1988 NCAA Division III football season

The 1988 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 in August 1988, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1988 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Ithaca Bombers won their third Division III championship by defeating the Central (IA) Dutch, 39−24.

1988 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1988
Playoffs	November – December 1988
National championship	Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL
Champion	Ithaca
NCAA Division III football seasons

Conference standings

1988 Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gallaudet $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 St. John Fisher 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Siena 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Brooklyn 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Maritime 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1988 Centennial Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Dickinson + 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Franklin & Marshall + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Muhlenberg 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Gettysburg 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Ursinus 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Swarthmore 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Johns Hopkins 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Western Maryland 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1988 College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Rose–Hulman $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Rhodes ^ 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Centre 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Sewanee 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Earlham 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1988 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Augustana (IL) +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Carroll (WI) + 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Millikin 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Wheaton (IL) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 North Central (IL) 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Carthage 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Elmhurst 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 North Park 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1988 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ithaca $^ 3 – 0 – 0 13 – 1 – 0 RPI 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 St. Lawrence 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Alfred 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Hobart 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1988 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Simpson (IA) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Central (IA) ^ 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 Buena Vista 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Loras 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Luther 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Upper Iowa 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Dubuque 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wartburg 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 William Penn 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1988 Liberty Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fordham + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 C. W. Post + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Stony Brook 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 St. John's 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Iona 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Pace 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Merchant Marine 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1988 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Adrian +^ 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Alma + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Albion 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Olivet 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Hope 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Kalamazoo 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 8 – 1 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1988 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Moravian +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Widener +^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Susquehanna 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Lycoming 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Juniata 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Delaware Valley 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Lebanon Valley 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Wilkes 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Albright 0 – 8 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1988 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Division St. Norbert xy$ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Beloit 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Lawrence 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Ripon 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Lake Forest 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 South Division Monmouth (IL) xy 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Knox 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Cornell (IA) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Coe 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Illinois College 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Grinnell 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Championship: St. Norbert 12, Monmouth (IL) 0 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant	1988 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hamline + 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Concordia–Moorhead +^ 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Carleton 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Macalester 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 St. Olaf 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Bethel (MN) 1 – 8 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Augsburg 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1988 New England Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Division Plymouth State xy$ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Lowell 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Nichols 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Curry 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 UMass–Boston 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western New England 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Maine Maritime 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 South Division Worcester State xy 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Massachusetts Maritime 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Westfield State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bridgewater State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Southeastern Massachusetts 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Framingham State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Fitchburg State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 Championship: Plymouth State 62, Worcester State 0 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant
1988 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Trenton State $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Montclair State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Ramapo 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Glassboro State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Kean 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 William Paterson 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Jersey City State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1988 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Allegheny $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Case Western Reserve 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Kenyon 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Denison 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Wooster 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Oberlin 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1988 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Baldwin–Wallace + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Wittenberg +^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Mount Union 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Heidelberg 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Capital 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Muskingum 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Otterbein 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Ohio Northern 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Marietta 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1988 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Emory & Henry $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Hampden–Sydney 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Washington and Lee 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Randolph–Macon 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Bridgewater 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1988 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washington & Jefferson $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 John Carroll 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Hiram 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Carnegie Mellon 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Grove City 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Bethany (WV) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Thiel 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1988 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Occidental $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Redlands 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Whittier 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 6 – 0 La Verne 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Claremont-Mudd 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 7 – 0 Pomona-Pitzer 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Each team played one other conference member twice. A head-to-head sweep of the two games counted as one win for the winner and one loss for the loser in the conference standings. A split of the two games counted as a tie for each team. Redlands received a non-conference forfeit win from Menlo.
1988 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wisconsin–Whitewater $^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 14 Wisconsin–La Crosse * 6 – 2 – 0 11 – 3 – 0 No. 15 Wisconsin–River Falls 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 25 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin–Platteville 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wisconsin–Stout 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Wisconsin–Superior 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1988 NCAA Division III independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Cortland ^   –   11 – 1 – 0 Ferrum ^   –   11 – 1 – 0 Dayton ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 Hofstra ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 Rochester (NY)   –   8 – 2 – 0 Wagner ^   –   8 – 2 – 0 Aurora   –   7 – 2 – 0 Menlo   –   7 – 2 – 0 Wabash   –   7 – 2 – 0 Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham   –   6 – 2 – 0 Georgetown   –   6 – 2 – 0 Drake   –   7 – 3 – 0 Canisius   –   6 – 3 – 0 Mercyhurst   –   6 – 3 – 0 Salisbury State   –   6 – 3 – 0 Millsaps   –   5 – 3 – 0 Catholic University   –   6 – 4 – 0 UC Santa Barbara   –   6 – 4 – 0 San Diego   –   5 – 4 – 0 Albany   –   5 – 5 – 0 Quincy   –   5 – 5 – 0 Union (NY)   –   4 – 4 – 0 Colorado College   –   4 – 5 – 0 DePauw   –   4 – 5 – 0 Brockport   –   4 – 6 – 0 Frostburg State   –   4 – 6 – 0 Maryville (TN)   –   4 – 6 – 0 Norwich   –   4 – 6 – 0 Marist   –   3 – 6 – 0 Western Connecticut State   –   3 – 7 – 0 Duquesne   –   2 – 7 – 0 Buffalo   –   2 – 8 – 0 Buffalo State   –   1 – 7 – 0 Saint Francis (PA)   –   1 – 8 – 0 Wesley   –   1 – 8 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions

Centennial Conference – Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall College Athletic Conference – Rose–Hulman College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) and Carroll (WI) Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Simpson Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Adrian and Alma Middle Atlantic Conference – Moravian and Widener Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – St. Norbert Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Concordia–Moorhead and Hamline New England Football Conference – Plymouth State New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Trenton State North Coast Athletic Conference – Allegheny Ohio Athletic Conference – Baldwin Wallace and Wittenberg Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Occidental Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Austin Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Concordia–Saint Paul Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater

Postseason

The 1988 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 16th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the 14th time and for the fourth consecutive year. Like the previous three tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.

Playoff bracket

	First Round Campus Sites					Quarterfinals Campus Sites					Semifinals Campus Sites					National Championship Game Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, Alabama
	Cortland		32
	Hofstra		17
						SUNY Cortland		17
						Ithaca		24
	Ithaca		34*
	Wagner		31
											Ithaca		62
											Ferrum		28
	Ferrum		34
	Rhodes		10
						Ferrum		49
						Moravian		28
	Moravian		17
	Widener		7
																Ithaca		39
																Central (IA)		24
	Wittenberg		35*
	Dayton		28
						Wittenberg		14
						Augustana (IL)		28
	Augustana (IL)		25
	Adrian		7
											Augustana (IL)		17
											Central (IA)		23**
	Central (IA)		7
	Concordia–Moorhead		0
						Central (IA)		16
						Wisconsin–Whitewater		13
	Wisconsin–Whitewater		29
	Simpson		27

See also

• 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1988 NCAA Division II football season