 4     5 – 5   Kenyon   2 – 6     3 – 7   Hiram   1 – 7     2 – 8   Oberlin   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2022 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Aurora $^   8 – 0     11 – 2   Concordia (WI)   6 – 2     8 – 3   St. Norbert   6 – 2     7 – 3   Benedictine (IL)   4 – 3     7 – 3   Wisconsin Lutheran   4 – 3     4 – 6   Lakeland   3 – 5     3 – 7   Concordia (IL)   2 – 6     3 – 7   Eureka   2 – 6     2 – 8   Rockford   0 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Linfield $^   7 – 0     10 – 1   George Fox   5 – 2     8 – 2   Pacific Lutheran   5 – 2     6 – 4   Whitworth   4 – 3     6 – 4   Pacific (OR)   4 – 3     5 – 4   Lewis & Clark   2 – 5     4 – 5   Puget Sound   1 – 6     1 – 8   Willamette   0 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Mount Union $^   9 – 0     14 – 1   John Carroll   8 – 1     8 – 2   Baldwin Wallace   7 – 2     7 – 3   Heidelberg   6 – 3     7 – 3   Marietta   5 – 4     6 – 4   Muskingum   4 – 5     5 – 5   Ohio Northern   3 – 6     3 – 7   Wilmington (OH)   2 – 7     3 – 7   Otterbein   1 – 8     2 – 8   Capital   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from d3football.com
2022 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 13 Randolph–Macon $^   7 – 0     11 – 1   Bridgewater   6 – 1     9 – 2   Shenandoah   5 – 2     8 – 2   Hampden–Sydney   4 – 3     5 – 5   Washington & Lee   3 – 4     5 – 5   Averett   1 – 6     3 – 7   Guilford   1 – 6     2 – 8   Ferrum   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Carnegie Mellon $^   8 – 0     11 – 1   Washington & Jefferson   6 – 2     8 – 2   Westminster (PA)   6 – 2     7 – 3   Grove City   5 – 3     8 – 3   Case Western Reserve   5 – 3     6 – 4   Saint Vincent   5 – 3     5 – 5   Waynesburg   3 – 5     4 – 6   Geneva   3 – 5     3 – 7   Allegheny   2 – 6     3 – 7   Thiel   1 – 7     1 – 9   Bethany (WV)   0 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 Southern Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Trinity (TX) $^   7 – 0     11 – 1   Birmingham–Southern   5 – 2     7 – 3   Berry   5 – 2     7 – 3   Centre   4 – 3     6 – 4   Rhodes   3 – 4     5 – 5   Millsaps   2 – 5     3 – 7   Hendrix   2 – 5     3 – 7   Sewanee   0 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2022 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps +   5 – 1     7 – 2   Pomona-Pitzer +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   Chapman   4 – 2     7 – 3   Redlands   4 – 2     4 – 6   La Verne   2 – 5     2 – 7   Cal Lutheran   1 – 5     3 – 7   Whittier   0 – 6     0 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Northwestern (MN) $^   6 – 0     6 – 5   Greenville   5 – 1     7 – 3   Minnesota–Morris   4 – 2     5 – 5   Crown   3 – 3     3 – 7   Martin Luther   2 – 4     2 – 8   Westminster (MO)   1 – 5     1 – 9   Finlandia   0 – 6     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2022 USA South Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 23 Huntingdon $^   7 – 0     9 – 2   Belhaven   6 – 2     8 – 2   Brevard   5 – 2     5 – 5   Maryville (TN)   5 – 2     5 – 5   Methodist   4 – 3     5 – 5   North Carolina Wesleyan   3 – 4     3 – 7   Greensboro   1 – 6     1 – 9   Southern Virginia   1 – 6     1 – 9   LaGrange   0 – 7     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Wisconsin–La Crosse +^   6 – 1     9 – 2   No. 16 Wisconsin–Whitewater +^   6 – 1     8 – 3   Wisconsin–River Falls   4 – 3     7 – 4   Wisconsin–Oshkosh   4 – 3     6 – 4   Wisconsin–Platteville   4 – 3     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Stout   3 – 4     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Eau Claire   1 – 6     2 – 8   Wisconsin–Stevens Point   0 – 7     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2022 NCAA Division III independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Hilbert   –     0 – 7   Eastern*   –     1 – 2   * – Eastern was accepted as a Division III football program for the 2022 season, but did not play against any varsity level teams

Postseason

Teams

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

Automatic bids (27)

Automatic bids
Conference	School	Record	Apperance	Last
American Rivers	Wartburg	10–0	15th	2019
American Southwest	Mary Hardin–Baylor	9–1	18th	2021
Centennial	Susquehanna	10–0	4th	2009
CCIW	North Central (IL)	10–0	14th	2021
Commonwealth Coast	Endicott	10–0	4th	2021
ECFC	Gallaudet	7–2	2nd	2013
Empire 8	Cortland	9–1	11th	2021
HCAC	Mount St. Joseph	10–0	6th	2009
Liberty	Ithaca	10–0	20th	2014
MASCAC	UMass Dartmouth	9–1	2nd	2002
Michigan	Alma	10–0	4th	2004
Middle Atlantic	Delaware Valley	10–0	11th	2021
Midwest	Lake Forest	9–1	3rd	2021
Minnesota	Saint John's (MN)	9–1	28th	2021
NEWMAC	Springfield	8–2	8th	2021
New Jersey	Salisbury	9–1	13th	2021
North Coast	DePauw	9–1	4th	2021
NACC	Aurora	9–1	7th	2021
Northwest	Linfield	9–0	17th	2021
Ohio	Mount Union	10–0	33rd	2021
Old Dominion	Randolph–Macon	10–0	5th	2018
Presidents'	Carnegie Mellon	10–0	8th	2021
SAA	Trinity (TX)	10–0	14th	2021
SCIAC	Pomona-Pitzer	8–2	1st	—
Upper Midwest	Northwestern (MN)	6–4	2nd	2016
USA South	Huntingdon	9–1	7th	2021
Wisconsin	Wisconsin–Whitewater	8–2	19th	2021

At-large bids (5)

At-large bids
School	Conference	Record	Apperance	Last
Wisconsin–La Crosse	Wisconsin	8–2	13th	2021
Wheaton (IL)	CCIW	8–2	13th	2021
Utica	Empire 8	9–1	1st	—
Hardin–Simmons	American Southwest	9–1	11th	2018
Bethel (MN)	Minnesota	8–2	11th	2021

Bracket

First round November 19

Second round November 26

Quarterfinals December 3

Semifinals December 10

Championship Stagg Bowl December 16 Annapolis, Maryland

*

Mount Union

51

Salisbury

0

*

Mount Union

45

*

Susquehanna

10

Utica

7

Utica

17

Mount Union

*

Randolph–Macon

35

*

Delaware Valley

Cortland

28

Randolph–Macon

32

*

Delaware Valley

59

*

Delaware Valley

39

Gallaudet

0

*

Saint John's (MN)

49

Northwestern (MN)

0

*

Saint John's (MN)

20

*

Wartburg

14

Wartburg

23

Wisconsin–La Crosse

6

*

Wartburg

*

Alma

41

Aurora

Mount St. Joseph

21

*

Alma

26

*

Wisconsin–Whitewater

28

Aurora

48

Aurora

33

*

Trinity (TX)

14

Hardin–Simmons

7

*

Trinity (TX)

17

*

Mary Hardin–Baylor

54

Mary Hardin–Baylor

24

Huntingdon

0

*

Mary Hardin–Baylor

*

Wheaton (IL)

32

Bethel (MN)

Bethel (MN)

34

Bethel (MN)

30

*

Linfield

51

*

Linfield

13

Pomona-Pitzer

24

*

North Central (IL)

50

Lake Forest

0

*

North Central (IL)

28

*

Carnegie Mellon

45

Carnegie Mellon

7

DePauw

14

*

North Central (IL)

*

Endicott

14

Ithaca

Springfield

17

Springfield

20

*

Ithaca

63

*

Ithaca

31

UMass Dartmouth

20

* - Host team

See also

• 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2022 NCAA Division II football season
• 2022 NAIA football season