# 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).
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 :
| 2011 American Southwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Centennial Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Midwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 New England Football Conference standings vteConfOverall 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 championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2011 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Northern Athletics Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com | 2011 University Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2011 NCAA Division III independents football records vteConfOverall 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 participantRankings 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 | First Round Campus Sites | Second Round Campus Sites | Second Round Campus Sites | Quarterfinals Campus Sites | Quarterfinals Campus Sites | Semifinals Campus Sites | Semifinals Campus Sites | National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia | 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