2021 NCAA Division III football season

The 2021 NCAA Division III football season was the component of the 2021 college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States. The regular season began on September 4 and ended on November 13.

2021 NCAA Division III football season
Total No. of teams	239
Preseason AP No. 1	Mary Hardin–Baylor
Regular season	September 4 – November 13, 2021
Playoffs	November 20 – December 17, 2021
National championship	Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Canton, OH December 17, 2021
Champion	Mary Hardin–Baylor
Gagliardi Trophy	Blaine Hawkins (QB), Central (IA)
← 2020 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 2022 →

The season's playoffs were played between November 20 and December 17, and culminated in the national championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The Mary Hardin–Baylor Crusaders beat the North Central Cardinals in the title game, 57–24.

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

Team	Former conference	New conference
Austin	SAA	American Southwest
Becker	CCC Football	College closed
Emory & Henry	Old Dominion	NCAA Division II independent
Finlandia	Michigan	Upper Midwest
Iowa Wesleyan	Upper Midwest	North Star (NAIA)
Keystone	Returning program, last competed 1947	ECFC
Louisiana College	American Southwest	Sooner (NAIA)
Macalester	Midwest	Minnesota
Maine Maritime	NEWMAC^[a]	Suspended program
Occidental	Southern California	Dropped program
St. Norbert^[b]	Midwest	NACC
St. Scholastica	Upper Midwest	Minnesota
St. Thomas (MN)	Minnesota	Pioneer (NCAA Division I FCS)
Wesley	New Jersey	College acquired by Delaware State

1. Already did not play in 2020–21 but their football conference did not hold a football season in 2020–21.
2. Already moved in 2020–21 but did not play during the spring 2020–21 season.

Conference standings

2021 American Rivers Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Central (IA) $^   8 – 0     12 – 1   Coe   6 – 2     8 – 2   Wartburg   6 – 2     7 – 3   Dubuque   5 – 3     6 – 4   Buena Vista   4 – 4     5 – 5   Loras   4 – 4     4 – 6   Nebraska Wesleyan   2 – 6     4 – 6   Simpson   1 – 7     1 – 9   Luther   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 American Southwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^   9 – 0     15 – 0   No. 10 Hardin–Simmons   8 – 1     9 – 1   Belhaven   6 – 3     7 – 3   Howard Payne   6 – 3     7 – 3   East Texas Baptist   4 – 5     5 – 5   Southwestern (TX)   4 – 5     4 – 6   Texas Lutheran   3 – 6     3 – 7   McMurry   2 – 7     2 – 7   Sul Ross   2 – 7     2 – 7   Austin   1 – 8     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Centennial Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Muhlenberg +^   8 – 1     11 – 2   No. 13 Johns Hopkins +^   8 – 1     10 – 2   Susquehanna   7 – 2     9 – 2   Ursinus   6 – 3     7 – 4   Franklin & Marshall   5 – 4     6 – 5   Dickinson   4 – 5     4 – 6   Moravian   3 – 6     3 – 7   McDaniel   2 – 7     2 – 8   Gettysburg   1 – 8     1 – 9   Juniata   1 – 8     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2021 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 North Central (IL) $^   9 – 0     13 – 1   No. 9 Wheaton (IL) ^   8 – 1     10 – 2   Washington University   7 – 2     7 – 4   Carroll (WI)   5 – 4     6 – 4   Augustana (IL)   4 – 5     5 – 5   Carthage   3 – 6     3 – 7   Illinois Wesleyan   3 – 6     3 – 7   Millikin   3 – 6     3 – 7   North Park   2 – 7     2 – 8   Elmhurst   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Commonwealth Coast Football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Endicott +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   Western New England +   5 – 1     7 – 4   Salve Regina   4 – 2     8 – 2   Husson   4 – 2     7 – 3   New England   2 – 4     4 – 5   Curry   1 – 5     3 – 6   Nichols   0 – 6     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Anna Maria +^   5 – 1     7 – 3   Alfred State +   5 – 1     6 – 5   Castleton   4 – 2     6 – 4   Gallaudet   3 – 3     5 – 3   SUNY Maritime   3 – 3     3 – 6   Dean   1 – 5     2 – 8   Keystone   0 – 6     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2021 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Cortland $^   6 – 0     11 – 1   Brockport   4 – 2     8 – 3   Alfred   4 – 2     5 – 5   Utica   3 – 3     6 – 4   St. John Fisher   2 – 4     4 – 6   Hartwick   1 – 5     2 – 7   Morrisville State   0 – 5     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Rose–Hulman $^   7 – 0     8 – 3   Mount St. Joseph   5 – 2     6 – 4   Franklin (IN)   4 – 3     6 – 4   Hanover   4 – 3     5 – 5   Bluffton   3 – 4     4 – 6   Manchester   3 – 4     3 – 7   Anderson (IN)   1 – 6     1 – 9   Defiance   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 Liberty League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 RPI +^   5 – 1     11 – 2   No. 24 Ithaca +   5 – 1     8 – 2   Hobart   4 – 2     9 – 2   Union (NY)   4 – 2     8 – 2   St. Lawrence   2 – 4     5 – 5   Rochester (NY)   1 – 5     3 – 7   Buffalo State   0 – 6     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Framingham State $^   8 – 0     8 – 3   UMass Dartmouth   6 – 2     9 – 2   Bridgewater State   6 – 2     6 – 4   Plymouth State   5 – 3     5 – 5   Western Connecticut   4 – 4     5 – 5   Massachusetts Maritime   3 – 5     4 – 6   Worcester State   3 – 5     3 – 7   Westfield State   1 – 7     1 – 9   Fitchburg State   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 25 Albion +^   5 – 1     9 – 2   Hope +   5 – 1     8 – 2   Trine   4 – 2     6 – 4   Olivet   3 – 3     7 – 3   Adrian   3 – 3     5 – 5   Alma   1 – 5     5 – 5   Kalamazoo   0 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Delaware Valley $^   8 – 0     11 – 1   Lycoming   6 – 2     8 – 3   FDU Florham   5 – 3     7 – 4   Widener   5 – 3     7 – 4   Stevenson   5 – 3     5 – 6   Wilkes   5 – 3     6 – 4   Lebanon Valley   4 – 4     5 – 5   King's (PA)   3 – 5     5 – 5   Misericordia   2 – 6     3 – 6   Albright   1 – 7     2 – 8   Alvernia   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2021 Midwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 23 Lake Forest $^   9 – 0     10 – 1   Monmouth (IL)   8 – 1     8 – 2   Chicago   7 – 2     8 – 2   Ripon   5 – 3     6 – 3   Illinois College   5 – 4     5 – 5   Cornell (IA)   4 – 5     4 – 6   Knox   3 – 6     3 – 6   Grinnell   2 – 7     2 – 8   Lawrence   1 – 7     2 – 7   Beloit   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Div     Conf Overall Team   W   L         W   L     W   L   Northwoods Division No. 8 Saint John's (MN) x$^   4 – 0     8 – 0     11 – 1   Gustavus Adolphus   3 – 1     6 – 2     8 – 2   St. Olaf   2 – 2     4 – 4     5 – 5   Carleton   1 – 3     5 – 3     7 – 3   St. Scholastica   0 – 4     0 – 8     0 – 8   Skyline Division No. 18 Bethel (MN) x^   4 – 0     6 – 2     8 – 3   Concordia–Moorhead   3 – 1     3 – 5     4 – 6   Augsburg   2 – 2     4 – 4     4 – 6   Macalester   1 – 3     2 – 6     3 – 7   Hamline   0 – 4     2 – 6     4 – 6   Championship: Saint John's (MN) 29, Bethel (MN) 28 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant As of November 17, 2021 Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Williams $   9 – 0     9 – 0   Trinity (CT)   8 – 1     8 – 1   Wesleyan   6 – 3     6 – 3   Amherst   5 – 4     5 – 4   Colby   4 – 5     4 – 5   Tufts   4 – 5     4 – 5   Bates   3 – 6     3 – 6   Middlebury   3 – 6     3 – 6   Hamilton   2 – 7     2 – 7   Bowdoin   1 – 8     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion
2021 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Springfield $^   6 – 0     7 – 4   Merchant Marine   5 – 1     9 – 1   Catholic University   4 – 2     6 – 4   MIT   3 – 3     5 – 4   WPI   2 – 4     3 – 7   Norwich   1 – 5     2 – 8   Coast Guard   0 – 6     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Salisbury $^   6 – 0     8 – 2   Kean   4 – 2     4 – 5   Christopher Newport   3 – 3     5 – 5   William Paterson   2 – 4     4 – 6   TCNJ   2 – 4     3 – 6   Montclair State   2 – 4     3 – 7   Rowan   2 – 4     2 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   DePauw $^   8 – 1     9 – 3   Ohio Wesleyan   7 – 2     8 – 2   Wittenberg   7 – 2     7 – 3   Wabash   6 – 3     7 – 3   Denison   6 – 3     6 – 4   Wooster   5 – 4     6 – 4   Kenyon   3 – 6     4 – 7   Allegheny   2 – 7     3 – 7   Oberlin   1 – 8     1 – 9   Hiram   0 – 9     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2021 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Aurora $^   8 – 0     8 – 3   Benedictine (IL)   7 – 1     8 – 2   Lakeland   6 – 2     8 – 2   Concordia (WI)   4 – 4     6 – 4   St. Norbert   4 – 4     6 – 6   Wisconsin Lutheran   3 – 5     3 – 7   Eureka   2 – 6     2 – 8   Concordia (IL)   1 – 7     3 – 7   Rockford   1 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 Northwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Linfield $^   7 – 0     11 – 1   George Fox   6 – 1     6 – 3   Pacific (OR)   5 – 2     6 – 3   Whitworth   4 – 3     7 – 3   Pacific Lutheran   3 – 4     4 – 5   Lewis & Clark   2 – 5     3 – 6   Puget Sound   1 – 6     1 – 9   Willamette   0 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Mount Union $^   9 – 0     13 – 1   Baldwin Wallace   7 – 2     8 – 2   Heidelberg   7 – 2     8 – 2   John Carroll   7 – 2     7 – 3   Muskingum   4 – 5     5 – 5   Marietta   4 – 5     4 – 6   Ohio Northern   3 – 6     4 – 6   Wilmington (OH)   2 – 7     2 – 8   Capital   1 – 8     2 – 8   Otterbein   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll |
2021 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Washington and Lee +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   No. 20 Randolph–Macon +   5 – 1     9 – 1   Hampden–Sydney   4 – 2     5 – 5   Shenandoah   3 – 3     7 – 4   Ferrum   3 – 3     6 – 4   Bridgewater   1 – 5     4 – 6   Guilford   0 – 6     1 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Carnegie Mellon +^   8 – 1     8 – 2   Westminster (PA) +   8 – 1     8 – 3   Washington & Jefferson   7 – 2     8 – 3   Grove City   6 – 3     8 – 3   Case Western Reserve   5 – 4     6 – 4   Saint Vincent   4 – 5     5 – 5   Geneva   4 – 5     4 – 6   Waynesburg   2 – 7     2 – 8   Bethany (WV)   1 – 8     1 – 9   Thiel   0 – 9     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 Southern Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Trinity (TX) $^   7 – 0     9 – 1   No. 19 Birmingham–Southern ^   6 – 1     10 – 2   Centre   5 – 2     8 – 2   Berry   4 – 3     6 – 4   Rhodes   2 – 5     3 – 7   Hendrix   2 – 5     3 – 7   Millsaps   2 – 5     2 – 8   Sewanee   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2021 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 21 Redlands $^   6 – 0     8 – 2   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   4 – 2     7 – 3   Chapman   4 – 2     7 – 3   Cal Lutheran   3 – 3     5 – 3   Pomona-Pitzer   2 – 4     4 – 5   La Verne   2 – 4     3 – 6   Whittier   0 – 6     0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2021 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Greenville $^   6 – 0     8 – 3   Martin Luther   5 – 1     5 – 4   Minnesota–Morris   4 – 2     5 – 5   Northwestern (MN)   2 – 3     2 – 7   Westminster (MO)   2 – 4     3 – 5   Crown   1 – 4     1 – 8   Finlandia   0 – 6     0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2021 USA South Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Huntingdon $^   8 – 0     8 – 3   Methodist   7 – 1     7 – 2   Brevard   6 – 2     6 – 4   Averett   4 – 4     5 – 5   Maryville (TN)   4 – 4     4 – 6   North Carolina Wesleyan   4 – 4     4 – 6   LaGrange   2 – 6     2 – 8   Southern Virginia   1 – 7     2 – 8   Greensboro   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Wisconsin–Whitewater $^   7 – 0     13 – 1   No. 12 Wisconsin–La Crosse ^   6 – 1     9 – 3   No. 22 Wisconsin–River Falls   5 – 2     9 – 2   Wisconsin–Oshkosh   4 – 3     6 – 3   Wisconsin–Platteville   3 – 4     4 – 6   Wisconsin–Stout   2 – 5     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Eau Claire   1 – 6     3 – 7   Wisconsin–Stevens Point   0 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

Postseason

Qualification

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

Automatic bids (27)

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last
American Southwest Conference	Mary Hardin-Baylor	17th	2019
American Rivers Conference	Central (IA)	22nd	2019
Centennial Conference	Muhlenberg	10th	2019
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	North Central (IL)	13th	2019
Commonwealth Coast Football	Endicott	3rd	2013
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference	Anna Maria	1st	—
Empire 8	SUNY Cortland	10th	2015
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference	Rose–Hulman	2nd	2016
Liberty League	RPI	7th	2018
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference	Framingham State	6th	2019
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Albion	12th	2015
Middle Atlantic Conference	Delaware Valley	10th	2019
Midwest Conference	Lake Forest	2nd	2002
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Saint John's (MN)	27th	2019
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference	Springfield	7th	2017
New Jersey Athletic Conference	Salisbury	12th	2019
North Coast Athletic Conference	DePauw	3rd	2010
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference	Aurora	6th	2019
Northwest Conference	Linfield	16th	2019
Ohio Athletic Conference	Mount Union	32nd	2019
Old Dominion Athletic Conference	Washington and Lee	6th	2017
Presidents' Athletic Conference	Carnegie Mellon	7th	2006
Southern Athletic Association	Trinity (TX)	13th	2011
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Redlands	10th	2019
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	Greenville	1st	—
USA South Athletic Conference	Huntingdon	6th	2019
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Wisconsin–Whitewater	18th	2019

At-large bids (5)

Team	Conference	Appearance	Last
Bethel (MN) Royals	MIAC	10th	2018
Birmingham-Southern	SAA	1st	—
Johns Hopkins	Centennial	11th	2018
Wheaton (IL)	CCIW	12th	2019
Wisconsin–La Crosse	WIAC	12th	2006

Bracket

First round November 20

Second round November 27

Quarterfinals December 4

Semifinals December 11

Championship Stagg Bowl December 17 Canton, Ohio

*

Saint John's (MN)

41

Lake Forest

14

*

Saint John's (MN)

28

Linfield

31

*

Linfield

44

Redlands

10

Linfield

24

Mary Hardin–Baylor

49

*

Mary Hardin–Baylor

13

Trinity (TX)

3

*

Mary Hardin–Baylor

42

Birmingham–Southern

7

*

Birmingham–Southern

24

Huntingdon

14

Mary Hardin–Baylor

24

Wisconsin–Whitewater

7

*

Wisconsin–Whitewater

69

Greenville

7

*

Wisconsin–Whitewater

45

DePauw

0

*

DePauw

26

Rose–Hulman

21

Wisconsin–Whitewater

51

Central (IA)

21

*

Central (IA)

61

Bethel (MN)

35

*

Central (IA)

30

Wheaton (IL)

28

*

Wheaton (IL)

63

Aurora

31

Mary Hardin–Baylor

57

North Central (IL)

24

*

North Central (IL)

w/o

Carnegie Mellon

^[a]

*

North Central (IL)

34

Wisconsin–La Crosse

20

*

Albion

23

Wisconsin–La Crosse

58

North Central (IL)

55

RPI

6

*

Cortland

26

Springfield

21

*

Cortland

14

RPI

21

*

Endicott

14

RPI

20

North Central (IL)

26

Mount Union

13

*

Mount Union

52

Washington and Lee

0

*

Mount Union

45

Johns Hopkins

35

*

Salisbury

20

Johns Hopkins

45

Mount Union

35

Muhlenberg

29

*

Delaware Valley

62

Anna Maria

10

*

Delaware Valley

0

Muhlenberg

14

*

Muhlenberg

45

Framingham State

0

See also

• 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2021 NCAA Division II football season
• 2021 NAIA football season

Notes

1. The day before the game was scheduled to be played, Carnegie Mellon announced that it would withdraw from the tournament due to a number of positive COVID-19 tests among members of the team and the game was declared as a no contest.^[1]

References

1. "Carnegie Mellon's NCAA First Round Football Game at North Central Declared No Contest". Carnegie Mellon University Athletics. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.