2021 NCAA Division II football season

2021 NCAA Division II football season
2021 NCAA Division II football season
Total No. of teams	165
Regular season	August 28 – November 13, 2021
Playoffs	November 20 – December 18, 2021
National Championship	McKinney Independent School District Stadium; McKinney, TX; December 18, 2021
Champion	Ferris State
Harlon Hill Trophy	Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd
	← 2020; NCAA Division II football seasons; 2022 →;

The 2021 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on August 28 and ended December 18 with the Division II championship at the McKinney Independent School District Stadium in McKinney, Texas. Ferris State defeated Valdosta State, 58–17, for the title.

D-II team wins over FCS teams

September 3: Southern Connecticut 28, Central Connecticut 21
September 4: West Florida 42, McNeese State 36

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Ashland Eagles	GLIAC	G-MAC^[1]
Alderson Broaddus Battlers	G-MAC	Mountain East^[2]
Allen Yellow Jackets	Appalachian (NAIA)	Independent^[3]
Azusa Pacific Cougars	GNAC	Dropped program
Barton Bulldogs	Returning program, last competed 1950	Independent^[4]
Bluefield State Big Blues	Returning program, last competed 1980	Independent^[5]
Dixie State Trailblazers	RMAC	WAC (FCS)
Edward Waters Tigers	Independent (NAIA)	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Emory and Henry Wasps	Old Dominion (DIII)	Independent^[6]
Erskine Flying Fleet	Returning program, last competed 1951	Independent^[7]
Florida Tech Panthers	Gulf South	Dropped program^[8]
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles	Northern Sun	Dropped program^[9]
UNC Pembroke Braves	Independent	Mountain East
St. Cloud State Huskies	Northern Sun	Dropped program^[10]
Tarleton Texans	Lone Star	WAC (FCS)
Urbana Blue Knights	Mountain East	Shut down at end of 2019–20 academic year^[11]

Conference standings

Super Region 1

2021 Great Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Findlay $^	6	–	1	8	–	4
Tiffin	5	–	2	8	–	3
Hillsdale #	5	–	2	6	–	6
Ohio Dominican	4	–	3	7	–	4
Ashland	4	–	3	5	–	5
Lake Erie	2	–	5	5	–	6
Kentucky Wesleyan	1	–	6	3	–	8
Walsh	1	–	6	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – America's Crossroads Bowl participant

2021 Mountain East Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 22 Frostburg State #	9	–	1	10	–	1
No. 9 Notre Dame (OH) $^	9	–	1	11	–	2
Charleston (WV)	8	–	2	8	–	2
UNC Pembroke	6	–	4	6	–	5
West Virginia State	6	–	4	6	–	5
Fairmont State	5	–	5	5	–	6
Wheeling	5	–	5	5	–	6
Concord	4	–	6	4	–	6
West Liberty	4	–	6	4	–	7
Glenville State	3	–	7	3	–	7
Alderson Broaddus	1	–	9	1	–	10
West Virginia Wesleyan	0	–	10	0	–	11

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

2021 Northeast-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 New Haven $^	8	–	0	10	–	2
No. 24 Bentley ^	7	–	1	9	–	2
Stonehill	6	–	2	8	–	2
Assumption	5	–	3	5	–	5
Southern Connecticut	3	–	5	4	–	6
Saint Anselm	3	–	5	3	–	6
American International	2	–	6	4	–	6
Pace	2	–	6	2	–	8
Franklin Pierce	0	–	8	0	–	10

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

2021 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 8 Kutztown xy$^	7	–	0	11	–	2
No. 5 Shepherd x^	6	–	1	13	–	2
Shippensburg	5	–	2	9	–	2
West Chester	4	–	3	6	–	5
East Stroudsburg	3	–	4	5	–	6
Bloomsburg	2	–	5	3	–	8
Millersville	1	–	6	2	–	9
Lock Haven	0	–	7	1	–	10
West Division
No. 20 Slippery Rock xy^	6	–	1	9	–	3
No. 21 California (PA) x	5	–	1	9	–	1
IUP	5	–	2	7	–	3
Gannon	3	–	4	5	–	6
Edinboro	3	–	4	4	–	6
Mercyhurst	3	–	4	4	–	7
Seton Hill	2	–	5	5	–	6
Clarion	0	–	6	0	–	10
Championship: Kutztown 38, Slippery Rock 32
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

Super Region 2

2021 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Northern
No. 6 Bowie State xy$^	7	–	0	12	–	2
Virginia Union	5	–	2	6	–	4
Chowan	4	–	3	7	–	3
Virginia State	3	–	4	3	–	6
Elizabeth City State	3	–	4	3	–	7
Lincoln (PA)	1	–	6	1	–	9
Southern
Fayetteville State xy	7	–	0	8	–	2
Shaw	5	–	2	6	–	4
Winston–Salem State	3	–	4	3	–	6
Johnson C. Smith	1	–	5	1	–	7
Livingstone	1	–	5	1	–	8
St. Augustine's	1	–	6	1	–	7
Championship: Bowie State 17, Fayetteville State 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Valdosta State +^	6	–	1	12	–	2
No. 12 West Florida +^	6	–	1	9	–	2
No. 13 West Georgia ^	5	–	2	9	–	3
West Alabama	4	–	3	6	–	4
Delta State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Mississippi College	2	–	5	4	–	6
North Greenville	2	–	5	5	–	6
Shorter	0	–	7	3	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 South Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Newberry $^	7	–	1	10	–	3
Lenoir–Rhyne ^	6	–	2	8	–	3
Mars Hill	6	–	2	8	–	3
Wingate †	6	–	2	7	–	3
Virginia–Wise	4	–	4	5	–	6
Tusculum	3	–	5	5	–	6
Catawba †	2	–	6	5	–	4
Carson–Newman	1	–	7	1	–	9
Limestone †	1	–	7	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant † – Catawba's cancellations against Wingate and Limestone were counted as forfeits in the conference standings. Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East
No. 18 Albany State xy$^	6	–	0	10	–	2
Savannah State	5	–	1	8	–	2
Morehouse	4	–	2	4	–	6
Fort Valley State	3	–	3	5	–	5
Benedict	2	–	4	5	–	5
Clark Atlanta	0	–	6	2	–	8
West
Miles xy	4	–	2	6	–	5
Kentucky State x	4	–	2	7	–	4
Lane	3	–	3	6	–	4
Tuskegee	2	–	4	3	–	8
Central State (OH)	0	–	6	1	–	9
Not competing for championship
Allen #		–		4	–	5
Edward Waters #		–		4	–	7
Championship: Albany State 31, Miles 0
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Provisional NCAA Division II member Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Emory & Henry #		–		6	–	4
Bluefield State		–		4	–	3
Barton		–		6	–	5
Erskine		–		3	–	8

# – Provisional NCAA Division II member

Super Region 3

2021 Great American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Harding $^	10	–	1	11	–	2
Henderson State	9	–	2	9	–	2
No. 23 Ouachita Baptist	9	–	2	9	–	2
SE Oklahoma State #	8	–	3	9	–	3
Oklahoma Baptist #	7	–	4	8	–	4
East Central	7	–	4	7	–	4
Arkansas–Monticello	5	–	6	5	–	6
Arkansas Tech	4	–	7	4	–	7
Southern Arkansas	4	–	7	4	–	7
NW Oklahoma State	2	–	9	2	–	9
Southern Nazarene	1	–	10	1	–	10
SW Oklahoma State	0	–	11	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – bowl participant (Oklahoma Baptist - Heritage Bowl, SEOSU - Live United Texarkana Bowl) Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Ferris State $^	7	–	0	14	–	0
No. 7 Grand Valley State ^	6	–	1	10	–	2
Michigan Tech	5	–	2	6	–	4
Saginaw Valley State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Northern Michigan	2	–	5	4	–	7
Davenport	2	–	5	3	–	8
Wayne State (MI)	2	–	5	2	–	9
Northwood	0	–	7	1	–	9

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

2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Lindenwood $^	7	–	0	9	–	3
Indianapolis	5	–	2	7	–	4
Truman State #	4	–	3	9	–	3
Missouri S&T	4	–	3	6	–	5
McKendree	3	–	4	4	–	7
Southwest Baptist	3	–	4	4	–	7
Quincy	2	–	5	4	–	7
William Jewell	0	–	7	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – America's Crossroads Bowl participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2021 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 NW Missouri State $^	9	–	1	11	–	2
No. 15 Nebraska–Kearney ^	9	–	2	10	–	3
No. 25 Washburn ^	9	–	2	9	–	3
Pittsburg State	8	–	3	8	–	3
Missouri Western	6	–	5	6	–	5
Emporia State #	6	–	5	6	–	6
Fort Hays State	5	–	6	5	–	6
Central Oklahoma	4	–	7	4	–	7
Central Missouri	4	–	7	4	–	7
Missouri Southern	3	–	8	3	–	8
Northeastern State	2	–	9	2	–	9
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	10	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Live United Texarkana Bowl participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

Super Region 4

2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Central Washington $^	4	–	0	8	–	3
Western Oregon	2	–	2	4	–	6
Simon Fraser	0	–	4	1	–	7

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

2021 Lone Star Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Midwestern State $	6	–	1	7	–	3
No. 11 Angelo State ^	5	–	2	11	–	3
West Texas A&M	5	–	2	7	–	4
Texas A&M–Commerce	5	–	2	7	–	4
Texas A&M–Kingsville	3	–	4	5	–	5
UT Permian Basin #	3	–	4	5	–	6
Eastern New Mexico	1	–	6	3	–	7
Western New Mexico	0	–	7	1	–	9

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

2021 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North
No. 19 Bemidji State x$^	9	–	2	10	–	3
Minnesota–Duluth x^	9	–	2	9	–	3
Northern State	7	–	4	7	–	4
MSU Moorhead	5	–	6	5	–	6
Mary	3	–	3	4	–	7
Minot State	2	–	9	2	–	9
Concordia–St. Paul	1	–	10	1	–	10
South
Augustana (SD) x^	9	–	2	9	–	3
Sioux Falls	8	–	3	8	–	3
Winona State	7	–	4	7	–	4
Wayne State (NE)	7	–	4	7	–	4
Minnesota State	6	–	5	6	–	5
SW Minnesota State	2	–	9	2	–	9
Upper Iowa	1	–	10	1	–	10

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

2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Colorado Mines $^	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 16 Western Colorado ^	8	–	1	10	–	2
Colorado Mesa	7	–	2	8	–	2
CSU Pueblo	6	–	3	6	–	5
Chadron State	5	–	4	6	–	5
South Dakota Mines	4	–	5	6	–	5
New Mexico Highlands	4	–	5	4	–	6
Black Hills State	2	–	7	4	–	7
Adams State	1	–	8	1	–	10
Fort Lewis	0	–	9	0	–	11

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

Postseason

Bracket

Super Region 1

First Round November 20, 2021 Campus sites			Second Round November 27, 2021 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 4, 2021 Campus sites

			1	Kutztown	10

			4	New Haven	7
4	New Haven*	38

	Bentley	13
						1	Kutztown	28

						2	Shepherd	30
2	Shepherd*	38

	Findlay	31
			2	Shepherd	38

			3	Notre Dame (OH)	34
3	Notre Dame (OH)*	33

	Slippery Rock	25

Super Region 2

First Round November 20, 2021 Campus sites			Second Round November 27, 2021 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 4, 2021 Campus sites

			1	Valdosta State*	66

				West Georgia	35
4	Albany State*	7

	West Georgia	23
						1	Valdosta State	41

						2	Bowie State	17
2	Bowie State*	31

	Lenoir–Rhyne	10
			2	Bowie State	13

				Newberry	10
3	West Florida*	30

	Newberry	33*

Super Region 3

First Round November 20, 2021 Campus sites			Second Round November 27, 2021 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 4, 2021 Campus sites

			1	Ferris State	54

			4	Grand Valley State	20
4	Grand Valley State*	20

	Lindenwood	3
						1	Ferris State	41

						3	NW Missouri State	20
2	Harding*	30

	Washburn	14
			2	Harding	9

			3	NW Missouri State	28
3	NW Missouri State*	50

	Central Washington	21

Super Region 4

First Round November 20, 2021 Campus sites			Second Round November 27, 2021 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 4, 2021 Campus sites

			1	Colorado Mines*	55

				Bemidji State	6
4	Augustana (SD)*	24

	Bemidji State	28
						1	Colorado Mines	34

						2	Angelo State	26
2	Angelo State*	48

	Minnesota–Duluth	14
			2	Angelo State	20

				Nebraska–Kearney	7
3	Western Colorado*	24

	Nebraska–Kearney	31

National semifinals

Teams that advanced to the semifinals were re-seeded.

Semifinals December 11 Hosted by higher seeded team			National Championship December 18 McKinney ISD Stadium, McKinney, TX

1	Ferris State	55

4	Shepherd	7
			1	Ferris State	58

			2	Valdosta State	17
2	Valdosta State	34

3	Colorado Mines	31

References

^ "Ashland University to join Great Midwest Athletic Conference in summer of 2021". richlandsource. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "Alderson Broaddus To Join MEC". Mountain East. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "Allen University to move from NAIA to NCAA Division II effective 2020-21 academic year". HBCU Sports. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "NCAA DII Collegiate Football Is Coming to Barton". Barton College. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "Bluefield State Returns Football And 11 Additional Sports For 2021-2022". Bluefield State. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "Emory & Henry College to Join South Atlantic Conference; Will Begin Competition in 2022-23". SAC.
^ "Erskine Bringing Back Football for 2020 Season". Erskine College. August 24, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
^ "Florida Tech cuts football program, announces layoffs due to COVID-19 impacts". Florida Today. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ Tollefson, Elizabeth (December 10, 2019). "UMN Crookston Discontinues Golden Eagle Football Program". Crookston, Minnesota. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
^ Zimmer, Matt (December 10, 2019). "St. Cloud State University cutting its football program". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
^ "Ohio's Urbana University to close due to coronavirus challenges, low enrollment". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[1] "Ashland University to join Great Midwest Athletic Conference in summer of 2021". richlandsource. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[2] "Alderson Broaddus To Join MEC". Mountain East. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[3] "Allen University to move from NAIA to NCAA Division II effective 2020-21 academic year". HBCU Sports. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[4] "NCAA DII Collegiate Football Is Coming to Barton". Barton College. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[5] "Bluefield State Returns Football And 11 Additional Sports For 2021-2022". Bluefield State. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[6] "Emory & Henry College to Join South Atlantic Conference; Will Begin Competition in 2022-23". SAC.

[7] "Erskine Bringing Back Football for 2020 Season". Erskine College. August 24, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2021.

[8] "Florida Tech cuts football program, announces layoffs due to COVID-19 impacts". Florida Today. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[9] Tollefson, Elizabeth (December 10, 2019). "UMN Crookston Discontinues Golden Eagle Football Program". Crookston, Minnesota. Retrieved January 20, 2022.

[10] Zimmer, Matt (December 10, 2019). "St. Cloud State University cutting its football program". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Retrieved August 26, 2020.

[11] "Ohio's Urbana University to close due to coronavirus challenges, low enrollment". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

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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

2021 NCAA Division II football season

D-II team wins over FCS teams

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

Conference standings

Super Region 1

Super Region 2

Super Region 3

Super Region 4

Postseason

Bracket

Super Region 1

Super Region 2

Super Region 3

Super Region 4

National semifinals

See also

References