The 1986 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 in August 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1986 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Augustana (IL) Vikings won the fourth of their four consecutive Division III championships by defeating the Salisbury State Sea Gulls by a final score of 31−3.
Conference Changes Loras College, which had cut its varsity program following the 1954 season and had fielded a club team since then, returned to varsity status in 1986.
Wesley College and Menlo College, both former junior colleges who competed in the NJCAA, began sponsoring four year football in 1986.
UC Santa Barbara, a former Division I program which had dropped football in 1971, revived their program at the Division III level in 1986.
SUNY Maritime, which had upgraded from club status to Division III in 1985, cancelled their 1986 season. They would return for 1987 and a partial season in 1988 before cutting football once again.
School 1985 Conference 1986 Conference Aurora Revived Program D-III Independent Drake MVC (I-AA) D-III Independent Fitchburg State D-III Independent NEFC Loras Club Program Iowa Conference Maritime D-III Independent Dropped Program Menlo NJCAA D-III Independent UC Santa Barbara Revived Program D-III Independent Wesley NJCAA D-III Independent Western Connecticut NEFC D-III Independent
Conference standings
Conference champions Conference championsCentennial Conference – Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg College Athletic Conference – Rose–Hulman College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) Independent College Athletic Conference – Ithaca Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hope Middle Atlantic Conference – Susquehanna Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Lawrence Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Concordia–Moorhead New England Football Conference – Plymouth State New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Montclair State North Coast Athletic Conference – Denison Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Claremont–Mudd–Scripps Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Knoxville Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Tarleton State Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwestern–St. Paul Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–La Crosse, Wisconsin–River Falls, and Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Postseason The 1986 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 14th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the twelfth time and for the second consecutive year. Like the previous tournament, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.
Playoff bracket
See also 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season 1986 NCAA Division II football season
References