The 2000 NCAA Division II football season, part of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

at the Division II level, began on September 2, 2000, and concluded with the

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

on December 9, 2000 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 Lions and the Florence High School Falcons. It also hosted the NCAA Di ...

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

, hosted by the

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

. The

Delta State Statesmen The Delta State Statesmen and Lady Statesmen are composed of 13 teams representing Delta State University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, soccer, swimming & diving, and tennis. Men's sports include baseball, fo ...

defeated the

Bloomsburg Huskies The Bloomsburg Huskies (formerly known as the Bloomsburg State Huskies) are the athletic teams that represent Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Huskies ...

, 63–34, to win their first Division II national title. 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 Harlo ...

was awarded to

Dusty Bonner Dusty Bonner (born October 27, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He was a standout Harlon Hill Trophy winner in 2000 and 2001 while playing for Valdosta State University, and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 by the A ...

, quarterback from

Valdosta State Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU a ...

Conferences and program changes

Conference standings

Conference summaries

Postseason

The 2000

playoffs were the 27th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an 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 environmen ...

college football. The championship game was held at

for the 14th time.

Playoff bracket

References