A History of the NCAA Division II Football Championship
The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament held annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. The tournament began in 1973 as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. Since its inception, the national championship game has been held in eight cities. The current format, which has been in use since 2025, features 32 teams organized into 4 super-regions of 8 teams each. Prior to the championship game, all contests are hosted by the higher-seeded team, and the semi-final games are held at the home stadiums of the two highest-seeded remaining teams.
Before the Championship: Polls and Regional Bowls
Before 1973, the NCAA College Division, as it was then known, determined national champions through polls conducted at the end of each regular season by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). In five years, the two polls named different number one teams. These polls ranked "small college" football teams, with the AP polling a panel of experts and UPI polling a panel of coaches.
From 1964 to 1972, four regional bowl games were played to provide postseason action. However, these games took place after the AP and UPI polls were completed and did not factor into selecting a national champion for the College Division.
The Tournament Era: Establishing a Champion on the Field
Since 1973, a post-season tournament has been held to determine the Division II Champion, offering a definitive on-field resolution to the championship question.
Dominant Programs: A Legacy of Success
Northwest Missouri State has captured the most titles since the formation of the Division II championship, with six. North Dakota State won five championships between 1983 and 1990 before reclassifying to Division I in 2004. Three programs are tied with four Division II championships. Grand Valley State won their first in 2002 and became the first team to win four in a span of five years, adding titles in 2003, 2005 and 2006. That feat was duplicated by Ferris State in 2025, adding to their trophies from 2021, 2022 and 2024. Valdosta State has also won four titles, with the first in 2004 and the most recent in 2018. North Alabama remains the only program to win three consecutive championships (1993-1995).
Read also: Division I FCS National Championship
Coaching Legends: Architects of Victory
Ferris State's Tony Annese leads all coaches with four Division II national championships. That record was set in 2025, breaking a four-way tie with Mel Tjeerdsma (Northwest Missouri State), Adam Dorrel (Northwest Missouri State) and Bobby Wallace (North Alabama).
Championship Game Results: A Year-by-Year Breakdown
Below is a year-by-year breakdown of the NCAA Division II Football Championship results:
2025: Ferris State (16-0) defeated Harding (Tony Annese) 42-21 (Attendance: 10,521)2024: Ferris State (14-1) defeated Valdosta State (Tony Annese) 49-14 (Attendance: 3,228)2023: Harding (15-0) defeated Colorado Mines (Paul Simmons) 38-7 (Attendance: 12,552)2022: Ferris State (14-1) defeated Colorado Mines (Tony Annese) 41-14 (Attendance: 6,333)2021: Ferris State (14-0) defeated Valdosta St. (Tony Annese) 58-17 (Attendance: 3,993)2019: West Florida (13-2) defeated Minnesota St. (Pete Shinnick) 48-40 (Attendance: 3,415)2018: Valdosta St. (14-0) defeated Ferris St. (Kerwin Bell) 49-47 (Attendance: 4,306)2017: A&M-Commerce (14-1) defeated West Florida (Colby Carthel) 37-27 (Attendance: 4,259)2016: Northwest Mo. (15-0) defeated N. Alabama (Adam Dorrel) 29-3 (Attendance: 9,576)2015: Northwest Mo. (15-0) defeated Shepherd (Adam Dorrel) 34-7 (Attendance: 16,181)2014: CSU-Pueblo (14-1) defeated Minnesota St. (John Wristen) 13-0 (Attendance: 6,762)2013: Northwest Mo. (15-0) defeated Lenoir-Rhyne (Adam Dorrel) 43-28 (Attendance: 6,543)2012: Valdosta St. (13-2) defeated Winston-Salem (David Dean) 35-7 (Attendance: 7,525)2011: Pittsburg St. (13-1) defeated Wayne St. (M) (Tim Beck) 35-21 (Attendance: 7,276)2010: Minn-Duluth (15-0) defeated Delta St. (Bob Nielson) 20-17 (Attendance: 4,027)2009: Northwest Mo. (14-1) defeated Grand Valley (Mel Tjeerdsma) 30-23 (Attendance: 6,211)2008: Minn-Duluth (15-0) defeated Northwest Mo. (Bob Nielson) 21-14 (Attendance: 6,219)2007: Valdosta St. (13-1) defeated Northwest Mo. (David Dean) 25-20 (Attendance: 7,532)2006: Grand Valley (15-0) defeated Northwest Mo. (Chuck Martin) 17-14 (Attendance: 7,437)2005: Grand Valley (13-0) defeated Northwest Mo. (Chuck Martin) 21-17 (Attendance: 6,837)2004: Valdosta St. (13-1) defeated Pittsburg St. (Chris Hatcher) 36-31 (Attendance: 8,604)2003: Grand Valley (14-1) defeated North Dakota (Brian Kelly) 10-3 (Attendance: 6,837)2002: Grand Valley (14-0) defeated Valdosta St. (Brian Kelly) 31-24 (Attendance: 9,783)2001: North Dakota (14-1) defeated Grand Valley (Dale Lennon) 17-14 (Attendance: 6,113)2000: Delta St. (14-1) defeated Bloomsburg (Steve Campbell) 63-34 (Attendance: 7,123)1999: Northwest Mo. (14-1) defeated Carson-Newman (Mel Tjeerdsma) 58-52 (Attendance: 8,451)1998: Northwest Mo. (15-0) defeated Carson-Newman (Mel Tjeerdsma) 24-6 (Attendance: 6,149)1997: N. Colorado (13-2) defeated New Haven (Joe Glenn) 51-0 (Attendance: 3,352)1996: N. Colorado (12-3) defeated Carson-Newman (Joe Glenn) 23-14 (Attendance: 5,745)1995: N. Alabama (14-0) defeated Pittsburg St. (Bobby Wallace) 27-7 (Attendance: 15,241)1994: N. Alabama (13-1) defeated A&M-Kingsville (Bobby Wallace) 16-10 (Attendance: 13,526)1993: N. Alabama (13-1) defeated IUP (Bobby Wallace) 41-34 (Attendance: 15,631)1992: Jacksonville St. (12-1) defeated Pittsburg St. (Bill Burgess) 17-13 (Attendance: 11,733)1991: Pittsburg St. (13-1-1) defeated Jacksonville St. (Chuck Broyles) 17-13 (Attendance: 11,733)1990: N. Dakota St. (14-0) defeated Pittsburg St. (Rocky Hager) 51-11 (Attendance: 11,500)1989: Miss. College* (John Williams) defeated Jacksonville St. 3-0 (Attendance: 6,763)1988: N. Dakota St. (14-0) defeated Portland St. (Rocky Hager) 35-21 (Attendance: 6,763)1987: Troy St. (12-1-1) defeated Portland St. (Rick Rhoades) 31-17 (Attendance: 10,600)1986: N. Dakota St. (13-0) defeated S. Dakota (Earle Solomonson) 27-7 (Attendance: 11,506)1985: N. Dakota St. (11-2-1) defeated N. Alabama (Earle Solomonson) 35-7 (Attendance: 6,000)1984: Troy St. (12-1) defeated N. Dakota St. (Chan Gailey) 18-17 (Attendance: 4,500)1983: N. Dakota St. (13-1) defeated Central St. (Don Morton) 41-21 (Attendance: 5,275)1982: Southwest Tx. (14-0) defeated UC Davis (Jim Wacker) 34-9 (Attendance: 8,000)1981: Southwest Tx. (13-1) defeated N. Dakota St. (Jim Wacker) 42-13 (Attendance: 9,415)1980: Cal-Poly (10-3) defeated E. Illinois (Joe Harper) 21-131979: Delaware (13-1) defeated Youngstown St. (Harold Raymond) 38-21 (Attendance: 4,000)1978: E. Illinois (12-2) defeated Delaware (Darrell Mudra) 10-9 (Attendance: 5,500)1977: Lehigh (12-2) defeated Jacksonville St. (John Whitehead) 33-0 (Attendance: 14,114)1976: Montana St. (12-1) defeated Akron (Sonny Holland) 24-13 (Attendance: 13,200)1975: N. Michigan (12-1) defeated W. Kentucky (Gil Krueger) 16-14 (Attendance: 13,200)1974: C. Michigan (12-1) defeated Delaware (Roy Kramer) 54-141973: Louisiana Tech (12-1) defeated W. (Maxie Lambright) 34-0
Programs Transitioning to Division I
Most of the participants in early national championship games have moved into Division I, primarily due to the creation of Division I-AA, now the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), in 1978. Programs that no longer compete in Division II are indicated in italics. Of the programs that no longer compete in D-II, Akron, Central Michigan, Delaware, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky currently compete in Division I FBS, while Mississippi College no longer fields a football team.
Changes in Branding and Nomenclature
Several institutions have undergone changes in branding and nomenclature throughout their participation in Division II football.
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- During Texas State's entire tenure in Division II, its name was Southwest Texas State University.
- During Troy's entire tenure in Division II, its name was Troy State University.
- East Texas A&M was known by two names during its Division II tenureâfirst as East Texas State University through the 1995 season, then as Texas A&M UniversityâCommerce.
- After the 2018â19 school year, Long Island University merged the athletic programs of its two campusesâDivision I LIU Brooklyn and Division II LIU Postâinto a single Division I program under the LIU name. All varsity sports previously sponsored by either campus continued to be sponsored by the new LIU program, which inherited LIU Brooklyn's Division I and Northeast Conference memberships.
- The program was branded exclusively as "Tarleton State" during its entire Division II tenure.
- The program changed its brand to "UT Martin" several years after moving to Division I.
- The university changed its name to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in January 2022, well after football was dropped.
- The university will change its name to Mississippi Christian University in 2026, two years after football was dropped.
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