How Many Teams Make the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs?
How Many Teams Make the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs?
The NCAA Div. II Playoffs turn 50 in 2023, and in that time, the tournament has gone through a steady evolution.
In 1973, Louisiana Tech added an unprecedented and important milestone to its impressive gridiron lineage: a national championship. The Bulldogs title was earned with a 34-0 rout of Western Kentucky at the culmination of the first-ever NCAA Div. II Playoffs.
Tech's opportunity to earn the championship on the field marked a dramatic step for the sport and the level of the game that was previously known as the College Division. Louisiana Tech emerged from an eight-team bracket that included Boise State — an opponent Tech beat in a 38-34 shootout in the semifinal.
In the half-century since, the NCAA Div. II Playoffs have experienced plenty of changes but remained the format through which a national champion is crowned.
How Many Teams Make The NCAA Division II Football Playoffs?
Twenty-eight teams participate in the NCAA Div. II Playoffs as of 2023. The tournament remained at eight teams from 1973 until 1988. The field doubled to 16 teams in 1988, though produced a familiar result from recent years: North Dakota State standing tall as national champions.
The Bison claimed their third championship in four years and fourth in six seasons in the first 16-team tournament.
The Div. II Playoffs remained at 16 until 2004 when the field grew to 24 teams. That year's Playoffs ended with Valdosta State winning its first of four national championships.
In 2016, the Div. II Playoffs expanded again to its current, 28-team format. Seven teams in four Super Regions make up the bracket, with each Super Region's No. 1 seed receiving a 1st Round bye.
Which Teams Qualify For The NCAA Division II Football Playoffs?
Fifteen conferences make up the four Super Regions:
Super Region 1: G-MAC, MEC, NE-10, PSAC
The teams that made up the Super Region 1 portion of the Div. II Playoffs bracket in 2022 were:
G-MAC: Ashland
MEC: Notre Dame (OH)
NE-10: Assumption, New Haven
PSAC: IUP, Shepherd, Slippery Rock
Super Region 2: CIAA, Gulf South, SAC, SIAC
Super Region 2's 2022 Div. II Playoffs bracket featured:
CIAA: Fayetteville State, Virginia Union
Gulf South: Delta State, West Florida
SAC: Wingate, Limestone
SIAC: Benedict
Super Region 3: GAC, GLIAC, GLVC, MIAA
Two-time defending national champion Ferris State has emerged from Super Region 3 to play in the last two title games.
Here's who joined the Bulldogs in 2022:
GAC: Ouachita Baptist
GLIAC: Davenport, Ferris State, Grand Valley
GLVC: UIndy
MIAA: Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri State
Super Region 4: Lone Star, NSIC, RMAC
With the dissolution of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Super Region 4 features only three conferences.
Lone Star: Angelo State
NSIC: Bemidji State, Minnesota State Wayne State, Winona State
RMAC: Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State Pueblo
What If You’re Not A Conference Champion? How Can You Qualify?
Winning a conference in a Super Region isn't enough on its own to earn a bid to the NCAA Div. II Playoffs. For example, in 2022 Newberry defeated Mars Hill in the South Atlantic Conference Championship Game.
Neither team played in the Div. II Playoffs.
The Super Region rankings released throughout the season offer some framework into the selection process, with the NCAA selection committee ultimately crafting a bracket with the seven teams per Super Region they chose for the field.
Which Teams Don’t Participate In The Playoffs Or Are Independent For 2023?
Every conference in Div. II is part of a Super Region. Although independents have in the past been part of Super Region 1, Bluefield State joining the CIAA this season leaves only Lincoln (Mo.) and Post University. However, Lincoln plays an MIAA schedule as it transitions to full-time membership in the conference.
Div. II still sponsors a handful of bowl games for teams that do not participate in the NCAA Playoffs:
Live United Texarkana Bowl: MIAA vs. GAC (Emporia State vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2022)
Heritage Bowl: GAC vs. Lone Star (East Central vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2022)
America's Crossroads Bowl: GLVC vs. G-MAC (Truman State has won all three installments since 2019, last season defeating Tiffin)
Which Teams Have The NCAA Division II Football Playoffs?
The following is every national champion in the 50-year history of the NCAA Div. II Playoffs. Of note about Northwest Missouri State, which sets the pace with six titles, is that the Bearcats fell just 19 points shy of claiming 10. They endured a stretch of four straight National Championship Game losses from 2005 through 2008 by scores of 21-17, 17-14, 25-20 and 21-14.
Six: Northwest Missouri State (1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016)
Five: North Dakota State (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990)
Four: Grand Valley State (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006); Valdosta State (2004, 2007, 2012, 2018)
Three: North Alabama (1993-1995)
Two: Ferris State (2021-2022); Minnesota-Duluth (2008, 2010); Northern Colorado (1996, 1997); Pittsburg State (1991, 2011); Texas State (1981, 1982); Troy (1984, 1987)
One: Cal Poly (1980); Central Michigan (1974); Colorado State-Pueblo (2014); Delaware (1979); Delta State (2000); Eastern Illinois (1978); Jacksonville State (1992); Lehigh (1977); Louisiana Tech (1973); Mississippi College (1989); Montana State (1976); North Dakota (2001); Northern Michigan (1975); Texas A&M-Commerce (2017); West Florida (2019)