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2025 NCAA Division II football season

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American college football season

2025 NCAA Division II football season

Total No. of teams	161
Regular season	August 28 – November 15, 2025
Playoffs	November 22 – December 20, 2025
National Championship	McKinney Independent School District Stadium McKinney, TX December 20, 2025
← 2024 NCAA Division II football seasons

The2025 NCAA Division II football season, part ofcollege football in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at theDivision II level, began on August 28 and will end on December 20 with theDivision II championship at theMcKinney Independent School District Stadium inMcKinney, Texas.

Conference changes and new programs

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Conference Carolinas resumed sponsoring football in 2025, after dropping the sport 50 years earlier prior to the1975 season.

School	Former conference	New conference	Ref
Barton Bulldogs	SAC	Carolinas	^[1]
Chowan Hawks	Gulf South	Carolinas	^[1]
Erskine Flying Fleet	Gulf South	Carolinas	^[1]
Ferrum Panthers	ODAC (D-III)	Carolinas	^[2]
Jamestown Jimmies	North Star (NAIA)	NSIC	^[3]
Limestone Saints	SAC	School closed	^[4]^[5]
Mississippi College Choctaws	Gulf South	Dropped program	^[6]
New Haven Chargers	NE-10	Northeast (FCS)	^[7]
North Greenville Trailblazers	Gulf South	Carolinas	^[1]
Shorter Hawks	Independent (D-II)	Carolinas	^[1]
UNC Pembroke Braves	Mountain East	Carolinas	^[1]

Headlines

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January 17 – At the 2025 NCAA Convention, Division II's football-sponsoring delegates approved a proposal to award automatic bids to the playoffs for the conference champion of each football-sponsoring conference, replacing the earned access model.^[8]
April 23 – In accordance with Division II championship policy, which states that automatic qualifiers must make up no more than 50% of the playoff field, the Division II Executive Board approved the expansion of the football playoff bracket from 28 to 32 teams, effective with the 2025 season.^[9]

Rankings

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Main article:2025 NCAA Division II football rankings

Conference standings

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Super Region 1

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2025 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Virginia Union	4	–	0	6	–	1
Fayetteville State	4	–	0	4	–	3
No. 22 Johnson C. Smith	3	–	1	6	–	1
Virginia State	2	–	2	4	–	3
Bluefield State	2	–	2	3	–	4
Winston-Salem State	2	–	3	4	–	4
Livingstone	2	–	3	3	–	4
Shaw	2	–	3	2	–	5
Bowie State	1	–	3	2	–	5
Elizabeth City State	1	–	3	1	–	6
Lincoln (PA)	0	–	4	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Mountain East Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Frostburg State	4	–	1	6	–	1
Charleston (WV)	3	–	1	4	–	3
Glenville State	3	–	1	4	–	3
Wheeling	3	–	1	4	–	3
West Virginia State	3	–	2	4	–	3
West Liberty	2	–	2	2	–	5
Fairmont State	1	–	3	4	–	3
Concord	1	–	4	2	–	5
West Virginia Wesleyan	0	–	5	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Northeast-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Assumption	4	–	0	5	–	1
Saint Anselm	4	–	1	5	–	2
Bentley	3	–	1	3	–	3
Southern Connecticut	2	–	1	2	–	4
Franklin Pierce	2	–	2	3	–	4
Post	1	–	3	3	–	3
American International	0	–	4	0	–	6
Pace	0	–	4	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 4 Kutztown	4	–	0	7	–	0
East Stroudsburg	4	–	0	6	–	1
Shepherd	3	–	1	3	–	4
Lock Haven	2	–	2	3	–	4
Shippensburg	2	–	2	2	–	5
West Chester	1	–	3	3	–	4
Bloomsburg	0	–	4	1	–	6
Millersville	0	–	4	0	–	7
West Division
IUP	2	–	1	4	–	2
Edinboro	2	–	1	3	–	4
California (PA)	2	–	2	5	–	2
No. 24 Slippery Rock	2	–	2	5	–	2
Seton Hill	2	–	2	4	–	4
Clarion	1	–	2	5	–	2
Gannon	1	–	2	1	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

Super Region 2

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2025 Conference Carolinas football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Greenville	4	–	0	4	–	3
UNC Pembroke	3	–	1	6	–	2
Barton	2	–	1	2	–	5
Chowan	1	–	2	2	–	5
Ferrum*	1	–	2	2	–	5
Erskine	1	–	2	1	–	6
Shorter	0	–	4	1	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Ferrum ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 West Florida	1	–	0	7	–	0
No. 17 Delta State	0	–	0	6	–	1
Valdosta State	0	–	0	2	–	4
No. 11 West Alabama	0	–	1	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 South Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Newberry	5	–	1	6	–	1
Emory & Henry	5	–	2	6	–	2
Catawba	3	–	2	5	–	2
Wingate	3	–	2	5	–	2
Carson–Newman	3	–	2	4	–	2
Anderson (SC)	3	–	3	5	–	3
Lenoir–Rhyne	3	–	3	4	–	4
Mars Hill	2	–	3	3	–	4
UVA Wise	1	–	5	1	–	6
Tusculum	0	–	5	1	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 Benedict	6	–	0	7	–	0
Albany State	5	–	0	6	–	1
Kentucky State	5	–	1	5	–	2
Edward Waters	3	–	2	4	–	3
Morehouse	3	–	2	3	–	4
Savannah State	2	–	3	3	–	4
Allen	2	–	3	2	–	5
Fort Valley State	2	–	3	2	–	5
Miles	2	–	3	2	–	6
Central State (OH)	2	–	4	2	–	6
Clark Atlanta	1	–	4	2	–	5
Tuskegee	1	–	4	2	–	5
Lane	0	–	5	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

Super Region 3

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2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Ferris State	3	–	0	7	–	0
Saginaw Valley State	3	–	0	4	–	3
Michigan Tech	2	–	1	5	–	2
No. 18 Grand Valley State	2	–	1	4	–	2
Davenport	2	–	2	3	–	3
Northern Michigan	1	–	3	1	–	6
Roosevelt*	0	–	3	1	–	5
Wayne State (MI)	0	–	3	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Roosevelt ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NAIA Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Indianapolis	5	–	0	7	–	1
Upper Iowa	3	–	1	5	–	2
Truman	3	–	1	4	–	3
McKendree	3	–	2	3	–	4
Quincy	2	–	2	4	–	3
Missouri S&T	2	–	3	4	–	4
Southwest Baptist	2	–	3	3	–	4
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	4	2	–	5
William Jewell	0	–	4	2	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Findlay	5	–	0	7	–	0
No. 20 Ashland	5	–	0	6	–	1
Northwood	4	–	1	6	–	1
Tiffin	4	–	1	5	–	2
Walsh	3	–	2	5	–	2
Ohio Dominican	2	–	3	3	–	3
Hillsdale	1	–	4	2	–	5
Lake Erie	1	–	4	1	–	6
Kentucky Wesleyan	0	–	5	0	–	7
Thomas More	0	–	5	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North
No. 15 Minnesota Duluth	5	–	1	6	–	1
MSU Moorhead	4	–	2	5	–	2
Northern State	4	–	2	5	–	2
Mary	2	–	4	3	–	4
Minot State	2	–	4	2	–	5
Bemidji State	2	–	4	2	–	5
Jamestown*	1	–	5	1	–	5
South
No. 5 Augustana (SD)	6	–	0	7	–	0
No. 9 Minnesota State	5	–	1	6	–	1
Sioux Falls	3	–	3	4	–	3
Wayne State (NE)	3	–	3	3	–	4
Winona State	3	–	3	3	–	4
SW Minnesota State	1	–	5	1	–	6
Concordia–St. Paul	1	–	5	1	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Jamestown ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NAIA Rankings fromAFCA poll

Super Region 4

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2025 Great American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Harding	7	–	0	7	–	0
No. 25 Southern Arkansas	6	–	1	6	–	1
East Central	5	–	2	5	–	2
Henderson State	5	–	2	5	–	2
Arkansas Tech	4	–	3	4	–	3
Ouachita Baptist	4	–	3	4	–	3
SE Oklahoma State	3	–	4	3	–	4
SW Oklahoma State	3	–	4	3	–	4
Arkansas–Monticello	2	–	5	2	–	5
Oklahoma Baptist	2	–	5	2	–	5
Southern Nazarene	1	–	6	1	–	6
NW Oklahoma State	0	–	7	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 Lone Star Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Central Washington	6	–	0	7	–	1
Western Oregon	5	–	1	6	–	2
No. 23 UT Permian Basin	4	–	2	6	–	2
West Texas A&M	4	–	2	4	–	4
No. 19 Angelo State	3	–	2	5	–	2
Texas A&M–Kingsville	2	–	4	3	–	5
Eastern New Mexico	2	–	4	2	–	6
Midwestern State	2	–	4	2	–	6
Western New Mexico	1	–	5	2	–	6
Sul Ross*	0	–	5	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Sul Ross ineligible for postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III Rankings fromAFCA Poll

2025 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 NW Missouri State	6	–	0	7	–	1
No. 10 Pittsburg State	5	–	1	6	–	2
Central Oklahoma	4	–	2	4	–	3
Fort Hays State	4	–	3	5	–	4
Emporia State	3	–	3	4	–	4
Central Missouri	3	–	3	3	–	5
Nebraska–Kearney	3	–	4	5	–	4
Missouri Southern	1	–	5	3	–	5
Washburn	1	–	5	2	–	6
Missouri Western	1	–	5	2	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA Poll

2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 CSU Pueblo	6	–	0	7	–	1
Chadron State	6	–	0	6	–	2
No. 6 Western Colorado	5	–	0	7	–	0
Colorado Mines	3	–	2	5	–	2
New Mexico Highlands	2	–	3	4	–	3
Colorado Mesa	2	–	3	3	–	4
South Dakota Mines	2	–	4	2	–	6
Black Hills State	1	–	5	1	–	7
Fort Lewis	0	–	5	1	–	6
Adams State	0	–	5	0	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings fromAFCA poll

2025 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Northeastern State		–		4	–	3

Postseason

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Automatic bids (16)

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Automatic bids
Super Region	Conference	School	Record	Appearance	Last
Super Region 1	CIAA
	Mountain East
	Northeast-10
	PSAC
Super Region 2	Carolinas
	Gulf South
	South Atlantic
	SIAC
Super Region 3	GLIAC
	GLVC
	Great Midwest
	Northern Sun
Super Region 4	Great American
	Lone Star
	MIAA
	Rocky Mountain

At-large bids (16)

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At-large bids
Super Region	School	Conference	Record	Appearance	Last
Super Region 1



Super Region 2



Super Region 3



Super Region 4

Bracket

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Super Region 1

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First Round
November 22, 2025
Campus sites

Second Round
November 29, 2025
Campus sites

Quarterfinals
December 6, 2025
Campus sites

Super Region 2

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First Round
November 22, 2025
Campus sites

Second Round
November 29, 2025
Campus sites

Quarterfinals
December 6, 2025
Campus sites

Super Region 3

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First Round
November 22, 2025
Campus sites

Second Round
November 29, 2025
Campus sites

Quarterfinals
December 6, 2025
Campus sites

Super Region 4

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First Round
November 22, 2025
Campus sites

Second Round
November 29, 2025
Campus sites

Quarterfinals
December 6, 2025
Campus sites

Semifinals & Championship

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Teams are re-seeded prior to semifinals.

	Semifinals December 13, 2025 Hosted by higher seeded team					Championship December 20, 2025 McKinney, Texas

Coaching changes

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Preseason and in-season

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This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2025, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Seton Hill	Daniel Day	June 6, 2025	Resigned	Kevin May^[10]	Seton Hill defensive coordinator and linebackers coach (2019–2024)
Edward Waters	Toriano Morgan	July 16, 2025	Hired as co-offensive coordinator byTennessee State^[11]	Brian Jenkins (interim; named full-time on September 19, 2025)^[12]^[13]	Edward Waters offensive coordinator and associate head coach (2019–2024)
Mars Hill	Tim Clifton	August 11, 2025	Retired^[14]	Kevin Barnette^[15]	Mars Hill defensive coordinator (1989–2024)
Millersville	J. C. Morgan	October 6, 2025	Fired^[16]	Brian Ferguson (interim)	Millersville offensive coordinator (2025)

References

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^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f"Conference Carolinas Unveils Addition of Shorter University and Return of Football in 2025" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. January 26, 2023. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Conference Carolinas Unveils Addition of 16th Member in Ferrum College" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. April 5, 2024. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"NSIC extends invitation to the University of Jamestown" (Press release). Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. November 21, 2023. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^Keener, Julia; Meadows, Eriana; Johnson, Joanna; Martin, Isabel (April 29, 2025)."Limestone University board announces closure of school".WSPA-TV. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Limestone University Board Votes To Close The School, Discontinuing Both On-Campus & Online Degree Programs".Limestone University. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Important Message from Mississippi College".mc.edu. Mississippi College. November 18, 2024. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Charging Ahead: University of New Haven accepts Northeast Conference membership invite".newhavenchagers.com. New Haven Chargers. May 6, 2025. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Division II approves automatic-qualification privileges for football".NCAA (Press release). January 17, 2025. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"DII Executive Board approves football bracket expansion, $2.5 million in budget requests".NCAA (Press release). April 23, 2025. RetrievedMay 18, 2025.
^"Football's Day Steps Down; DC Kevin May Promoted to Head Coach" (Press release). Seton Hill Griffins Athletics. June 6, 2025. RetrievedJune 6, 2025.
^"Barlow Adds Experienced, Championship-Caliber Coaches to 2025 Staff" (Press release). Tennessee State Tigers Athletics. July 19, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025.
^"Edward Waters University Names Brian Jenkins Interim Head Football Coach Ahead of Promising 2025 Campaign" (Press release). Edward Waters Tigers Athletics. July 16, 2025. RetrievedJuly 17, 2025.
^"Edward Waters Promotes Brian Jenkins to Head Football Coach After Historic 3-0 Start" (Press release). Edward Waters Tigers Athletics. September 19, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2025.
^"End of an Era: Tim Clifton retires after 32 seasons" (Press release). Mars Hill Lions Athletics. August 11, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025.
^"Kevin Barnette named Head Football Coach" (Press release). Mars Hill Lions Athletics. August 12, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025.
^"Millersville makes change at head football coach" (Press release). Millersville Marauders Athletics. October 6, 2025. RetrievedOctober 6, 2025.

NCAA Division II football

Seasons

Playoffs

Championship games

Bowl era	East:Tangerine Bowl (1964–1967),Boardwalk Bowl (1968–1972) Mideast:Grantland Rice Bowl (1964–1972) Midwest:Pecan Bowl (1964–1970),Pioneer Bowl (1971–1972) West:Camellia Bowl (1964–1967)
Playoff era	1973 2008 2009 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Records & statistics

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025