The 2026 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game, more commonly referred to as the 2026 Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl LII, was a postseason college football game scheduled played on January 4, 2026, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. It determined a national champion in NCAA Division III for the 2025 season. The game began at 8:00 p.m. EST, and aired on ESPN and ESPN+. The game featured the two finalists of the 40-team single elimination playoff bracket, Wisconsin–River Falls and North Central; Wisconsin–River Falls won 24–14 to claim their first national championship on their first trip to the Stagg Bowl.
Teams The participants of the 2026 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2025 Division III Playoffs, a 40-team single elimination brackets tournament which began on November 22. The winners of each of the four 10-team regions qualified for the national semifinals.
National semifinals
Game summary
Statistics
+Team statistical comparisonStatisticWisconsin–River FallsNorth CentralFirst downs 25 23First downs rushing 10 10First downs passing 14 12First downs penalty 1 1Third down efficiency 3–10 7–12Fourth down efficiency 0–3 0–2Total plays–net yards 69–436 71–363Rushing attempts–net yards 28–145 43–169Yards per rush 5.2 3.9Yards passing 291 194Pass completions–attempts 27–41 18–28Interceptions thrown 0 2Punt returns–total yards 1–2 1–11Kickoff returns–total yards 3–36 5–67Punts–average yardage 2–37 3–39Fumbles–lost 0–0 1–1Penalties–yards 3–35 4–27Time of possession 23:45 36:15
+Wisconsin–River Falls statisticsFalcons passing Kaleb Blaha 27–41 291 1–0Falcons rushing Kaleb Blaha 19 128 2 Trevor Asher 5 24 0 Jaylen Reed 2 1 0 TEAM 2 -8 0Falcons receiving Jake Hilton 4 85 0 Austin Rush 6 64 0 Blake Rohrer 4 50 1 Adam Johnstone 6 40 0 Trevor Asher 3 23 0 Jaylen Reed 2 13 0 Ben Wesolowski 1 12 0 Stephen Reifenberger 1 4 0
+North Central statisticsCardinals passing Garret Wilson 18–28 194 0–2Cardinals rushing Donovan McNeal 23 133 2 Jordan Williams 10 44 0 Sean Allen 1 5 0 Thomas Skokna 1 0 0 Garret Wilson 8 -13 0Cardinals receiving Thomas Skokna 5 77 0 Jack Rummell 5 75 0 Grant McAtee 3 27 0 Demir Ashiru 2 8 0 Myles Walton 2 6 0 Donovan McNeal 1 1 0
References