The 2006 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, 2006, 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 16, 2006 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 ...

Grand Valley State Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately ...

defeated Northwest Missouri State in the championship game, 17–14, to win their fourth 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

Danny Woodhead Daniel Jacob Henry Woodhead (born January 25, 1985) is an amateur golfer who has qualified for the United States Golf Association championship tournaments, and was a former professional American football running back. He played college football a ...

, running back from

Chadron State Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, US. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. According to College Factual, it has a six-year g ...

Conference changes and new programs

Upper Iowa completed their transition to Division II and became eligible for the postseason. West Georgia changed the name of its athletic teams from Braves to Wolves due to NCAA rules regarding Native American mascots.

Conference standings

Northeast Region

Southeast Region

Northwest Region

Southwest Region

Conference summaries

Postseason

The 2006

playoffs were the 33rd 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 19th time.

Seeded teams

* Bloomsburg *

* Nebraska–Omaha *

North Alabama North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Several geographic definitions for the area exist, with all descriptions including the nine counties of Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The North Alabama Industrial Development Associ ...

* North Carolina Central * Northwest Missouri State *

Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

Playoff bracket

* ''Home team'' † ''Overtime''

References

{{NCAA football season navbox