The 2008 NCAA Division III football season, part of the

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 ...

season organized by the

NCAA 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 III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

level in the United States, began in August 2008, and concluded with the

NCAA Division III Football Championship The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2008 at

Salem Football Stadium Salem Stadium is a stadium in Salem, Virginia, United States. It is primarily used for football and hosts the home football games of the Salem High School Spartans. It was built in 1985 and seats 7,157 people. The stadium is part of the James E. ...

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 combin ...

. The

Mount Union Purple Raiders The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduat ...

won their tenth Division III championship by defeating the

Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks (casually known as the UW–Whitewater Warhawks or Warhawks) are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Twenty Warhawk athletic teams compete in NCAA NCAA Division III, Di ...

, 31−26. This was the fourth of seven straight championship games between Mount Union (3 wins) and Wisconsin–Whitewater (4 wins). The

Gagliardi Trophy The Gagliardi Trophy was first presented in 1993 to the Outstanding Division III college football player of the year by the Jostens Company and the J-Club of Saint John's University in Minnesota. Since that time, the award has become one of the ...

, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Greg Micheli, quarterback from Mount Union.

Program changes

*After Tri-State University changed its name to

Trine University Trine University is a private university in Angola, Indiana. It was founded in 1884 and offers degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education, and engineering. Trine University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History Tri ...

in 2008, the Tri-State Thunder became the

Trine Thunder Trine University is a private university in Angola, Indiana. It was founded in 1884 and offers degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education, and engineering. Trine University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History Tri ...

at the start of the 2008 season.

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

The 2008 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 36th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at

for the 16th time.

Qualification

Twenty-three conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, four conferences had no Pool A bid. The SLIAC was in the first year of the two-year waiting period, while the ACFC, UAA, and UMAC failed to meet the seven-member requirement. The NWC received a Pool A bid for the first time, having attained seven members and passed through the waiting period. Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 23 Pool A conferences contained 197 schools, an average of 8.6 teams per conference. Twenty-seven schools were in Pool B, enough for three bids. The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Playoff bracket

* ''Overtime''

References

{{NCAA football season navbox