The 2015 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 on September 5, 2015 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, on December 18, 2015 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 ...

. Mount Union, which made its 11th consecutive appearance in the title game, defeated St. Thomas (Minnesota) 49–35 to claim its 19th national title.

Conference changes and new programs

One school added football at the Division III level and eight programs changed conference affiliations. A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website."Division III Team Pages"
D3football.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.

Conference standings

Conference summaries

*Conferences highlighted in yellow do not receive automatic bids to the 2015 playoffs.

Postseason

Twenty-five conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, two conferences had no Pool A bid. The American Southwest, which had fallen below the required seven members in 2013, lost its Pool A bid after the two-year grace period; the SCAC had only four members. The MASCAC and SAA gained Pool A bids for the first time, having passed through the two-year 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 25 Pool A conferences contained 220 schools, an average of 8.8 teams per conference. Twelve schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid. The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Conference changes and new programs

Conference standings

Conference summaries

Postseason

Playoff bracket

Bowl games

See also

References