The 2023 NCAA Division III football season was the component of the 2023

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 ...

season organized by the

NCAA 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 III level in the United States. The regular season began on September 2 and ended on November 12. This was the 50th season that the NCAA has sponsored a Division III championship. North Central (IL) were the defending national champions. The season's playoffs was played between November 19 and December 15, culminating in the national championship—also known as the Stagg Bowl—at the

Salem Football Stadium Salem Stadium is a stadium in Salem, Virginia, United States. It is primarily used for American football and hosts the home football games of the Salem High School (Salem, Virginia), Salem High School Spartans. It was built in 1985 and seats 7,1 ...

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

Other headlines

* September 23 – Shenandoah's Haley Van Voorhis became the first woman to play a non-kicking position in NCAA football, coming on as a safety in the first quarter of the Hornets' game against Juniata. * October 4 –

Anna Maria College Anna Maria College is a private Catholic college in Paxton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a women's college, but has been coeducational since 1973. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. History A ...

announced it was leaving the

Eastern Collegiate Football Conference The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) was a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Founded in 2009, it combined four schools spread across the states of Massachusetts and New Yor ...

and joining the

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Full member institutions are all located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with affiliate mem ...

for the 2025–26 academic year. * October 10 –

Dean College Dean College is a private college in Franklin, Massachusetts. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates. History Dean College was founded by Oliver Dean as a co-educational academy, Dean Academy, in 1865. He gave t ...

announced it was leaving the

and joining the

for the 2025–26 academic year.

Conference standings

Rankings

Postseason

Teams

Automatic bids (28)

At-large bids (4)

Bracket

* - Host team

Bowl games

Division III had 13 bowl games, featuring teams that did not qualify for the Division III postseason tournament.

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games.

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

References

{{NCAA Division III football navbox 2023 NCAA Division III football season