2015 NCAA Division III football season
American college football season
The 2015 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 on September 5, 2015, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship , also known as the Stagg Bowl , on December 18, 2015, at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia . 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.[ 1]
A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website.[ 2]
Conference standings
Conference summaries
Conferences highlighted in yellow do not receive automatic bids to the 2015 playoffs.
Conference
Champion
Record
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
ASC
East Texas Baptist Hardin–Simmons Mary Hardin–Baylor
7–3 9–2 10–1
Jessie Ramos, HSU
Teidrick Smith, UMHB
Joshua Eargle , ETBU
Centennial
Johns Hopkins
11–0
Bradley Munday, Johns Hopkins
Keith Corliss, Johns Hopkins
Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian
CCIW
Wheaton (IL)
11–0
Sam Frasco, Augustana
Adam Dansdill, Wheaton
Mike Swider, Wheaton
ECFC
Norwich
6–5
John Smith, Husson
Bryant Wade, Husson
Mike Lichten, Becker
Empire 8
SUNY Cortland
9–2
Dan Andrews, SUNY Brockport
Tarik Bennett, SUNY Brockport
Daniel MacNiell, SUNY Cortland
HCAC
Franklin
8–3
Chase Burton, Franklin
Ryan Aelker, Bluffton
Nick Johnson, Earlham
IIAC
Dubuque
8–3
Logan Schrader, Wartburg
Blaine Snitker, Dubuque
Stan Zweifel , Dubuque
Liberty
St. Lawrence
8–3
Jeff Avery, RPI Mike Lefflbine, St. Lawrence
Max Nacewicz , Springfield
Mark Raymond, St. Lawrence
MSCAC
Framingham State
9–2
Matt Silva, Framingham State
Matt Mangano, Framingham State
Tom Kelley, Framingham State
MIAA
Albion
9–2
Dominic Bona, Albion
Terry Calagon, Alma
MAC
Albright
10–1
Malik Pressley, FDU-Florham
Brandon Jones, Widener
John Marzka, Albright
Midwest
St. Norbert
10–1
Jacob Bunk, St. Norbert
Zach Hauser, Macalester
Dan McCarty, St. Norbert Chad Braun, Monmouth
MIAC
St. Thomas (MN)
11–0
Ayrton Scott, Augsburg
Ryan Winter, St. Thomas
Glenn Caruso, St. Thomas Peter Haugen, Gustavus Adolphus
NEFC
Western New England
10–1
Tyler Ward, Western New England
Obi Etuka, Western New England
Keith Emery, Western New England
NESCAC
Amherst
8–0
Chance Brady, Tufts
Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, Amherst
E.J. Mills, Amherst
NJAC
Salisbury
7–3
Joe Callahan, Wesley
Darren Dungee, Rowan
Sherman Wood, Salisbury
NCAC
Wabash
11–0
Mason Zurek, Wabash
Tyler McCullen, Wabash
Eric Raeburn, Wabash
NACC
Lakeland
8–3
Michael Whitley, Lakeland
Landon Deringer, Lakeland Tanner Behnke, Wisc. Lutheran
Colin Bruton, Lakeland
Northwest
Linfield
10–0
Sam Riddle, Linfield
Alex Hoff, Linfield
Joseph Smith, Linfield
OAC
Mount Union
11–0
Justin Magazine, Ohio Northern Anthony Latina, John Carroll Devon Price, Ohio Northern
Tom Lally, Mount Union Tre Jones, Mount Union Hank Spencer, Mount Union
Dean Paul, Ohio Northern
ODAC
Washington and Lee
10–1
Matt Pawlowski, Guilford
Jake Payne, Shenandoah
Scott Abell, Washington and Lee
PAC
Thomas More
11–0
Sam Benger, Carnegie Mellon
Erick Butler, Thomas More
Regis Scafe, Thomas More
SAA
Hendrix
8–3
Dayton Winn, Hendrix
Michael Shield, Rhodes
Buck Buchanan, Hendrix
SCIAC
La Verne
8–2
Kwame Do, Occidental
Paul Slaats, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Chris Krich, La Verne
SCAC
Texas Lutheran
8–2
Trenton White, Texas Lutheran
Julian Turner, Trinity
Danny Padron, Texas Lutheran
UMAC
St. Scholastica
9–2
Latif Adams, Westminster (MO)
Alex Mangan, St. Scholastica
Chris Douglas, MacMurray
USA South
Huntingdon
10–1
Malik Adams, NC Wesleyan
Anthony White, Huntingdon
Mike Turk, Huntingdon
WIAC
UW–Oshkosh
10–1
Brett Kasper, UW-Oshkosh
Andrew Robinson, UW-Platteville
Pat Cerroni, UW-Oshkosh
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.
Playoff bracket
* Home team † Overtime Winner
Bowl games
Date
Bowl
Location
Home team
Away team
Score
Nov. 20, 2015
ECAC Chapman Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
Husson
Salve Regina
42–39
Nov. 20, 2015
ECAC President's Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
WPI
Kean
24–6
Nov. 21, 2015
Centennial –MAC Bowl Series
Scotty Wood StadiumAllentown, Pennsylvania
Muhlenberg
Stevenson
14–9
Nov. 21, 2015
Centennial-MAC Bowl Series
James Work Memorial StadiumDoylestown, Pennsylvania
Delaware Valley
Moravian
20–16
Nov. 21, 2015
ECAC Lynah Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
St. John Fisher
Westminster (PA)
42–21
Nov. 21, 2015
ECAC Bushnell Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
Buffalo State
RPI
20–13
Nov. 22, 2015
ECAC Legacy Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
Bridgewater State
Carnegie Mellon
48–13
Nov. 22, 2015
ECAC Whitelaw Bowl
Arute Field New Britain, Connecticut
Alfred
Fitchburg State
11–10
See also
References