The 2008 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 2008, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2008 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their tenth Division III championship by defeating the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks, 31−26. This was the fourth of seven straight championship games between Mount Union (3 wins) and Wisconsin–Whitewater (4 wins).
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Greg Micheli, quarterback from Mount Union.
Program changes After Tri-State University changed its name to Trine University in 2008, the Tri-State Thunder became the Trine Thunder at the start of the 2008 season.
Conference standings
Conference champions Conference championsAmerican Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor Atlantic Central Football Conference – Wesley Centennial Conference – Muhlenberg College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – North Central (IL) Empire 8 Conference – Ithaca Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Franklin Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wartburg Liberty League – Hobart Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Trine Middle Atlantic Conference – Albright, Delaware Valley, and Lycoming Midwest Conference – Monmouth (IL) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Bridgewater State and Maine Maritime (Bogan Division), Plymouth State (Boyd Division) Championship Game: Plymouth State 46, Maine Maritime 16 New England Small College Athletic Conference – Trinity (CT) New Jersey Athletic Conference – SUNY Cortland North Coast Athletic Conference – Wabash Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference – Aurora Northwest Conference – Willamette Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Catholic, Emory & Henry, Hampden–Sydney, and Randolph-Macon Presidents' Athletic Conference – Thomas More Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Occidental Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Millsaps University Athletic Association – Case Western Reserve Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwestern–St. Paul USA South Athletic Conference – Christopher Newport Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Stevens Point and Wisconsin–Whitewater
Postseason The 2008 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 36th 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 Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 16th time.
Qualification Twenty-three conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, four conferences had no Pool A bid. The SLIAC was in the first year of the two-year waiting period, while the ACFC, UAA, and UMAC failed to meet the seven-member requirement. The NWC received a Pool A bid for the first time, having attained seven members and passed through the 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 23 Pool A conferences contained 197 schools, an average of 8.6 teams per conference. Twenty-seven schools were in Pool B, enough for three bids.
The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.
Playoff bracket
* Overtime
See also 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season 2008 NCAA Division II football season
References