2015 NCAA Division III football season

2015 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	September 5 – November 14, 2015
Playoffs	November 21 – December 18, 2015
National championship	Salem Football Stadium Salem, VA
Champions	Mount Union (12)
Gagliardi Trophy	Joe Callahan, Wesley (DE)
Division III football seasons « 2014 2016 »

The 2015 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 on September 5, 2015 and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, on December 18, 2015 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Mount Union, which made its 11th consecutive appearance in the title game, defeated St. Thomas (Minnesota) 49–35 to claim its 19th national title.

Conference changes and new programs

One school added football at the Division III level and six programs changed conference affiliations.^[1]

School	2014 conference	2015 conference
Christopher Newport	USA South	NJAC
Finlandia	No program	Independent
Frostburg State	Empire 8	NJAC
Morrisville State	NJAC	Empire 8
Salisbury	Empire 8	NJAC
SUNY Cortland	NJAC	Empire 8
Wesley	Independent	NJAC

A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website.^[2]

Conference standings

2015 American Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #12 Hardin–Simmons   4 – 1         9 – 1   #13 Mary Hardin–Baylor   4 – 1         9 – 1   #23 East Texas Baptist   4 – 1         7 – 3   Louisiana College   1 – 4         3 – 7   Sul Ross State   1 – 4         3 – 7   Howard Payne   1 – 4         1 – 9   McMurry   0 – 0         4 – 6   Belhaven   0 – 0         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Centennial Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #8 Johns Hopkins   9 – 0         10 – 0   Moravian   7 – 2         8 – 2   Muhlenberg   7 – 2         8 – 2   Gettysburg   6 – 3         7 – 3   Franklin & Marshall   5 – 4         6 – 4   Susquehanna   4 – 5         5 – 5   Dickinson   3 – 6         3 – 7   Juniata   2 – 7         3 – 7   Ursinus   2 – 7         3 – 7   McDaniel   0 – 9         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 CCIW football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #5 Wheaton (IL)   7 – 0         10 – 0   #16 North Central   6 – 1         7 – 3   Illinois Wesleyan   4 – 3         7 – 3   Carthage   4 – 3         5 – 5   Augustana (IL)   3 – 4         4 – 6   North Park   2 – 5         3 – 7   Elmhurst   1 – 6         4 – 6   Millikin   1 – 6         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 ECFC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Husson   6 – 1         7 – 2   Norwich   6 – 1         6 – 4   Castleton   5 – 2         7 – 3   Becker   5 – 2         7 – 3   SUNY Maritime   3 – 4         5 – 5   Mount Ida   2 – 5         2 – 8   Anna Maria   1 – 6         1 – 9   Gallaudet   0 – 7         0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Empire 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #25 SUNY Cortland   6 – 2         8 – 2   St. John Fisher   6 – 2         7 – 3   Alfred   5 – 3         7 – 3   Buffalo State   5 – 3         7 – 3   Morrisville State   4 – 4         6 – 4   SUNY Brockport   3 – 5         5 – 5   Utica   3 – 5         4 – 6   Ithaca   2 – 6         4 – 6   Hartwick   2 – 6         4 – 6   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 HCAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Franklin $ ^   8 – 0         8 – 2   Rose–Hulman   6 – 2         8 – 2   Mount St. Joseph   6 – 2         7 – 3   Bluffton   5 – 3         6 – 4   Manchester   5 – 3         5 – 4   Defiance   2 – 6         2 – 8   Hanover   2 – 6         2 – 8   Anderson (IN)   2 – 6         2 – 8   Earlham   0 – 8         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Iowa IAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #18 Dubuque   7 – 0         8 – 2   #19 Wartburg   6 – 1         9 – 1   Central (IA)   4 – 3         6 – 4   Loras   3 – 4         4 – 6   Simpson   3 – 4         4 – 6   Coe   3 – 4         4 – 6   Luther   2 – 5         4 – 6   Buena Vista   0 – 7         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Liberty League football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   St. Lawrence $ ^   6 – 1         8 – 3   RPI   6 – 1         9 – 2   Hobart   5 – 2         7 – 3   WPI   4 – 3         7 – 4   Rochester   3 – 4         5 – 4   Springfield   2 – 5         4 – 6   Merchant Marine   2 – 5         3 – 6   Union   0 – 7         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 MASCAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Framingham State   8 – 0         9 – 1   Fitchburg State   6 – 2         8 – 2   Bridgewater State   6 – 2         7 – 3   Western Connecticut   4 – 4         5 – 5   Worcester State   4 – 4         4 – 6   Mass. Maritime   3 – 5         4 – 6   UMass Dartmouth   3 – 5         4 – 6   Plymouth State   1 – 7         2 – 8   Westfield State   1 – 7         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Michigan IAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Albion   5 – 1         9 – 1   Olivet   5 – 1         9 – 1   Adrian   4 – 2         7 – 3   Trine   4 – 2         6 – 4   Alma   2 – 4         5 – 5   Kalamazoo   1 – 5         3 – 7   Hope   0 – 6         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #20 Albright   8 – 1         9 – 1   Delaware Valley   7 – 2         8 – 2   Stevenson   7 – 2         8 – 2   Widener   6 – 3         6 – 4   Lebanon Valley   5 – 4         5 – 5   Lycoming   4 – 5         4 – 6   King's (PA)   3 – 6         3 – 7   FDU–Florham   2 – 7         3 – 7   Wilkes   2 – 7         2 – 8   Misericordia   1 – 8         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Midwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North St. Norbert   5 – 0         10 – 0   Carroll   4 – 1         6 – 4   Ripon   3 – 2         7 – 3   Macalester   2 – 3         4 – 6   Beloit   1 – 4         7 – 3   Lawrence   0 – 5         1 – 9   South Monmouth (IL)   5 – 0         8 – 2   Illinois College   3 – 2         5 – 5   Cornell (IA)   3 – 2         5 – 5   Lake Forest   3 – 2         4 – 6   Knox   1 – 4         3 – 7   Grinnell   0 – 5         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Minnesota IAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #4 St. Thomas (MN)   8 – 0         10 – 0   #10 St. John's (MN)   7 – 1         9 – 1   Gustavus Adolphus   5 – 3         7 – 3   Concordia–Moorhead   5 – 3         7 – 3   Bethel   4 – 4         5 – 5   Augsburg   4 – 4         5 – 5   Hamline   2 – 6         4 – 6   St. Olaf   1 – 7         2 – 8   Carleton   0 – 8         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 New England Football Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   W. New England   7 – 0         10 – 0   Salve Regina   5 – 2         7 – 2   Endicott   5 – 2         5 – 5   Coast Guard   4 – 3         5 – 5   Curry   3 – 4         4 – 6   Maine Maritime   2 – 5         3 – 6   MIT   2 – 5         2 – 8   Nichols   0 – 7         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 NESCAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Amherst   8 – 0         8 – 0   Trinity (CT)   7 – 1         7 – 1   Tufts   6 – 2         6 – 2   Middlebury   5 – 3         5 – 3   Wesleyan   5 – 3         5 – 3   Bates   2 – 6         2 – 6   Williams   2 – 6         2 – 6   Hamilton   2 – 6         2 – 6   Bowdoin   2 – 6         2 – 6   Colby   1 – 7         1 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 Wesley   8 – 1         9 – 1   #21 Salisbury   7 – 1         7 – 2   Kean   6 – 3         7 – 3   Frostburg State   5 – 4         6 – 4   Rowan   5 – 4         6 – 4   College of New Jersey   4 – 4         4 – 5   Montclair State   4 – 5         4 – 6   Christopher Newport   4 – 5         4 – 6   William Paterson   1 – 8         2 – 8   Southern Virginia   0 – 9         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Wabash $ ^   9 – 0         10 – 0   DePauw   7 – 2         8 – 2   Wittenberg   7 – 2         8 – 2   Denison   6 – 3         7 – 3   Ohio Wesleyan   5 – 4         5 – 5   Hiram   4 – 5         4 – 6   Oberlin   3 – 6         3 – 7   Wooster   2 – 7         2 – 8   Kenyon   2 – 7         2 – 8   Allegheny   0 – 9         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 NACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Lakeland   6 – 0         8 – 2   Benedictine   5 – 1         7 – 3   Wisconsin Lutheran   4 – 2         5 – 5   Concordia (WI)   3 – 3         3 – 7   Rockford   1 – 5         3 – 7   Aurora   2 – 4         3 – 7   Concordia–Chicago   0 – 6         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Northwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #2 Linfield   7 – 0         9 – 0   #22 Whitworth   6 – 1         9 – 1   Puget Sound   5 – 2         6 – 3   Pacific (OR)   4 – 3         6 – 4   George Fox   2 – 5         4 – 6   Willamette   2 – 5         2 – 7   Pacific Lutheran   2 – 5         2 – 7   Lewis & Clark   0 – 7         0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #1 Mount Union $ ^   9 – 0         10 – 0   #23 John Carroll   7 – 2         8 – 2   Ohio Northern ^   7 – 2         8 – 2   Baldwin Wallace   7 – 2         7 – 3   Heidelberg   5 – 4         5 – 5   Otterbein   4 – 5         4 – 6   Capital   3 – 6         3 – 7   Marietta   2 – 7         2 – 8   Muskingum   1 – 9         1 – 8   Wilmington (OH)   1 – 9         0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 ODAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #16 Washington & Lee   7 – 0         10 – 0   #24 Guilford   6 – 1         9 – 1   Emory & Henry   4 – 3         6 – 4   Hampden–Sydney   4 – 3         6 – 4   Randolph–Macon   3 – 4         4 – 6   Bridgewater (VA)   2 – 5         4 – 6   Shenandoah   1 – 6         4 – 6   Catholic   1 – 6         3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #9 Thomas More $ ^   8 – 0         10 – 0   Westminster (PA)   7 – 1         8 – 2   Wash. & Jefferson   6 – 2         8 – 2   Case Western Reserve   6 – 2         7 – 3   Carnegie Mellon   6 – 2         7 – 3   Bethany (WV)   4 – 4         5 – 5   St. Vincent   3 – 5         4 – 6   Waynesburg   2 – 6         3 – 7   Geneva   1 – 7         2 – 8   Thiel   1 – 7         2 – 8   Grove City   0 – 8         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Southern Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Hendrix $^   7 – 1         8 – 2   Centre   6 – 2         8 – 2   Berry   6 – 2         7 – 3   Chicago   5 – 3         6 – 4   Washington–St. Louis   5 – 3         6 – 4   Birmingham–Southern   3 – 5         5 – 5   Rhodes   2 – 6         4 – 6   Millsaps   2 – 6         3 – 7   Sewanee   0 – 8         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 SCIAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   La Verne $   7 – 0         8 – 1   Claremont   6 – 1         7 – 2   Occidental   4 – 3         5 – 4   Redlands   4 – 3         4 – 5   Chapman   4 – 3         4 – 5   Cal Lutheran   2 – 5         4 – 5   Pomona-Pitzer   1 – 6         2 – 7   Whittier   0 – 7         0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 SCAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #17 Texas Lutheran   3 – 0         8 – 2   Trinity (TX)   2 – 1         8 – 2   Austin   1 – 2         5 – 5   Southwestern   0 – 3         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 UMAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   St. Scholastica   9 – 0         9 – 1   Northwestern (MN)   8 – 1         8 – 2   Westminster (MO)   6 – 3         6 – 4   MacMurray   5 – 4         6 – 4   Eureka   4 – 5         5 – 5   Minnesota–Morris   4 – 5         4 – 6   Crown   4 – 5         4 – 6   Greenville   3 – 6         3 – 7   Martin Luther   1 – 8         2 – 8   Iowa Wesleyan   1 – 8         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 USA South Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Huntingdon   7 – 0         9 – 1   Maryville (TN)   5 – 2         8 – 2   N.C. Wesleyan   5 – 2         5 – 5   Averett   2 – 4         2 – 7   LaGrange   2 – 4         2 – 7   Methodist   2 – 5         4 – 6   Greensboro   2 – 5         3 – 7   Ferrum   2 – 5         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll
2015 Wisconsin IAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 UW–Oshkosh   7 – 0         9 – 1   #5 UW–Whitewater   6 – 1         9 – 1   #14 UW–Platteville   5 – 2         8 – 2   UW–Stevens Point   3 – 4         5 – 5   UW–River Falls   3 – 4         4 – 6   UW–Stout   2 – 5         3 – 7   UW–La Crosse   2 – 5         3 – 7   UW–Eau Claire   0 – 7         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll	2015 Division III independents football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Finlandia   0 – 0         3 – 7   Maranatha Baptist   0 – 0         1 – 8   Alfred State   0 – 0         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com Poll

Conference summaries

• Conferences highlighted in yellow do not receive automatic bids to the 2015 playoffs.

Conference	Champion	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
ASC	East Texas Baptist Hardin-Simmons Mary Hardin-Baylor	7–3 9–2 10–1	Jessie Ramos, HSU	Teidrick Smith, UMHB	Joshua Eargle, ETBU
Centennial	Johns Hopkins	11–0	Bradley Munday, Johns Hopkins	Keith Corliss, Johns Hopkins	Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian
CCIW	Wheaton (IL)	11–0	Sam Frasco, Augustana	Adam Dansdill, Wheaton	Mike Swider, Wheaton
ECFC	Norwich	6–5	John Smith, Husson	Bryant Wade, Husson	Mike Lichten, Becker
Empire 8	SUNY Cortland	9–2	Dan Andrews, SUNY Brockport	Tarik Bennett, SUNY Brockport	Daniel MacNiell, SUNY Cortland
HCAC	Franklin	8–3	Chase Burton, Franklin	Ryan Aelker, Bluffton	Nick Johnson, Earlham
IIAC	Dubuque	8–3	Logan Schrader, Wartburg	Blaine Snitker, Dubuque	Stan Zweifel, Dubuque
Liberty	St. Lawrence	8–3	Jeff Avery, RPI Mike Lefflbine, St. Lawrence	Max Nacewicz, Springfield	Mark Raymond, St. Lawrence
MSCAC	Framingham State	9–2	Matt Silva, Framingham State	Matt Mangano, Framingham State	Tom Kelley, Framingham State
MIAA	Albion	9–2	Dominic Bona, Albion	Terry Calagon, Alma
MAC	Albright	10–1	Malik Pressley, FDU-Florham	Brandon Jones, Widener	John Marzka, Albright
Midwest	St. Norbert	10–1	Jacob Bunk, St. Norbert	Zach Hauser, Macalester	Dan McCarty, St. Norbert Chad Braun, Monmouth
MIAC	St. Thomas (MN)	11–0	Ayrton Scott, Augsburg	Ryan Winter, St. Thomas	Glenn Caruso, St. Thomas Peter Haugen, Gustavus Adolphus
NEFC	Western New England	10–1	Tyler Ward, Western New England	Obi Etuka, Western New England	Keith Emery, Western New England
NESCAC	Amherst	8–0	Chance Brady, Tufts	Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, Amherst	E.J. Mills, Amherst
NJAC	Salisbury	7–3	Joe Callahan, Wesley	Darren Dungee, Rowan	Sherman Wood, Salisbury
NCAC	Wabash	11–0	Mason Zurek, Wabash	Tyler McCullen, Wabash	Eric Raeburn, Wabash
NACC	Lakeland	8–3	Michael Whitley, Lakeland	Landon Deringer, Lakeland Tanner Behnke, Wisc. Lutheran	Colin Bruton, Lakeland
Northwest	Linfield	10–0	Sam Riddle, Linfield	Alex Hoff, Linfield	Joseph Smith, Linfield
OAC	Mount Union	11–0	Justin Magazine, Ohio Northern Anthony Latina, John Carroll Devon Price, Ohio Northern	Tom Lally, Mount Union Tre Jones, Mount Union Hank Spencer, Mount Union	Dean Paul, Ohio Northern
ODAC	Washington and Lee	10–1	Matt Pawlowski, Guilford	Jake Payne, Shenandoah	Scott Abell, Washington and Lee
PAC	Thomas More	11–0	Sam Benger, Carnegie Mellon	Erick Butler, Thomas More	Regis Scafe, Thomas More
SAA	Hendrix	8–3	Dayton Winn, Hendrix	Michael Shield, Rhodes	Buck Buchanan, Hendrix
SCIAC	La Verne	8–2	Kwame Do, Occidental	Paul Slaats, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	Chris Krich, La Verne
SCAC	Texas Lutheran	8–2	Trenton White, Texas Lutheran	Julian Turner, Trinity	Danny Padron, Texas Lutheran
UMAC	St. Scholastica	9–2	Latif Adams, Westminster (MO)	Alex Mangan, St. Scholastica	Chris Douglas, MacMurray
USA South	Huntingdon	10–1	Malik Adams, NC Wesleyan	Anthony White, Huntingdon	Mike Turk, Huntingdon
WIAC	UW–Oshkosh	10–1	Brett Kasper, UW-Oshkosh	Andrew Robinson, UW-Platteville	Pat Cerroni, UW-Oshkosh

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

First round November 21, 2015				Second round November 28, 2015				Quarterfinals December 5, 2015				Semifinals December 12, 2015				Championship December 18, 2015 Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia
St. Thomas (MN)*	57
La Verne	14			St. Thomas (MN)*	38
St. John's (MN)*	51			St. John's (MN)	19
Dubuque	7							St. Thomas (MN)*	38
Thomas More*	51							Wabash	7
Washington and Lee	21			Thomas More	27
Wabash*	35			Wabash* †	33
Albion	14											St. Thomas (MN)*	38
Linfield*	48											Linfield	17
Whitworth	10			Linfield*	38
SUNY Cortland*	45			SUNY Cortland	22
Salisbury	21							Linfield*	38
Huntingdon*	38							Mary Hardin-Baylor	35
Hendrix	27			Huntingdon	23
Hardin–Simmons*	19			Mary Hardin-Baylor*	43
Mary Hardin-Baylor	37															St. Thomas (MN)	35
Mount Union*	55															Mount Union	49
St. Lawrence	23			Mount Union*	66
Albright*	49			Albright	7
Norwich	0							Mount Union*	56
Wesley*	42							Wesley	35
Framingham State	22			Wesley	42
Johns Hopkins*	52			Johns Hopkins*	37
Western New England	20											Mount Union*	36
Wisconsin–Oshkosh*	48											Wisconsin–Whitewater	6
St. Scholastica	0			Wisconsin–Oshkosh*	42
Franklin*	22			Ohio Northern	7
Ohio Northern	27							Wisconsin–Oshkosh*	29
Wisconsin–Whitewater*	48							Wisonsin–Whitewater	31
St. Norbert	0			Wisconsin-Whitewater	31
Wheaton (IL)*	55			Wheaton (IL)*	17
Lakeland	6

* Home team    † Overtime    Winner

See also

• 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2015 NCAA Division II football season

References