The 2023 NCAA Division III football season was the component of the 2023 college football 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 and ...

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 in

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 Haley Van Voorhis (born 2003) is an American football player for Shenandoah University. She is one of the first women to play a position other than kicker in an NCAA football game, at any level. She accomplished this as a safety for the Shenandoa ...

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 announced it was leaving the

Eastern Collegiate Football Conference The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Founded in 2009, it combines six schools spread across the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, ...

and joining the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference 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 continuing and professional education and certificates. History Dean College was founded by Dr. Oliver Dean as a co-educati ...

announced it was leaving the

and joining the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference 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