# 2026 NCAA Division III football season
The 2026 [NCAA Division III](https://www.edgepedia.org/ncaa-division-iii) football season is the ongoing college football season for the NCAA's Division III programs, culminating in a single-elimination national championship tournament that ends with the championship game on January 3, 2027 at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia.[1](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/) Division III is the NCAA's non-scholarship division, and its championship field expanded to 40 teams beginning with the 2024 fall championships.[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Participating teams | 243 NCAA Division III football programs field teams in 2026[3](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/division/d3) |
| Championship format | Single-elimination bracket of 40 teams, expanded from 32 starting with the 2024 fall championships[1](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/) • [2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/) |
| Championship game | January 3, 2027, Salem Stadium, Salem, VA[1](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/) |
| At-large selection | NCAA Power Index (NPI) used to select at-large berths, alongside a single combined at-large pool[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/) |
| Defending champion | Wisconsin–River Falls, which beat North Central (IL) 24-14 in the 2025 championship game[4](https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/football/d3/2025) • [13](https://wiacsports.com/news/2026/1/5/uw-river-falls-wins-ncaa-football-championship.aspx) |
| Preseason contenders | North Central (IL) and Wheaton (IL) placed in the top five of the D3football.com 2026 Preseason Top 25[5](https://cciw.org/news/2026/7/20/north-central-and-wheaton-earn-top-five-spots-in-d3football-com-preseason-poll.aspx) |
## Championship structure
The NCAA Division III Football Championship is played as a single-elimination bracket that builds toward the semifinals and then a title game, which decides the national champion.[1](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/) Under its championship philosophy, Division III football aims to put the strongest teams on the field while keeping missed class time to a minimum, to stress regional matchups when scheduling regular-season games, and to distribute berths among eligible conferences, independent institutions, and a small number of at-large selections.[6](https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/football/d3/2025-26D3MFB_PreChampsionshipManual.pdf)
**Bracket expansion.** In April 2024 the Division III Management Council supported expanding the football championship bracket from 32 to 40 teams and changing the championship access ratio for all team sports to 1:6, with the changes taking effect starting with the 2024 fall championships.[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/) The expansion also combined the previously used Pools B and C into a single at-large pool for bids.[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/) The council approved the use of the NCAA Power Index, a deservedness-based ranking metric, for selection of at-large berths to team sports championships.[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/)
**Playing rules.** Division III football operates under the NCAA Football Playing Rules, with a Division II and III Football Rules Committee overseeing rules of competition.[7](https://www.ncaa.org/championships/playing-rules/football-playing-rules/) • [8](https://www.ncaa.org/championships/playing-rules/committees/) For 2026-27 the NCAA has issued new Sideline Replay Review Policies and Procedures and Coach to Player Communication Policies and Procedures, along with a halftime video review procedure for preliminary-round targeting fouls.[1](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/) In the summer of 2023, Division III formally adopted a process to consider and adopt federated playing rules, designed to include more Division III input and encourage common playing rules.[2](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/)
## Regular season
The 2026 season includes 243 Division III teams spread across roughly 36 conferences plus independents, tracked in conference-grouped overall records.[3](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/division/d3) • [9](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/records/d3) Conference preseason polls set expectations within leagues: Aurora was given the favorite tag ahead of the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference season, with the highest-placed team in the final league standings receiving the NACC's automatic berth in the championship.[10](https://naccsports.org/news/2026/8/27/aurora-given-favorite-tag-ahead-of-2026-nacc-football-season.aspx) In the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, North Central and Wheaton earned top-five spots in the D3football.com 2026 Preseason Top 25 Poll.[5](https://cciw.org/news/2026/7/20/north-central-and-wheaton-earn-top-five-spots-in-d3football-com-preseason-poll.aspx)
Early-season results as of late September 2026 showed a number of unbeaten programs, including Wheaton (IL), North Central (IL), [John Carroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carroll), Wabash, and Washington-St. Louis at 4-0 in their conferences' tables, while Mount Union stood at 1-2.[9](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/records/d3)
## Eligibility context
A national eligibility change affects the 2026 season's roster landscape. A new NCAA rule allows five seasons of eligibility for Division I players, and a federal court ruling granted a fifth year to athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and were not included in that rule.[11](https://apnews.com/article/4c7be58edee18f5af5025d496a48c51a) Ohio's governor, [Mike DeWine](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-dewine), issued an executive order in October 2026 that let the state's higher-education institutions choose to grant a fifth season of play to athletes from the 2022 high-school graduating class, pushing back against the NCAA's newly adopted eligibility rule.[12](https://apnews.com/article/fc6fe8a8b21b0f77de4b359a42b62203)
## Recent history
The 2025 championship game ended with Wisconsin–River Falls defeating North Central (IL) 24-14.[4](https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/football/d3/2025) • [13](https://wiacsports.com/news/2026/1/5/uw-river-falls-wins-ncaa-football-championship.aspx)
## References
1. [Division III Football, NCAA.org](https://www.ncaa.org/championship/division-iii/football/)
2. [DIII Management Council supports expanding football, team sport brackets, NCAA.org (April 18, 2024)](https://www.ncaa.org/news/media-center-diii-management-council-supports-expanding-football-team-sport-brackets/)
3. [243 D3 Football Colleges (NCAA Division III) · 2026, Read The Field](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/division/d3)
4. [2025 Division III Football Official Bracket, NCAA.com](https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/football/d3/2025)
5. [North Central and Wheaton Earn Top-Five Spots in D3football.com Preseason Poll, CCIW (July 20, 2026)](https://cciw.org/news/2026/7/20/north-central-and-wheaton-earn-top-five-spots-in-d3football-com-preseason-poll.aspx)
6. [2025-26 Division III Football Prechampionship Manual, NCAA](https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/football/d3/2025-26D3MFB_PreChampsionshipManual.pdf)
7. [NCAA Football Playing Rules, NCAA.org](https://www.ncaa.org/championships/playing-rules/football-playing-rules/)
8. [NCAA Playing Rules Committees, NCAA.org](https://www.ncaa.org/championships/playing-rules/committees/)
9. [2026 NCAA D3 Football Overall Records, Read The Field](https://readthefield.com/colleges/football/records/d3)
10. [Aurora Given Favorite Tag Ahead of 2026 NACC Football Season, NACC (August 27, 2026)](https://naccsports.org/news/2026/8/27/aurora-given-favorite-tag-ahead-of-2026-nacc-football-season.aspx)
11. [Judge clarifies NCAA eligibility order, which could blunt its impact on new '5 for 5' rule, AP News (August 3, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/4c7be58edee18f5af5025d496a48c51a)
12. [Ohio governor signs order letting state's colleges allow 2022 athletes a 5th year of eligibility, AP News (October 13, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/fc6fe8a8b21b0f77de4b359a42b62203)
13. [UW-River Falls Wins NCAA Football Championship](https://wiacsports.com/news/2026/1/5/uw-river-falls-wins-ncaa-football-championship.aspx)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › 2026 season articles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license