The 2010 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 2010, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2010 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks won their first Division III championship by defeating the , 31−21. This was the sixth 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 Eric Watt, quarterback from Trine.
Conference changes and new programs School 2009 conference 2010 conference Menlo Northwest (Division III) Independent (NAIA)
Conference standings
Conference champions Conference championsAmerican Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor Atlantic Central Football Conference‡ – Wesley Centennial Conference – Johns Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and Ursinus College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – North Central (IL) Eastern Collegiate Football Conference – Maritime Empire 8 Conference – Alfred Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Franklin Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wartburg Liberty League – St. Lawrence Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Trine Middle Atlantic Conference – Delaware Valley Midwest Conference – St. Norbert Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – St. Thomas (MN) New England Football Conference – Framingham State and Maine Maritime (Bogan Division), Endicott and Western New England (Boyd Division) Championship Game: Endicott 38, Maine Maritime 35 New England Small College Athletic Conference – Williams New Jersey Athletic Conference – Montclair State, Rowan, and SUNY Cortland North Coast Athletic Conference – Wittenberg Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference – Benedictine (IL) Northwest Conference – Linfield Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Washington & Lee Presidents' Athletic Conference – Thomas More Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Cal Lutheran Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – DePauw University Athletic Association – Chicago Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Greenville USA South Athletic Conference – Christopher Newport and North Carolina Wesleyan Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater
Postseason The 2010 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 38th 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 18th 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 ECFC and UMAC were in the second year of the two-year waiting period, while the ACFC and UAA failed to meet the seven-member requirement.
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-eight 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 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season 2010 NCAA Division II football season
References