2011 NCAA Division III football season

The 2011 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 2011, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2011 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks won their fourth, and third consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Mount Union Purple Raiders, 13−10. This was the seventh of seven straight championship games between Mount Union (3 wins) and Wisconsin–Whitewater (4 wins).

2011 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 2011
Playoffs	November – December 2011
National championship	Salem Football Stadium Salem, VA
Champion	Wisconsin–Whitewater (4)
Gagliardi Trophy	Michael Zweifel (WR), Dubuque
NCAA Division III football seasons

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Michael Zweifel, wide receiver from Dubuque.

Conference standings

2011 American Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^   8 – 0     12 – 1   No. 14 McMurry ^   7 – 1     9 – 3   Louisiana College   5 – 3     7 – 3   Hardin–Simmons   4 – 4     6 – 4   East Texas Baptist   4 – 4     5 – 5   Texas Lutheran   4 – 4     5 – 5   Mississippi College   2 – 6     3 – 7   Sul Ross   1 – 7     2 – 8   Howard Payne   1 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Centennial Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Johns Hopkins $^   9 – 0     10 – 1   Muhlenberg   7 – 2     7 – 3   Gettysburg   6 – 3     6 – 4   Ursinus   6 – 3     6 – 4   Susquehanna   5 – 4     6 – 4   Dickinson   4 – 5     4 – 6   Franklin & Marshall   3 – 6     3 – 7   McDaniel   2 – 7     2 – 8   Moravian   2 – 7     2 – 8   Juniata   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 North Central (IL) $^   7 – 0     10 – 2   No. 21 Illinois Wesleyan ^   6 – 1     9 – 2   No. 22 Wheaton (IL)   5 – 2     8 – 2   Elmhurst   4 – 3     6 – 4   Carthage   2 – 5     5 – 5   Millikin   2 – 5     4 – 6   Augustana (IL)   2 – 5     2 – 8   North Park   0 – 7     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Norwich $^   7 – 0     7 – 4   SUNY Maritime   6 – 1     8 – 2   Mount Ida   5 – 2     6 – 5   Gallaudet   4 – 3     5 – 5   Castleton   3 – 4     4 – 6   Anna Maria   2 – 5     2 – 8   Becker   1 – 6     1 – 9   Husson   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Salisbury $^   7 – 0     11 – 2   No. 11 St. John Fisher ^   6 – 1     10 – 3   Alfred   4 – 3     8 – 3   Springfield   4 – 3     6 – 4   Frostburg State   3 – 4     4 – 6   Utica   2 – 5     5 – 5   Ithaca   2 – 5     4 – 6   Hartwick   0 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Franklin (IN) $^   8 – 0     10 – 2   Mount St. Joseph   5 – 3     6 – 4   Bluffton   5 – 3     5 – 5   Hanover   5 – 3     5 – 5   Rose–Hulman   5 – 3     5 – 5   Defiance   4 – 4     4 – 6   Manchester   3 – 5     4 – 6   Anderson (IN)   1 – 7     1 – 9   Earlham   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Dubuque $^   7 – 1     9 – 2   Wartburg   6 – 2     8 – 2   Central (IA)   6 – 2     7 – 3   Coe   6 – 2     6 – 4   Simpson (IA)   5 – 3     5 – 5   Luther   3 – 5     3 – 7   Buena Vista   2 – 6     2 – 8   Cornell (IA)   1 – 7     3 – 7   Loras   0 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Liberty League football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Hobart +^   5 – 1     7 – 2   Union (NY) +   5 – 1     6 – 4   Rochester (NY)   3 – 3     4 – 5   RPI   3 – 3     4 – 5   St. Lawrence   2 – 4     3 – 6   Merchant Marine   2 – 4     3 – 7   WPI   1 – 5     2 – 7   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Albion $^   6 – 0     6 – 5   Hope   5 – 1     7 – 3   Adrian   4 – 2     8 – 2   Trine   3 – 3     7 – 3   Kalamazoo   1 – 5     4 – 6   Alma   1 – 5     2 – 8   Olivet   1 – 5     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2011 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 13 Delaware Valley $^   8 – 0     11 – 1   Widener   6 – 2     9 – 2   Lycoming   6 – 2     8 – 2   Lebanon Valley   5 – 3     8 – 3   Albright   4 – 4     6 – 5   Wilkes   4 – 4     4 – 5   Stevenson   1 – 7     2 – 8   FDU Florham   1 – 7     1 – 9   King's   1 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 19 Monmouth (IL) $^   9 – 0     10 – 2   Illinois College ^   8 – 1     9 – 2   St. Norbert   7 – 2     7 – 3   Carroll (WI)   6 – 3     7 – 3   Ripon   5 – 4     6 – 4   Grinnell   4 – 5     5 – 5   Lake Forest   3 – 6     3 – 7   Beloit   2 – 7     2 – 8   Lawrence   1 – 8     1 – 9   Knox   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 St. Thomas (MN) $^   8 – 0     13 – 1   No. 25 Bethel (MN)   6 – 2     8 – 2   St. Olaf   6 – 2     8 – 2   Saint John's (MN)   5 – 3     6 – 4   Augsburg   4 – 4     6 – 4   Concordia–Moorhead   4 – 4     6 – 4   Gustavus Adolphus   2 – 6     2 – 8   Carleton   1 – 7     2 – 8   Hamline   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 New England Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Bogan Division Framingham State xy   6 – 1     7 – 4   Worcester State   5 – 2     8 – 3   Bridgewater State   5 – 2     7 – 3   Westfield State   4 – 3     5 – 5   Massachusetts Maritime   3 – 4     5 – 4   Maine Maritime   2 – 5     4 – 5   Coast Guard   2 – 5     2 – 7   Fitchburg State   1 – 6     2 – 8   Boyd Division Western New England xy$^   7 – 0     10 – 2   Endicott   6 – 1     10 – 1   Salve Regina   5 – 2     8 – 3   UMass Dartmouth   4 – 3     5 – 5   Curry   3 – 4     5 – 5   Plymouth State   2 – 5     4 – 6   MIT   1 – 6     2 – 7   Nichols   0 – 7     0 – 10   Championship: Western New England 20, Framingham State 13 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Amherst $   8 – 0     8 – 0   Trinity (CT)   7 – 1     7 – 1   Williams   5 – 3     5 – 3   Bowdoin   4 – 4     4 – 4   Middlebury   4 – 4     4 – 4   Bates   3 – 5     3 – 5   Colby   3 – 5     3 – 5   Hamilton   3 – 5     3 – 5   Wesleyan   3 – 5     3 – 5   Tufts   0 – 8     0 – 8   $ – Conference champion	2011 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Kean $^   8 – 1     10 – 2   Cortland   7 – 2     9 – 2   Montclair State   7 – 2     8 – 2   TCNJ   6 – 3     7 – 3   Buffalo State   5 – 4     5 – 5   Rowan   5 – 4     5 – 5   William Paterson   3 – 6     4 – 6   Brockport   3 – 6     3 – 7   Morrisville State   1 – 8     1 – 9   Western Connecticut   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Wabash $^   6 – 0     12 – 1   Wittenberg   5 – 1     8 – 2   Denison   4 – 2     5 – 5   Allegheny   3 – 3     5 – 5   Ohio Wesleyan   3 – 3     4 – 6   Wooster   3 – 3     4 – 6   Oberlin   2 – 4     3 – 7   Hiram   1 – 5     1 – 9   Kenyon   0 – 6     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Northern Athletics Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Concordia (IL) +   6 – 1     8 – 2   Benedictine (IL) +^   6 – 1     7 – 4   Wisconsin Lutheran   5 – 2     6 – 4   Concordia (WI)   4 – 3     4 – 6   Lakeland   4 – 3     4 – 6   Aurora   2 – 5     3 – 7   Maranatha Baptist   1 – 6     3 – 7   Rockford   0 – 7     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Linfield $^   6 – 0     10 – 1   Lewis & Clark   4 – 2     7 – 2   Pacific Lutheran   4 – 2     6 – 3   Whitworth   3 – 3     4 – 6   Willamette   3 – 3     4 – 6   Pacific (OR)   1 – 5     1 – 8   Puget Sound   0 – 6     0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Mount Union $^   9 – 0     14 – 1   No. 24 Baldwin–Wallace   7 – 2     8 – 2   Heidelberg   7 – 2     8 – 2   Ohio Northern   5 – 4     6 – 4   Capital   5 – 4     5 – 5   John Carroll   5 – 4     5 – 5   Muskingum   3 – 6     4 – 6   Marietta   2 – 7     3 – 7   Otterbein   2 – 7     3 – 7   Wilmington (OH)   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Washington and Lee +   5 – 1     8 – 2   Hampden–Sydney +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   Randolph–Macon   4 – 2     8 – 2   Bridgewater   3 – 3     6 – 4   Emory & Henry   2 – 4     5 – 5   Catholic University   1 – 5     5 – 5   Guilford   1 – 5     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 23 Thomas More $^   7 – 1     9 – 2   Washington & Jefferson   5 – 3     6 – 4   Saint Vincent   5 – 3     6 – 5   Waynesburg   5 – 3     5 – 5   Westminster (PA)   4 – 4     5 – 5   Geneva   4 – 4     4 – 6   Bethany (WV)   3 – 5     5 – 5   Grove City   3 – 5     3 – 7   Thiel   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Cal Lutheran $^   6 – 0     8 – 2   No. 20 Redlands ^   5 – 1     8 – 2   Occidental   3 – 3     5 – 4   Claremont–Mudd–Scripps   3 – 3     4 – 5   La Verne   3 – 3     4 – 5   Whittier   1 – 5     2 – 7   Pomona–Pitzer   0 – 6     0 – 9   Chapman *   –     4 – 5   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – Chapman played a full conference schedule, but games against them were not counted in the standings. Rankings from D3football.com	2011 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Trinity (TX) $^   6 – 0     10 – 1   No. 16 Centre ^   5 – 1     9 – 2   Birmingham–Southern   4 – 2     7 – 2   Millsaps   3 – 3     4 – 6   Sewanee   2 – 4     5 – 5   Rhodes   1 – 5     3 – 6   Austin   0 – 6     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com	2011 University Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Case Western Reserve $   3 – 0     9 – 1   Washington University   2 – 1     6 – 4   Carnegie Mellon   1 – 2     5 – 5   Chicago   0 – 3     5 – 5   $ – Conference champion
2011 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   St. Scholastica $^   9 – 0     10 – 1   Westminster (MO)   7 – 2     8 – 2   Greenville   7 – 2     7 – 4   Northwestern (MN)   6 – 3     6 – 4   Minnesota–Morris   5 – 4     5 – 5   Eureka   4 – 5     4 – 6   Presentation   3 – 6     3 – 7   MacMurray   2 – 7     2 – 8   Martin Luther   2 – 7     2 – 8   Crown   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 USA South Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Christopher Newport $^   7 – 0     8 – 3   Ferrum   6 – 1     7 – 3   Shenandoah   5 – 2     6 – 4   Maryville (TN)   4 – 3     4 – 6   Averett   2 – 5     3 – 7   Methodist   2 – 5     3 – 7   North Carolina Wesleyan   2 – 5     2 – 8   Greensboro   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2011 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater $^   7 – 0     15 – 0   Wisconsin–Oshkosh   5 – 2     7 – 3   Wisconsin–Platteville   5 – 2     7 – 3   Wisconsin–Eau Claire   3 – 4     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Stout   3 – 4     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Stevens Point   2 – 5     4 – 6   Wisconsin–La Crosse   2 – 5     3 – 7   Wisconsin–River Falls   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com
2011 NCAA Division III independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Wesley ^   –     12 – 2   Huntingdon   –     7 – 3   DePauw   –     4 – 5   Macalester   –     4 – 5   LaGrange   –     4 – 6   ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

Conference champions

Conference champions

American Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor Centennial Conference – Johns Hopkins College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – North Central (IL) Eastern Collegiate Football Conference – Norwich Empire 8 Conference – Salisbury Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Franklin Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Dubuque Liberty League – Hobart and Union (NY) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Delaware Valley Midwest Conference – Monmouth (IL) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – St. Thomas (MN) New England Football Conference – Framingham State (Bogan Division), Western New England (Boyd Division) Championship Game: Western New England 20, Framingham State 13 (OT) New England Small College Athletic Conference – Amherst New Jersey Athletic Conference – Kean North Coast Athletic Conference – Wabash Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference – Benedictine (IL) and Concordia Chicago Northwest Conference – Linfield Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Hampden–Sydney and Washington & Lee Presidents' Athletic Conference – Thomas More Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Cal Lutheran Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Case Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – St. Scholastica USA South Athletic Conference – Christopher Newport Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater

Postseason

The 2011 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 39th 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 Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 19th time.

Qualification

Twenty-five conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, the UAA had no Pool A bid, failing to meet the seven-member requirement. The ECFC and UMAC received Pool A bids for the first time, having passed through the two-year waiting period.

Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 25 Pool A conferences contained 220 schools, an average of 8.8 teams per conference. Nine schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.

The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

Playoff bracket

	First Round Campus Sites				Second Round Campus Sites				Quarterfinals Campus Sites				Semifinals Campus Sites				National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia
	Wisconsin–Whitewater	59
	Albion	0			Wisconsin–Whitewater	41
	Franklin	24			Franklin	14
	Thomas More	21							Wisconsin–Whitewater	34
	Kean	34							Salisbury	14
	Christopher Newport	10			Kean	47
	Salisbury	62			Salisbury	49
	Western New England	24											Wisconsin–Whitewater	20
	St. Thomas (MN)	48											St. Thomas (MN)	0
	St. Scholastica	2			St. Thomas (MN)	38
	Monmouth (IL)	33			Monmouth (IL)	10
	Illinois Wesleyan	24							St. Thomas (MN)	45
	St. John Fisher	23							St. John Fisher	10
	Johns Hopkins	12			St. John Fisher	27
	Delaware Valley	62			Delaware Valley	14
	Norwich	10															Wisconsin–Whitewater	13
	Mary Hardin–Baylor	34															Mount Union	10
	Redlands	13			Mary Hardin–Baylor	49
	McMurry	25			McMurry	20
	Trinity (TX)	16							Mary Hardin–Baylor	24
	Linfield	30							Wesley	27
	Cal Lutheran	27			Linfield	34
	Wesley	35			Wesley	49
	Hobart	28											Wesley	21
	Wabash	38											Mount Union	28
	Illinois College	20			Wabash	29
	North Central (IL)	59			North Central (IL)	28
	Dubuque	13							Wabash	8
	Centre	51							Mount Union	20
	Hampden–Sydney	41			Centre	10
	Mount Union	47			Mount Union	30
	Benedictine (IL)	7

* Overtime

See also

• 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2011 NCAA Division II football season