The 2000 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 2000, 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 2000 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 fifth Division III championship by defeating the Saint John's (MN) Johnnies, 10−7. 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

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

, quarterback from Pacific Lutheran.

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

The 2000 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 28th 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 eighth time. This was the second bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.

Playoff bracket

* ''Overtime''

Final AFCA Top 25 Poll

Others receiving votes: Wesley, 86; Hobart, 78; Thomas More, 76; Montclair St., 74; Hope, 65; Rowan, 44; Aurora, 34; Ripon, 20; Emory & Henry, 20; Middlebury, 14; Amherst, 11; Bridgewater St., 9; Wheaton, 8; Lycoming, 4; Augustana, 2.

Awards

, Pacific Lutheran

AFCA Coach of the Year The AFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The award has had several different sponsors over the years, including Eastman Kodak Corporation, and thus also b ...

Larry Kehres Larry Kehres (born September 7, 1949) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mount Union—formerly known as Mount Union College—in Alliance, Ohio for 27 ...

, Mount Union AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: Region 1: Mike DeLong, Springfield Region 2: Bill Zwaan, Widener Region 3:

Pete Fredenburg Pete Fredenburg (born September 15, 1949) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the head coach at the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor in Belton, Texas, a position he had held since 1997; the program began play in 1998. Frede ...

, Mary Hardin-Baylor Region 4:

, Mount Union Region 5:

Ed Meierkort Ed Meierkort (born March 24, 1959) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Stout from 1993 to 2003 and University of South Dakota from 2004 to 2011, compiling a career college footbal ...

, Wisconsin-Stout

References

{{NCAA football season navbox