The road to the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DIII football championship starts this weekend. 32 teams are ready to fight for the championship title.
Photo Courtesy of ncaa.com
Tournament Breakdown
Photo Courtesy of ncaa.com
The championship tournament consists of 32 teams; 28 of those teams won their conference which gave them an automatic bid to the tournament. The other five teams received an at-large bid.
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship game, is set for December 15, 2023, at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia. This is the first year back in Salem since 2017.
The schedule for the tournament is as follows
First Round: Saturday, November 18th
Second Round: Saturday, November 25th
Quarterfinals: Saturday, December 2nd
Semifinals: Saturday, December 9th
Championship Game: Friday, December 15th
First Round Team Match-Ups
Here are the first-round match-ups. All games take place on November 18th with various kick-off times ranging from noon ET to 3 pm ET.
Noon ET Kick-off
Alfred State at Mount Union
DePauw at Alma
Cortland at Endicott
Grove City at Susquehanna
Western Connecticut State at Johns Hopkins
Union (NY) at Delaware Valley
Ithaca at Springfield
Christopher Newport at Randolph-Macon
1 pm ET Kick-off
Minnesota-Morris at Wisconsin-La Crosse
Bethel (MN) at Wisconsin-Whitewater
Belhaven at North Central (IL)
Coe at Aurora
Hardin-Simmons at Trinity (TX)
Illinois College at Wartburg
Mount St. Joseph at Wheaton (IL)
3 pm ET Kick-off
Chapman at Whitworth
Past Results
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The reigning champion of this tournament is North Central College, a private college in Naperville, IL.
North Central has played in the last three Stagg Bowls; winning against UW-Whitewater in 2019, losing to Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2021, and winning last year in 2022 against Mount Union. The 2020 Stagg Bowl was canceled due to Covid-19.
In the past 12 years, only four different teams have won this tournament; North Central (2), Mary Hardin-Baylor (3), Mount Union (3), and UW-Whitewater (4). Will one of these teams add another recent championship title or will we see a new team rise to the top?
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