Division III football playoff history

Following are the results of all Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowls, starting with the first Division III national championship in 1973. Clicking on a year will bring up a wrapup of that year's playoffs.

The Division III football postseason started with just four teams and expanded most recently to 32 teams in 2005. The field is currently capped at 32 teams by a vote of the NCAA Division III membership.

Mount Union has won 13 Division III football national championships, followed by UW-Whitewater with 6, Augustana with 4 and Ithaca with 3.

Looking for information on the current playoff format? Check out our FAQ.

Year Champion Score Runner-up Att. Other semifinalists
Games played in Phenix City, Ala. (4-team field)
1973 Wittenberg 41-0 Juniata N/A Bridgeport, San Diego
1974 Central 10-8 Ithaca 5,500 Evansville, Slippery Rock
Games played in Phenix City, Ala. (8-team playoffs start)
1975 Wittenberg 28-0 Ithaca 6,000 Millsaps, Widener
1976 St. John's (Minn.) 31-28 Towson State 7,214 Buena Vista, St. Lawrence
1977 Widener 39-36 Wabash 7,852 Albany State, Minn.-Morris
1978 Baldwin-Wallace 24-10 Wittenberg 7,500 Carnegie Mellon, Minn.-Morris
1979 Ithaca 14-10 Wittenberg 6,500 Carnegie Mellon, Widener
1980 Dayton 63-0 Ithaca 8,701 Widener, Minn.-Morris
1981 Widener 17-10 Dayton 6,100 Montclair St., Lawrence
1982 West Georgia 14-0 Augustana 9,000 Bishop, St. Lawrence
Games played in Kings Island,Ohio
1983 Augustana 21-17 Union 3,800 UW-La Crosse, Salisbury St.
1984 Augustana 21-12 Central 2,300 Union, W&J
Games played in Phenix City, Ala. (16-team playoffs)
1985 Augustana 20-7 Ithaca 1,879 Central, Gettysburg
1986 Augustana 31-3 Salisbury State 2,000 Concordia-Moorhead, Ithaca
1987 Wagner 19-3 Dayton 4,000 Emory & Henry, Central
1988 Ithaca 39-24 Central 4,000 Ferrum, Augustana
1989 Dayton 17-7 Union (N.Y.) 3,500 St. John's, Ferrum
Games played in Bradenton, Fla.
1990 Allegheny 21-14 (OT) Lycoming 4,800 Central, Hofstra
1991 Ithaca 34-20 Dayton 5,469 Susquehanna, St. John's
1992 UW-La Crosse 16-12 Washington and Jefferson 5,329 Mount Union, Rowan
Games played in Salem, Va.
1993 Mount Union 34-24 Rowan 7,304 St. John's, W&J
1994 Albion 38-15 Washington and Jefferson 7,168 St. John's, Ithaca
1995 UW-La Crosse 36-7 Rowan 4,905 Mount Union, W&J
1996 Mount Union 56-24 Rowan 5,048 UW-La Crosse, Lycoming
1997 Mount Union 61-12 Lycoming 5,777 Simpson, Rowan
1998 Mount Union 44-24 Rowan 5,145 Trinity (Texas), UW-Eau Claire
Games played in Salem, Va. (28-team playoffs, automatic bids start)
1999 Pacific Lutheran 42-13 Rowan 4,101 Trinity (Texas), Mount Union
2000 Mount Union 10-7 St. John's 4,436 Widener, Hardin-Simmons
2001 Mount Union 30-27 Bridgewater (Va.) 7,992 St. John's, Rowan
2002 Mount Union 48-7 Trinity (Texas) 4,398 John Carroll, St. John's
2003 St. John's 24-6 Mount Union 5,073 RPI, Bridgewater
2004 Linfield 28-21 Mary Hardin-Baylor 3,240 Rowan, Mount Union
Games played in Salem, Va. (32-team playoffs)
2005 Mount Union 35-28 UW-Whitewater 4,619 Rowan, Wesley
2006 Mount Union 35-16 UW-Whitewater 6,051 St. John Fisher, Wesley
2007 UW-Whitewater 31-21 Mount Union 5,099 Bethel, Mary Hardin-Baylor
2008 Mount Union 31-26 UW-Whitewater 5,344 Wheaton, Mary Hardin-Baylor
2009 UW-Whitewater 38-28 Mount Union 3,468 Linfield, Wesley
2010 UW-Whitewater 31-21 Mount Union 4,598 Wesley, Bethel
2011 UW-Whitewater 13-10 Mount Union 3,784 St. Thomas, Wesley
2012 Mount Union 28-10 St. Thomas 6,027 Mary Hardin-Baylor, UW-Oshkosh
2013  UW-Whitewater 52-14 Mount Union 5,371 Mary Hardin-Baylor, North Central
2014 UW-Whitewater  43-34  Mount Union  5,465  Linfield, Wesley
2015 Mount Union  49-35  St. Thomas  5,343  Linfield, UW-Whitewater 
2016 (vacated) 10-7  UW-Oshkosh  3,476  Mount Union, John Carroll 
2017 Mount Union 12-0 Mary Hardin-Baylor 4,971 UW-Oshkosh, Brockport
Games played in Shenandoah, Texas (32-team playoffs)
2018 Mary Hardin-Baylor 24-16 Mount Union 6,816 Johns Hopkins, UW-Whitewater
2019 North Central 41-14 UW-Whitewater 1,362 Muhlenberg, St. John's
Games played in Canton, Ohio (32-team playoffs)
2020 No championship        
2021 Mary Hardin-Baylor 57-24 North Central 1,830 Mount Union, UW-Whitewater
Game played in Annapolis, Md. (32-team playoffs) 
2022 North Central 28-21 Mount Union 3,231 Mary Hardin-Baylor, Wartburg
Game played in Salem, Va. (32-team playoffs)  
2023 Cortland 38-37 North Central 3,381 Randolph-Macon, Wartburg

Regional championship results

From 1969-72, small-college NCAA football played two regional championships, but no national final. The results of those games:

EAST (Knute Rockne Bowl)
1969 Randolph-Macon 47-28 Bridgeport
1970 Montclair State 7-6 Hampden-Sydney
1971 Bridgeport 17-12 Hampden-Sydney
1972 Bridgeport 27-22 Slippery Rock
       
WEST (Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl)
1969 Wittenberg 27-21 William Jewell
1970 Capital 34-21 Luther
1971 (vacated by Samford) 20-10 Ohio Wesleyan
1972 Heidelberg 28-16 Fort Valley State