The 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game, more commonly referred to as the 2023 Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl L, was a postseason

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 ...

game scheduled played on December 15, 2023, at 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 combin ...

. It determined a national champion in NCAA Division III for the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. The game began at 7:00 p.m. EST, and aired on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

. The game featured the two finalists of the 32-team single elimination playoff bracket, Cortland and North Central; Cortland won 38–37 to claim their first national championship.

Teams

The participants of the 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2023 Division III Playoffs, a 32-team single elimination brackets tournament which began on November 18. The winners of each of the four 8-team regions qualified for the national semifinals.

National semifinals

Game summary

Statistics

References

{{NCAA Division III football navbox

Stagg Bowl 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 ...

Cortland Red Dragons football North Central Cardinals football American football competitions in Virginia

Sports competitions in Salem, Virginia