The NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament is an annual event organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champions of men's collegiate soccer among its Division III members in the United States. It has been held every year since 1974.
Messiah have been the most successful program, with 11 titles.
Tufts are the reigning champions, winning their fifth championship in 2025.
History It has been held each year since 1974, except 2020, when the Division III championship was established for universities that do not award athletics scholarships. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Division III teams had previously competed as part of the NCAA College Division Men's Soccer Championship (now Division II). A total of 64 teams participate, making it the largest of the NCAA's men's soccer tournaments.
Traditionally, the tournament is held in November and December at the end of the regular season. The tournament finals were initially held on the campus of one of the teams participating in the semifinals. Since 2004, however, they have been held at the same pre-determined neutral site as the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship (added in 1986).
Selection format Of the three NCAA divisions, Division III has the most complicated selection process. In 2012, the tournament was a 62-team, single-elimination tournament. Teams are divided into three pools. Pool A consists of the 36 conference champions, who all receive automatic bids to the tournament. Pool B consists of all teams which are not in conferences or which are in conferences that do not meet the requirements to be awarded an automatic bid. Four teams are selected from Pool B. Pool C consists of all the other teams, plus those Pool B teams not already selected. The remaining teams in the field are selected from Pool C. Two teams received first round byes, and the rest of the bracket was filled by geographical proximity. The early rounds of the championship were played at campus sites with the higher seeded team hosting the match. The semifinals and finals are played at a predetermined campus site. The 2012 Division III final rounds were held at Blossom Soccer Complex in San Antonio.
Results
Ed. Year Host city Championship Semifinalists Champion Score Runner-Up Third Place Score Fourth Place 1974 Wheaton, IL Brockport State Swarthmore Westfield State MacMurray 1975 Brockport, NY Babson Brockport OWU Johns Hopkins 1976 Elizabethtown, PA Brandeis Brockport Elizabethtown MacMurray 1977 Wellesley, MA Lock Haven Cortland Babson Wooster 1978 Wellesley, MA Lock Haven (2) Washington (SL) Cortland North Adams 1979 Trenton, NJ Babson (2) Rowan Washington (SL) Lock Haven 1980 Wellesley, MA Babson (3) Scranton Rowan Washington (SL) 1981 Elizabethtown, PA Rowan Scranton Brandeis OWU 1982 Greensboro, NC UNCG Bethany (WV)Cortland and Scranton 1983 Greensboro, NC UNCG Claremont Plymouth State and Scranton 1984 Wheaton, IL Wheaton (IL) Brandeis Kean and RIT 1985 St. Louis, MO UNCG (3) Washington (SL) Fredonia and Rowan 1986 Greensboro, NC UNCG (4) UC San DiegoFredonia and Messiah 1987 Greensboro, NC UNCG (5) Washington (SL)Cal State (SB) and Salem State 1988 Rochester, NY UC San Diego RITMessiah and Salem State 1989 Elizabethtown, PA Elizabethtown Greensboro UC San Diego and RIT 1990 Delaware, OH Rowan OWU Salem State and Wheaton (IL) 1991 San Diego, CA UC San Diego TCNJ Babson and OWU 1992 Union, NJ Kean OWU Colorado and RIT 1993 Williamstown, MA UC San Diego (3) Williams Clarkson and Kenyon 1994 Trenton, NJ Bethany (WV) Johns Hopkins Trenton State & Wisconsin–Oshkosh 1995 Williamstown, MA Williams Methodist Chapman and Muhlenberg 1996 Gambier, OH TCNJ Kenyon Chicago and Ithaca 1997 Fredericksburg, VA Wheaton (IL) (2) TCNJ Amherst and Mary Washington 1998 Delaware, OH OWU Greensboro Rowan and Williams 1999 Wheaton, IL St. Lawrence Wheaton (IL) Alma and Stockton 2000 Glassboro, NJ Messiah Rowan Linfield and Wisconsin–Oshkosh 2001 Grantham, PA Stockton Redlands Messiah and OWU 2002 Canton, NY Messiah Otterbein St. Lawrence and Trinity (TX) 2003 Madison, NJ Trinity (TX) Drew Wheaton (MA) and Wisconsin–Oshkosh 2004 Greensboro, NC Messiah (3) UC Santa Cruz Geneseo State and Salisbury 2005 Greensboro, NC Messiah (4) Gustavus Adolphus Plattsburgh State and Wheaton (IL) 2006 Lake Buena Vista, FL Messiah (5) Wheaton (IL) NYU and OWU 2007 Lake Buena Vista, FL Middlebury Trinity (TX) Loras and Messiah 2008 Greensboro, NC Messiah (6) Stevens Amherst and Loras 2009 San Antonio, TX Messiah (7) Calvin Dominican (IL) and Williams 2010 San Antonio, TX Messiah (8) Lynchburg Bowdoin and Wisconsin–Oshkosh 2011 San Antonio, TX OWU (2) Calvin Montclair State and Oneonta State 2012 San Antonio, TX Messiah (9) Ohio Northern Loras and Williams 2013 San Antonio, TX Messiah (10) Rutgers–Camden Loras and Williams 2014 Kansas, MO Tufts Wheaton (IL) OWU and SUNY Oneonta 2015 Kansas, MO Amherst LorasCalvin and SUNY Oneonta 2016 Salem, VA Tufts (2) Calvin Brandeis and St. Thomas (MN) 2017 Greensboro, NC Messiah (11) North Park Brandeis and Chicago 2018 Greensboro, NC Tufts (3) Calvin Chicago and Rochester (NY) 2019 Greensboro, NC Tufts (4) AmherstCalvin and Centre 2020 – – 2021 Greensboro, NC Connecticut College AmherstChicago and Washington & Lee 2022 Salem, VA Chicago WilliamsStevens and Mary Washington 2023 Salem, VA St. Olaf AmherstWashington and Lee and Washington (MD) 2024 Las Vegas, NV Amherst Connecticut College Middlebury and Washington & Lee 2025 Salem, VA Tufts Trinity (TX) St. Olaf and Emory 2026 Columbus, OH 2027 Pittsburgh, PA
Champions
Team Titles Winning years 11 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017 5 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2025 3 1975, 1979, 1980 2 2015, 2024 1998, 2011 1981, 1990 1984, 1997 1 2023 2022 2021 2007 2003 2001 1999 1996 1995 1994 1992 1989 1976 1974
Former programs Team Titles Winning years 5 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 3 1988, 1991, 1993 2 1977, 1978
All of the above schools have reclassified their athletic programs from NCAA Division III. UC San Diego and UNC Greensboro are now Division I, and Lock Haven is Division II.
See also NCAA Men's Soccer Championships (Division I, Division II) NCAA Women's Soccer Championships (Division I, Division II, Division III) NAIA national men's soccer championship Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association
References
External links