2012 NCAA Division III football season

2012 NCAA Division III football season
2012 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 2012
Playoffs	November – December 2012
National; championship	Salem Football Stadium; Salem, VA
Champion	Mount Union (11)
Gagliardi Trophy	Scottie Williams (RB), Elmhurst (IL)

The 2012 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2012, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2012 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their eleventh Division III championship by defeating the St. Thomas (MN) Tommies, 28−10.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Scottie Williams, running back from Elmhurst (IL).^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School	2011 conference	2012 conference
McMurry	ASC (Division III)	Heartland (Division II)

Conference standings

2012 American Southwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^	7	–	0	13	–	1
No. 23 Louisiana College ^	6	–	1	8	–	3
Hardin–Simmons	5	–	2	6	–	4
Sul Ross	4	–	3	5	–	5
Texas Lutheran	2	–	5	4	–	6
East Texas Baptist	2	–	5	3	–	7
Mississippi College	1	–	6	2	–	8
Howard Payne	1	–	6	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Centennial Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 22 Johns Hopkins $^	8	–	1	10	–	2
Muhlenberg	7	–	2	8	–	3
Gettysburg	6	–	3	7	–	3
Franklin & Marshall	6	–	3	7	–	4
Susquehanna	5	–	4	6	–	4
Ursinus	5	–	4	6	–	4
Dickinson	4	–	5	4	–	6
Juniata	2	–	7	3	–	7
Moravian	2	–	7	2	–	8
McDaniel	0	–	9	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Elmhurst +^	6	–	1	10	–	2
No. 21 Wheaton (IL) +	6	–	1	8	–	2
No. 7 North Central (IL) +^	6	–	1	9	–	3
Augustana (IL)	4	–	3	5	–	5
Illinois Wesleyan	3	–	4	6	–	4
Millikin	2	–	5	5	–	5
Carthage	1	–	6	3	–	7
North Park	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mount Ida +^	6	–	1	8	–	3
Castleton +	6	–	1	7	–	4
Gallaudet	5	–	2	7	–	3
Norwich	4	–	2	7	–	3
SUNY Maritime	2	–	4	3	–	6
Becker	2	–	5	3	–	7
Anna Maria	1	–	6	2	–	8
Husson	1	–	6	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 11 Salisbury $^	6	–	1	9	–	3
Alfred	5	–	2	6	–	4
St. John Fisher	4	–	3	8	–	3
Buffalo State	4	–	3	6	–	4
Ithaca	4	–	3	6	–	4
Utica	4	–	3	6	–	4
Frostburg State	1	–	6	3	–	7
Hartwick	0	–	7	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 20 Franklin $^	8	–	0	9	–	3
Hanover	6	–	2	6	–	4
Manchester	6	–	2	6	–	4
Bluffton	5	–	3	6	–	4
Rose–Hulman	5	–	3	5	–	5
Mount St. Joseph	3	–	5	4	–	6
Defiance	2	–	6	2	–	8
Earlham	1	–	7	1	–	9
Anderson (IN)	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 15 Coe $^	7	–	0	10	–	1
Simpson (IA)	4	–	3	6	–	4
Wartburg	4	–	3	6	–	4
Central (IA)	4	–	3	5	–	5
Dubuque	4	–	3	5	–	5
Buena Vista	4	–	3	4	–	6
Loras	1	–	6	2	–	8
Luther	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Liberty League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Hobart $^	7	–	0	12	–	1
Union (NY)	6	–	1	6	–	4
Springfield	5	–	2	8	–	3
RPI	3	–	4	5	–	4
Merchant Marine	3	–	4	5	–	5
Rochester (NY)	3	–	4	4	–	5
WPI	1	–	6	2	–	8
St. Lawrence	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Adrian $^	6	–	0	9	–	2
Trine	5	–	1	7	–	3
Hope	4	–	2	5	–	5
Albion	3	–	3	6	–	4
Kalamazoo	2	–	4	5	–	5
Alma	1	–	5	1	–	9
Olivet	0	–	6	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Widener $^	8	–	0	11	–	1
Lycoming	8	–	1	8	–	2
Delaware Valley	7	–	2	8	–	3
Albright	6	–	3	8	–	3
Lebanon Valley	5	–	4	6	–	4
Wilkes	4	–	5	5	–	5
FDU Florham	2	–	6	2	–	8
King's	2	–	7	2	–	8
Stevenson	2	–	7	2	–	8
Misericordia	0	–	9	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Midwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Lake Forest +	8	–	1	8	–	2
St. Norbert +^	8	–	1	8	–	3
Carroll (WI)	7	–	2	8	–	2
Illinois College	7	–	2	8	–	2
Monmouth (IL)	5	–	4	5	–	5
Ripon	5	–	4	5	–	5
Cornell (IA)	4	–	5	4	–	6
Grinnell	2	–	7	2	–	8
Knox	2	–	7	2	–	8
Lawrence	2	–	8	2	–	8
Beloit	0	–	9	0	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 St. Thomas (MN) $^	8	–	0	14	–	1
No. 18 Concordia–Moorhead	6	–	2	8	–	2
No. 12 Bethel (MN) ^	6	–	2	9	–	3
Augsburg	5	–	3	7	–	3
St. Olaf	5	–	3	7	–	3
Saint John's (MN)	3	–	5	5	–	5
Gustavus Adolphus	2	–	6	3	–	7
Carleton	1	–	7	3	–	7
Hamline	0	–	8	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 New England Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Bogan Division
Framingham State xy$^	7	–	0	10	–	2
Bridgewater State ^	6	–	1	9	–	2
Worcester State	4	–	3	6	–	4
Coast Guard	4	–	3	5	–	4
Massachusetts Maritime	4	–	3	5	–	4
Westfield State	2	–	5	3	–	7
Fitchburg State	1	–	6	2	–	8
Maine Maritime	0	–	7	0	–	9
Boyd Division
Endicott x	6	–	1	9	–	2
Salve Regina xy	6	–	1	9	–	2
Curry	5	–	2	6	–	4
Western New England	4	–	3	6	–	4
MIT	4	–	3	5	–	4
Plymouth State	1	–	6	2	–	8
Nichols	1	–	6	1	–	9
UMass Dartmouth	1	–	6	1	–	9
Championship: Framingham State 28, Salve Regina 16
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Trinity (CT) $	8	–	0	8	–	0
Middlebury	7	–	1	7	–	1
Amherst	6	–	2	6	–	2
Bates	5	–	3	5	–	3
Wesleyan	5	–	3	5	–	3
Williams	4	–	4	4	–	4
Colby	3	–	5	3	–	5
Bowdoin	1	–	7	1	–	7
Hamilton	1	–	7	1	–	7
Tufts	0	–	8	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion

2012 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 24 Cortland $^	7	–	0	9	–	2
No. 25 Rowan ^	6	–	1	7	–	3
Kean	5	–	2	5	–	4
Montclair State	5	–	3	5	–	5
Brockport	4	–	4	6	–	4
TCNJ	3	–	5	4	–	6
William Paterson	2	–	5	5	–	5
Western Connecticut	1	–	7	1	–	8
Morrisville State	1	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Ohio Wesleyan +	6	–	1	9	–	1
No. 14 Wittenberg +^	6	–	1	10	–	2
Wabash	5	–	2	8	–	2
Kenyon	5	–	2	6	–	4
Allegheny	4	–	3	5	–	5
Denison	4	–	3	4	–	6
Oberlin	3	–	4	4	–	6
DePauw	1	–	6	2	–	8
Wooster	1	–	6	2	–	8
Hiram	0	–	7	0	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Northern Athletics Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Concordia (IL) $^	7	–	0	10	–	1
Concordia (WI)	6	–	1	7	–	3
Wisconsin Lutheran	5	–	2	7	–	3
Aurora	4	–	3	5	–	5
Benedictine (IL)	3	–	4	5	–	5
Lakeland	2	–	5	2	–	8
Rockford	1	–	6	2	–	8
Maranatha Baptist	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Northwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Linfield $^	6	–	0	11	–	1
No. 17 Pacific Lutheran ^	5	–	1	7	–	3
Willamette	4	–	2	8	–	2
Whitworth	3	–	3	7	–	3
Pacific (OR)	2	–	4	3	–	6
Lewis & Clark	1	–	5	4	–	5
Puget Sound	0	–	6	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Mount Union $^	9	–	0	15	–	0
No. 19 Heidelberg ^	8	–	1	9	–	2
Otterbein	7	–	2	8	–	2
Baldwin Wallace	6	–	3	7	–	3
John Carroll	5	–	4	6	–	4
Ohio Northern	4	–	5	4	–	6
Muskingum	3	–	6	3	–	7
Capital	2	–	7	2	–	8
Wilmington (OH)	1	–	8	1	–	9
Marietta	0	–	9	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Washington and Lee $^	6	–	1	8	–	3
Randolph–Macon	5	–	2	7	–	3
Bridgewater	4	–	3	7	–	3
Hampden–Sydney	4	–	3	6	–	4
Guilford	4	–	3	5	–	5
Emory & Henry	3	–	4	6	–	4
Catholic University	2	–	5	3	–	7
Shenandoah	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Waynesburg +	7	–	1	10	–	1
Washington & Jefferson +^	7	–	1	8	–	3
Thomas More	6	–	2	7	–	3
Grove City	5	–	3	6	–	4
Bethany (WV)	3	–	5	3	–	7
Geneva	3	–	5	3	–	7
Thiel	3	–	5	3	–	7
Westminster (PA)	2	–	6	3	–	6
Saint Vincent	0	–	8	0	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Southern Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Birmingham–Southern +	3	–	1	7	–	3
Millsaps +	3	–	1	7	–	3
Rhodes	2	–	2	6	–	3
Centre	1	–	3	6	–	4
Sewanee	1	–	3	3	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions

2012 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 Cal Lutheran $^	7	–	0	8	–	2
Redlands	6	–	1	6	–	3
Chapman	5	–	2	6	–	3
La Verne	4	–	3	4	–	5
Whittier	3	–	4	4	–	5
Occidental	2	–	5	2	–	7
Pomona–Pitzer	1	–	6	1	–	8
Claremont–Mudd–Scripps	0	–	7	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 University Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Washington University $	3	–	0	5	–	5
Case Western Reserve	2	–	1	6	–	4
Carnegie Mellon	1	–	2	6	–	5
Chicago	0	–	3	4	–	6

$ – Conference champion

2012 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Greenville +	7	–	1	8	–	2
Northwestern (MN) +	7	–	1	8	–	3
St. Scholastica +^	7	–	1	8	–	3
Minnesota–Morris	5	–	3	6	–	4
Eureka	3	–	5	4	–	6
Martin Luther	2	–	6	4	–	6
Westminster (MO)	2	–	6	4	–	6
MacMurray	2	–	6	2	–	8
Crown	1	–	7	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 USA South Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Ferrum +	5	–	2	7	–	3
Maryville (TN) +	5	–	2	6	–	4
Christopher Newport +^	5	–	2	6	–	5
Methodist	4	–	3	5	–	5
Greensboro	3	–	4	5	–	5
LaGrange	3	–	4	3	–	7
North Carolina Wesleyan	2	–	5	3	–	7
Averett	1	–	6	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

2012 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Wisconsin–Oshkosh $^	7	–	0	13	–	1
No. 13 Wisconsin–Platteville	5	–	2	8	–	2
Wisconsin–Whitewater	5	–	2	7	–	3
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	4	–	3	4	–	6
Wisconsin–La Crosse	3	–	4	4	–	6
Wisconsin–River Falls	2	–	5	2	–	8
Wisconsin–Stout	1	–	6	3	–	7
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	1	–	6	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

2012 NCAA Division III independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Wesley ^		–		10	–	2
Trinity (TX)		–		7	–	3
Huntingdon		–		6	–	3
Macalester		–		6	–	4
Austin		–		2	–	8
Presentation		–		2	–	8

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

Conference champions

Conference champions
American Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor Centennial Conference – Johns Hopkins College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Elmhurst, North Central (IL), and Wheaton (IL) Eastern Collegiate Football Conference – Castleton State and Mount Ida Empire 8 Conference – Salisbury Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Franklin Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Coe Liberty League – Hobart Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Adrian Middle Atlantic Conference – Widener Midwest Conference – Lake Forest and St. Norbert Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – St. Thomas (MN) New England Football Conference – Framingham State (Bogan Division), Endicott and Salve Regina (Boyd Division) Championship Game: Framingham State 28, Salve Regina 16 New England Small College Athletic Conference – Trinity (CT) New Jersey Athletic Conference – SUNY Cortland North Coast Athletic Conference – Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference – Concordia Chicago Northwest Conference – Linfield Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Washington & Lee Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson and Waynesburg Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Cal Lutheran Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Washington–Saint Louis Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Greenville, Northwestern–St. Paul, and St. Scholastica USA South Athletic Conference – Christopher Newport, Ferrum, and Maryville (TN) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Oshkosh

Postseason

The 2012 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 40th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 20th time.^[2]

Qualification

Twenty-four 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 (the SAA and UAA) had no Pool A bid, neither meeting the seven-member requirement.

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 24 Pool A conferences contained 214 schools, an average of 8.9 teams per conference. Fifteen schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.

The remaining seven playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Playoff bracket

First Round Campus Sites		Second Round Campus Sites		Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia

Linfield	27
Pacific Lutheran	24	Linfield	30
North Central (IL)	41	North Central (IL)	14
Cal Lutheran	21			Linfield	24
Bethel (MN)	24			Wisconsin–Oshkosh	31*
Concordia Chicago	23	Bethel (MN)	14
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	55	Wisconsin–Oshkosh	37
St. Scholastica	10					Wisconsin–Oshkosh	14
Hobart	38					St. Thomas (MN)	28
Washington & Lee	20	Hobart	35
Wittenberg	52	Wittenberg	10
Heidelberg	38			Hobart	7
Elmhurst	27			St. Thomas (MN)	47
Coe	24	Elmhurst	17
St. Thomas (MN)	48	St. Thomas (MN)	24
St. Norbert	17							St. Thomas (MN)	10
Mary Hardin–Baylor	59							Mount Union	28
Louisiana College	20	Mary Hardin–Baylor	63
Franklin	42	Franklin	17
Adrian	10			Mary Hardin–Baylor	32
SUNY Cortland	20			Wesley	20
Framingham State	19	SUNY Cortland	6
Wesley	73	Wesley	56
Mount Ida	14					Mary Hardin–Baylor	35
Widener	44					Mount Union	48
Bridgewater State	14	Widener	28
Salisbury	17	Salisbury	7
Rowan	9			Widener	17
Johns Hopkins	42			Mount Union	72
Washington & Jefferson	10	Johns Hopkins	13
Mount Union	72	Mount Union	55
Christopher Newport	14

* Overtime

References

^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
^ "2012 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

[1] "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

[2] "2012 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

[1]

[2]

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024