NCAA Division II National Football Championship
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The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the NCAA College Division and a poll determined the final champion.
The National Championship game was held at Sacramento, California from 1973-1975. It was in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1976-1977. The game was played in Longview, Texas in 1978. For 1979 and 1980, Albuquerque, New Mexico hosted the game. McAllen, Texas hosted the championship games from 1981-1985. Since 1986 the Division II championship game has been played annually at Braly Municipal Stadium near the campus of the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
Since 1998 the games have been broadcast on ESPN.
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[edit] NCAA College Division Wire Service National Champions
From 1964 to 1972, four regional bowl games were played that led up to a wire service poll to determine the final champion of Division II's predecessor, the NCAA College Division.
Those games were:
- West: Camellia Bowl, in Sacramento, California 1964-1972
- Midwest: Pecan Bowl in Abilene, Texas 1964-1967 & Arlington, Texas 1968-1970, Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, 1971-1972
- Mideast: Grantland Rice Bowl in Murfreesboro, Tennessee 1964-1968 & Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1969-1972
- East: Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida 1964-1967, Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City, New Jersey 1968-1972
[edit] Winners of Regional Bowls
| Year | West | Midwest | Mideast | East |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Montana State | Northern Iowa | Middle Tennessee State | East Carolina |
| 1965 | Los Angeles State | North Dakota State | Ball State | East Carolina |
| 1966 | San Diego State | North Dakota | Tennessee State | Morgan State |
| 1967 | San Diego State | Texas-Arlington | Eastern Kentucky | Tennessee-Martin |
| 1968 | Humboldt State | North Dakota State | Louisiana Tech | Delaware |
| 1969 | North Dakota State | Arkansas State | East Tennessee State | Delaware |
| 1970 | North Dakota State | Arkansas State | Tennessee State | Delaware |
| 1971 | Boise State | Louisiana Tech | Tennessee State | Delaware |
| 1972 | North Dakota | Tennessee State | Louisiana Tech | Massachusetts |
[edit] National champions by polling
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Southern Mississippi |
| 1959 | Bowling Green |
| 1960 | Ohio |
| 1961 | Pittsburg State |
| 1962 | Southern Mississippi (UPI), Florida A&M (AP) |
| 1963 | Delaware (UPI), Northern Illinois (AP) |
| 1964 | Los Angeles State (UPI), Wittenberg (AP) |
| 1965 | North Dakota State |
| 1966 | San Diego State |
| 1967 | San Diego State |
| 1968 | San Diego State (UPI), North Dakota State (AP) |
| 1969 | North Dakota State |
| 1970 | Arkansas State |
| 1971 | Delaware |
| 1972 | Delaware |
| 1973 | Tennessee State |
| 1974 | Louisiana Tech (UPI), Central Michigan (AP) |
[edit] National Championship games
A playoff series was started in 1973 to determine the Division II champion.
† Mississippi College's tournament participation, along with its championship, were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
[edit] Most national championships
The teams that have won the most national championships since 1973 are:
| Team | Championships | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 5 | 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990 |
| Grand Valley State | 4 | 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 |
| North Alabama | 3 | 1993, 1994, 1995 |
| Northern Colorado | 2 | 1996, 1997 |
| Northwest Missouri State | 2 | 1998, 1999 |
| Troy State | 2 | 1984, 1987 |
| Southwest Texas State | 2 | 1981, 1982 |
| Valdosta State | 2 | 2004, 2007 |
| Cal Poly | 1 | 1980 |
| Central Michigan | 1 | 1974 |
| Delta State | 1 | 2000 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1979 |
| Eastern Illinois | 1 | 1978 |
| Jacksonville State | 1 | 1992 |
| Lehigh | 1 | 1977 |
| Louisiana Tech | 1 | 1973 |
| Montana State | 1 | 1976 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 2001 |
| Northern Michigan | 1 | 1975 |
| Pittsburg State | 1 | 1991 |
[edit] Teams that have "moved up"
Most of the participants in early national championship games have moved into Division I, the main catalyst for their moves being the creation of Division I-AA, now the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), in 1978. The following Division II title game participants later moved to Division I:
- Division I FBS (formerly I-A)
- Akron (runner-up 1976)
- Central Michigan (champion 1974)
- Louisiana Tech (champion 1973)
- Troy (champion 1984, 1987 as Troy State)
- Western Kentucky (runner-up 1973, 1975)
- Division I FCS (formerly I-AA)
- Cal Poly (champion 1980)
- Delaware (champion 1979; runner-up 1974, 1978)
- Eastern Illinois (champion 1978; runner-up 1980)
- Jacksonville State (champion 1992; runner-up 1977, 1989, 1991)
- Lehigh (champion 1977)
- Montana State (champion 1976)
- North Dakota (champion 2001, runner-up 2003)
- North Dakota State (champion 1965, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990; runner-up 1981, 1984)
- Northern Colorado (champion 1996, 1997)
- Portland State (runner-up 1987, 1988)
- Texas State (champion 1981, 1982 as Southwest Texas State)
- UC Davis (runner-up 1982)
- Youngstown State (runner-up 1979)
[edit] See also
- NCAA Division I-A national football championship
- NCAA Division I FCS national football championship
- NCAA Division I FCS Consensus Mid-Major football national championship
- NCAA Division III national football championship
- NAIA national football championship
- NJCAA National football championship
- List of college bowl games
[edit] External links
- D2football.com
- NCAA football page
- 2006 NCAA Divisions II & III Football Records Book (wire service champions on page 47)PDF (3.79 MiB)
- Locations of College Division games (pages 1 & 2)
- Google Custom Search Engine for DII football
- D2 SportsTalk
