INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division III Football Committee announced today the field of 32 teams for the 2021 NCAA Division III Football Championship. The committee selected teams based on conference results and competition within an institution's respective evaluation region.
Twenty-seven of the field's teams were awarded automatic qualification from their respective conferences. Zero schools earned "Pool B" bids as independent teams or those that compete in leagues that do not feature automatic NCAA qualification. The remaining five teams received at-large bids from "Pool C," which includes all teams that did not receive automatic entries.
2021 CHAMPIONSHIP: See the interactive bracket | Championship updates
The first round of the championship will be played Nov. 20 at the host institution's campus or at an alternate site approved by the football committee. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship game, will be played Friday, December 17, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
| CONFERENCE | SCHOOL |
|---|---|
| American Southwest Conference | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| American Rivers Conference | Central (Iowa) |
| Centennial Conference | Muhlenberg |
| College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin | North Central (Illinois) |
| Commonwealth Coast Football | Endicott |
| Eastern Collegiate Football Conference | Anna Maria |
| Empire 8 | SUNY Cortland |
| Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Rose-Hulman |
| Liberty League | Rensselaer |
| Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference | Framingham State |
| Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Albion |
| Middle Atlantic Conference | Delaware Valley |
| Midwest Conference | Lake Forest |
| Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Saint John's (Minnesota) |
| New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference | Springfield |
| New Jersey Athletic Conference | Salisbury |
| North Coast Athletic Conference | Depauw |
| Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | Aurora |
| Northwest Conference | Linfield |
| Ohio Athletic Conference | Mount Union |
| Old Dominion Athletic Conference | Washington & Lee |
| Presidents' Athletic Conference | Carnegie Mellon |
| Southern Athletic Association | Trinity (Texas) |
| Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Redlands |
| Upper Midwest Athletic Conference | Greenville |
| USA South Athletic Conference | Huntingdon |
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Wisconsin-Whitewater |
Pool C Berths (5):
- Bethel (Minnesota)
- Birmingham-Southern
- Johns Hopkins
- Wheaton (Illinois)
- Wisconsin-LaCrosse
The Division III Football Committee also announced the following 16 first-round sites:
- Belton, Texas – Trinity (TX) vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor
- Beverly, Massachusetts – Rensselaer vs. Endicott
- Whitewater, Wisconsin – Greenville vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater
- Albion, Michigan – Wisconsin-LaCrosse vs. Albion
- Wheaton, Illinois – Aurora vs. Wheaton (IL)
- Pella, Iowa – Bethel (MN) vs. Central (IA)
- McMinnville, Oregon – Redlands vs. Linfield
- Collegeville, Minnesota – Lake Forest vs. Saint John’s
- Salisbury, Maryland – Johns Hopkins vs. Salisbury
- Greencastle, Indiana – Rose-Hulman vs. DePauw
- Allentown, Pennsylvania – Framingham St. vs. Muhlenberg
- Birmingham, Alabama – Huntingdon vs. Birmingham Southern
- Alliance, Ohio – Wash. & Lee vs. Mount Union
- Naperville, Illinois – Carnegie Mellon vs. North Central
- Cortland, New York – Springfield vs. SUNY Cortland
- Doylestown, Pennsylvania – Anna Maria vs. Delaware Valley
All games start at noon local time.
There was no championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2019 championship, North Central claimed its first national title with a 41-14 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater.
