2015 NCAA Division III football season


The 2015 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began on September 5, 2015 and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, on December 18, 2015 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Mount Union, which made its 11th consecutive appearance in the title game, defeated St. Thomas 49–35 to claim its 19th national title.

Conference changes and new programs

One school added football at the Division III level and six programs changed conference affiliations.
School2014 conference2015 conference
Christopher NewportUSA SouthNJAC
FinlandiaNo programIndependent
Frostburg StateEmpire 8NJAC
Morrisville StateNJACEmpire 8
SalisburyEmpire 8NJAC
SUNY CortlandNJACEmpire 8
WesleyIndependentNJAC

A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website.

Conference standings

Conference summaries

ConferenceChampionRecordOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
ASCEast Texas Baptist
Hardin–Simmons
Mary Hardin–Baylor		7–3
9–2
10–1		Jessie Ramos, HSUTeidrick Smith, UMHBJoshua Eargle, ETBU
CentennialJohns Hopkins11–0Bradley Munday, Johns HopkinsKeith Corliss, Johns HopkinsJeff Pukszyn, Moravian
CCIWWheaton 11–0Sam Frasco, AugustanaAdam Dansdill, WheatonMike Swider, Wheaton
ECFCNorwich6–5John Smith, HussonBryant Wade, HussonMike Lichten, Becker
Empire 8SUNY Cortland9–2Dan Andrews, SUNY BrockportTarik Bennett, SUNY BrockportDaniel MacNiell, SUNY Cortland
HCACFranklin8–3Chase Burton, FranklinRyan Aelker, BlufftonNick Johnson, Earlham
IIACDubuque8–3Logan Schrader, WartburgBlaine Snitker, DubuqueStan Zweifel, Dubuque
LibertySt. Lawrence8–3Jeff Avery, RPI
Mike Lefflbine, St. Lawrence		Max Nacewicz, SpringfieldMark Raymond, St. Lawrence
MSCACFramingham State9–2Matt Silva, Framingham StateMatt Mangano, Framingham StateTom Kelley, Framingham State
MIAAAlbion9–2Dominic Bona, AlbionTerry Calagon, Alma
MACAlbright10–1Malik Pressley, FDU-FlorhamBrandon Jones, WidenerJohn Marzka, Albright
MidwestSt. Norbert10–1Jacob Bunk, St. NorbertZach Hauser, MacalesterDan McCarty, St. Norbert
Chad Braun, Monmouth
MIACSt. Thomas 11–0Ayrton Scott, AugsburgRyan Winter, St. ThomasGlenn Caruso, St. Thomas
Peter Haugen, Gustavus Adolphus
NEFCWestern New England10–1Tyler Ward, Western New EnglandObi Etuka, Western New EnglandKeith Emery, Western New England
NESCACAmherst8–0Chance Brady, TuftsJimmy Fairfield-Sonn, AmherstE.J. Mills, Amherst
NJACSalisbury7–3Joe Callahan, WesleyDarren Dungee, RowanSherman Wood, Salisbury
NCACWabash11–0Mason Zurek, WabashTyler McCullen, WabashEric Raeburn, Wabash
NACCLakeland8–3Michael Whitley, LakelandLandon Deringer, Lakeland
Tanner Behnke, Wisc. Lutheran		Colin Bruton, Lakeland
NorthwestLinfield10–0Sam Riddle, LinfieldAlex Hoff, LinfieldJoseph Smith, Linfield
OACMount Union11–0Justin Magazine, Ohio Northern
Anthony Latina, John Carroll
Devon Price, Ohio Northern		Tom Lally, Mount Union
Tre Jones, Mount Union
Hank Spencer, Mount Union		Dean Paul, Ohio Northern
ODACWashington and Lee10–1Matt Pawlowski, GuilfordJake Payne, ShenandoahScott Abell, Washington and Lee
PACThomas More11–0Sam Benger, Carnegie MellonErick Butler, Thomas MoreRegis Scafe, Thomas More
SAAHendrix8–3Dayton Winn, HendrixMichael Shield, RhodesBuck Buchanan, Hendrix
SCIACLa Verne8–2Kwame Do, OccidentalPaul Slaats, Claremont-Mudd-ScrippsChris Krich, La Verne
SCACTexas Lutheran8–2Trenton White, Texas LutheranJulian Turner, TrinityDanny Padron, Texas Lutheran
UMACSt. Scholastica9–2Latif Adams, Westminster Alex Mangan, St. ScholasticaChris Douglas, MacMurray
USA SouthHuntingdon10–1Malik Adams, NC WesleyanAnthony White, HuntingdonMike Turk, Huntingdon
WIACUW–Oshkosh10–1Brett Kasper, UW-OshkoshAndrew Robinson, UW-PlattevillePat Cerroni, UW-Oshkosh

Postseason

Twenty-five conferences met the requirements for an automatic bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, two conferences had no Pool A bid. The American Southwest, which had fallen below the required seven members in 2013, lost its Pool A bid after the two-year grace period; the SCAC had only four members. The MASCAC and SAA gained Pool A bids for the first time, having passed through the two-year waiting period.
Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 25 Pool A conferences contained 220 schools, an average of 8.8 teams per conference. Twelve schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.
The remaining six playoff spots were at-large teams.

Playoff bracket

* Home team † Overtime Winner

Bowl games