2001 NCAA Division II football season

2001 NCAA Division II Football Championship
2001 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	16
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL;
Champion	North Dakota; (1st title, title game);
Runner-up	Grand Valley State; (1st title game);
Semifinalists	Catawba; UC Davis;
Winning coach	championship;

2001 NCAA Division II football season
2001 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August 30 – November 10, 2001
Playoffs	November 17 – December 8, 2001
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota
Harlon Hill Trophy	Dusty Bonner, Valdosta State
	← 2000; NCAA Division II football seasons; 2002 →;

The 2001 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on August 30, 2001, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 8, 2001 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama.

North Dakota defeated Grand Valley State in the championship game, 17–14, to win their first Division II national title.^[2]

The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Dusty Bonner, quarterback from Valdosta State, his second consecutive Hill Trophy.

Conference and program changes

The Northeast-10 Conference began sponsorship of football this season with 10 member teams from the Northeast.
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference began its first sponsorship of football during the 2001 season (it was disbanded in 2006 and re-formed again in 2008).

School	2000 Conference	2001 Conference
American International	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Assumption	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Bentley	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Bryant	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Central Washington	Columbia Football Association (NAIA)	GNAC
C.W. Post	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Humboldt State	Columbia Football Association (NAIA)	GNAC
Lincoln (MO)	Central States Football League (NAIA)	D-II Independent
Pace	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Saint Anselm	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Southern Connecticut	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Stonehill	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
UMass Lowell	Eastern Football Conference	Northeast 10
Western Oregon	Columbia Football Association (NAIA)	GNAC
Western Washington	Columbia Football Association (NAIA)	GNAC

Conference standings

2001 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern
Virginia Union xy	5	–	1	8	–	2
Bowie State	4	–	2	7	–	3
Virginia State	2	–	4	3	–	6
Elizabeth City State	0	–	6	2	–	8
Western
Winston-Salem State xy$	5	–	1	9	–	3
Fayetteville State	4	–	2	6	–	4
North Carolina Central	3	–	3	5	–	4
Johnson C. Smith	1	–	5	2	–	7
Livingstone	0	–	6	1	–	8
Championship: Virginia Union 31, Winston-Salem State 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

2001 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Grand Valley State $^	9	–	0	13	–	1
No. 9 Saginaw Valley State ^	9	–	1	11	–	2
Ferris State	7	–	3	7	–	4
Indianapolis	6	–	4	7	–	4
Ashland	5	–	5	6	–	5
Michigan Tech	5	–	5	5	–	5
Northern Michigan	3	–	7	4	–	7
Northwood	3	–	6	3	–	6
Wayne State (MI)	3	–	6	3	–	7
Findlay	3	–	7	3	–	8
Hillsdale	3	–	7	3	–	8
Mercyhurst	2	–	7	2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2001 Great Northwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 23 Western Washington $	3	–	0	8	–	3
Western Oregon	1	–	2	4	–	5
Humboldt State	1	–	2	4	–	7
Central Washington	1	–	2	4	–	7

$ – Conference champion First Humboldt State vs. Western Oregon game (Oct. 13) did not count as a conference game Rankings from AFCA Poll

2001 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Valdosta State $^	9	–	0	12	–	1
No. 16 Arkansas Tech	7	–	2	8	–	2
No. 14 Central Arkansas ^	7	–	2	9	–	3
No. 25 West Georgia	6	–	3	8	–	3
Delta State	6	–	3	7	–	3
Southern Arkansas	5	–	4	5	–	5
Arkansas–Monticello	4	–	5	5	–	6
Harding	4	–	5	4	–	6
North Alabama	3	–	6	4	–	6
Ouachita Baptist	2	–	7	3	–	7
Henderson State	1	–	8	1	–	10
West Alabama	0	–	9	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2001 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Pittsburg State $^	8	–	1	11	–	2
No. 20 Central Missouri State	7	–	2	10	–	2
Truman	6	–	3	8	–	3
Missouri Western	6	–	3	8	–	3
NW Missouri State	6	–	3	7	–	4
Southwest Baptist	4	–	5	6	–	5
Emporia State	3	–	6	5	–	6
Missouri Southern	3	–	6	4	–	6
Washburn	2	–	7	3	–	8
Missouri–Rolla	0	–	9	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2001 North Central Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 North Dakota $^	7	–	1	14	–	1
No. 15 Nebraska–Omaha ^	6	–	2	8	–	3
No. 22 North Dakota State	5	–	3	7	–	3
Northern Colorado	4	–	4	7	–	4
South Dakota State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Augustana (SD)	3	–	5	5	–	5
Minnesota State	3	–	5	4	–	7
St. Cloud State	3	–	5	4	–	7
South Dakota	1	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2001 Northeast-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 19 C. W. Post y$	9	–	1	11	–	1
Bentley y	8	–	2	9	–	3
American International	8	–	2	8	–	2
Merrimack	6	–	4	6	–	4
Southern Connecticut	6	–	4	6	–	4
Saint Anselm	5	–	5	5	–	5
Bryant	4	–	5	4	–	5
Pace	4	–	5	4	–	5
Stonehill	3	–	7	4	–	7
UMass Lowell	1	–	9	1	–	9
Assumption	0	–	10	1	–	10
Championship: C. W. Post 43, Bentley 6
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2001 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Winona State $^	9	–	0	10	–	2
No. 24 Minnesota Duluth	7	–	2	9	–	3
Concordia–St. Paul	6	–	3	8	–	3
Bemidji State	5	–	4	7	–	4
Minnesota State–Moorhead	4	–	5	4	–	6
Minnesota–Crookston	4	–	5	4	–	7
Northern State	4	–	5	4	–	7
Wayne State (NE)	3	–	6	4	–	7
Southwest State (MN)	3	–	6	3	–	8
Minnesota Morris	0	–	9	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2001 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 5 Bloomsburg x^	6	–	0	9	–	2
East Stroudsburg	5	–	1	7	–	3
Kutztown	4	–	2	6	–	4
West Chester	3	–	3	5	–	4
Millersville	2	–	4	3	–	8
Mansfield	1	–	5	2	–	8
Cheyney	0	–	6	0	–	10
West Division
No. 8 IUP x^	6	–	0	8	–	2
Shippensburg	5	–	1	8	–	3
Slippery Rock	3	–	3	6	–	4
Edinboro	3	–	3	4	–	6
Clarion	2	–	4	4	–	7
California (PA)	1	–	5	5	–	5
Lock Haven	1	–	5	3	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2001 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Chadron State $^	8	–	0	10	–	1
Nebraska–Kearney	7	–	1	8	–	2
Mesa State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Western State (CO)	5	–	3	6	–	5
Colorado Mines	4	–	4	7	–	4
New Mexico Highlands	3	–	5	4	–	7
Fort Hays State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Adams State	1	–	7	2	–	9
Fort Lewis	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

2001 South Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 Catawba $^	6	–	1	11	–	2
No. 18 Tusculum	5	–	3	8	–	2
Carson–Newman	5	–	2	6	–	3
Presbyterian	5	–	2	7	–	4
Mars Hill	4	–	3	7	–	4
Lenoir–Rhyne	2	–	5	2	–	7
Wingate	1	–	6	4	–	7
Newberry	0	–	7	4	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2001 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Tuskegee +	6	–	1	11	–	1
Morehouse +	6	–	1	8	–	2
No. 21 Fort Valley State +	6	–	1	8	–	3
Albany State	3	–	4	4	–	6
Miles	3	–	4	4	–	7
Kentucky State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Lane	1	–	6	3	–	7
Clark Atlanta	1	–	6	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AFCA Poll

2001 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Glenville State $	6	–	1	6	–	3
Shepherd	5	–	2	8	–	2
Fairmont State	5	–	2	6	–	3
West Virginia Tech	4	–	3	5	–	6
West Liberty State	3	–	4	5	–	5
West Virginia Wesleyan	3	–	4	3	–	6
West Virginia State	2	–	5	4	–	7
Concord	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion

2001 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 UC Davis ^		–		10	–	3
New Haven		–		5	–	4
Western New Mexico		–		3	–	7
Quincy		–		2	–	8
Saint Joseph's (IN)		–		2	–	8

^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Virginia Union Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley State Great Northwest Athletic Conference – Western Washington Gulf South Conference – Valdosta State Lone Star Conference – Tarleton State and Texas A&M–Kingsville Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Pittsburg State North Central Conference – North Dakota Northeast-10 Conference – C.W. Post Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Winona State Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg (East), Indiana (PA) (West) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Chadron State South Atlantic Conference – Catawba Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Fort Valley State, Morehouse and Tuskegee West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Glenville State

Postseason

The 2001 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 28th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama for the 15th time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites		Quarterfinals Campus sites		Semifinals Campus sites		Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL

North Dakota	42

Winona State	28
		North Dakota	38

		Pittsburg State	0
Pittsburg State	20

Nebraska–Omaha	7
				North Dakota	14

				UC Davis	2
Tarleton State	28

Chadron State	24
		Tarleton State	25

		UC Davis	42
UC Davis	37

Texas A&M–Kingsville	32
						North Dakota	17

						Grand Valley State	14
Valdosta State	40

Fort Valley State	24
		Valdosta State	34

		Catawba	37*
Catawba	35

Central Arkansas	34
				Catawba	16

				Grand Valley State	34
Grand Valley State	42

Bloomsburg	14
		Grand Valley State	33

		Saginaw Valley State	30
Saginaw Valley State	33

IUP	32

References

^ "2000-2004 Grand Valley State Schedules". College Football Warehouse. cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
^ "2001 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved January 11, 2014.

[1] "2000-2004 Grand Valley State Schedules". College Football Warehouse. cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.

[2] "2001 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved January 11, 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

2001 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	16
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota (1st title, title game)
Runner-up	Grand Valley State (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Catawba UC Davis
Winning coach	championship