The 2012 NCAA Division II football season, part of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

at the Division II level, began on September 1, 2012, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 15, 2012 at

Braly Municipal Stadium Tom Braly Municipal Stadium is a 14,215-seat stadium in Florence, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of North Alabama North Alabama Lions and the Florence High School Falcons. It also host ...

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

, hosted by the

University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama, United States. It is the state's oldest university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also ...

. The

Valdosta State Blazers The Valdosta State Blazers are the athletic teams that represent the Valdosta State University, located in Valdosta, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Blazers h ...

defeated the

Winston-Salem State Rams The Winston-Salem State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Winston-Salem State University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Rams compete as members of the Central Intercollegiate Ath ...

, 35–7, to win their third Division II national title. It proved to be the final season for the

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early y ...

(WVIAC). Shortly before the start of the 2012–13 school year, the WVIAC's nine football-playing members announced plans to break away and form a new league. Before the new conference was announced, one of the nine breakaway schools ( Seton Hill) chose instead to join the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

; the remaining eight schools joined with three other football-playing schools and one non-football WVIAC member left out of the original split. The new league, officially unveiled in August 2012 as the

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 11 schools, m ...

, began play in 2013. The

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

was awarded to Zach Zulli, quarterback from Shippensburg.

Conference changes and new programs

*The

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fifteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, ...

began football play in 2012. Minot State, Notre Dame (OH), Simon Fraser,

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

, and William Jewell completed their transitions to Division II and became eligible for the postseason.

Regional realignment

The GNAC, MIAA, and Great American moved from Super Region 4 to Super Region 3, while the RMAC and GLIAC moved in the opposite direction; the GLVC, newly sponsoring football, was assigned to Super Region 4.

Conference standings

Super Region 1

Super Region 2

Super Region 3

Super Region 4

Conference champions

Postseason

The 2012 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 39th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

college football. The championship game was held at

for the 25th time.

Seeded teams

* Ashland * Carson–Newman *

CSU Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Colorado State University System and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for starting ...

* Henderson State * Minnesota State–Mankato *

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

* Winston-Salem State * Valdosta State

Playoff bracket

* ''Home team'' † ''Overtime''

Awards and honors

Harlon Hill Trophy

The

is given to the year's most outstanding player.

References

{{NCAA football season navbox