# 2006 NCAA Division III football season

The 2006 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 2006, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2006 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their ninth Division III championship by defeating the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks, 35−16. This was the second of seven straight championship games between Mount Union (3 wins) and Wisconsin–Whitewater (4 wins) and the second straight win for Mount Union.
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Josh Brehm, quarterback from Alma.

## Conference standings

2006 American Southwest Conference football standings :
| 2006 American Southwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 8 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^  8 –0  10 –3   No. 13 Hardin–Simmons ^  6 –1  8 –2   Texas Lutheran  4 –4  6 –4   Sul Ross  4 –4  5 –4   Howard Payne  3 –5  5 –5   Mississippi College  3 –5  5 –5   East Texas Baptist  3 –5  3 –7   Louisiana College  2 –5  4 –5   McMurry  2 –6  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Atlantic Central Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 7 Wesley $^  4 –0  13 –1   Apprentice §  2 –2  7 –3   Salisbury  2 –2  6 –5   Brockport  2 –2  4 –6   Frostburg State  0 –4  2 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant§ – Not an NCAA memberRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Centennial Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Dickinson $^  5 –1  8 –3   Ursinus  4 –2  8 –3   Gettysburg  3 –3  5 –5   Johns Hopkins  3 –3  5 –5   Muhlenberg  2 –4  5 –5   McDaniel  2 –4  4 –6   Franklin & Marshall  2 –4  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2006 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 16 Wheaton (IL) +^  6 –1  10 –2   No. 19 North Central (IL) +^  6 –1  9 –3   Augustana (IL) +  6 –1  7 –3   Carthage  3 –4  6 –4   Elmhurst  3 –4  6 –4   Illinois Wesleyan  2 –5  3 –7   Millikin  2 –5  3 –7   North Park  0 –7  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 4 St. John Fisher +^  5 –1  12 –2   No. 10 Springfield +^  5 –1  10 –2   Alfred  4 –2  8 –3   Ithaca  4 –2  7 –3   Hartwick  2 –4  4 –6   Utica  1 –5  3 –7   Norwich  0 –6  2 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Mount St. Joseph $^  7 –0  9 –2   Franklin (IN)  6 –1  9 –1   Defiance  5 –2  7 –3   Hanover  4 –3  4 –6   Rose-Hulman  3 –4  6 –4   Bluffton  2 –5  3 –7   Anderson (IN)  1 –6  2 –8   Manchester  0 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2006 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Concordia (WI) $^  7 –0  10 –1   Greenville  5 –2  6 –4   Aurora  5 –2  5 –5   Lakeland  5 –2  5 –5   Benedictine (IL)  3 –4  4 –6   MacMurray  2 –5  3 –7   Concordia (IL)  1 –6  2 –8   Eureka  0 –7  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2006 Iowa Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 11 Central (IA) $^  8 –0  10 –1   Wartburg  6 –2  8 –2   Coe  5 –3  7 –3   Dubuque  5 –3  6 –4   Buena Vista  4 –4  4 –6   Loras  4 –4  4 –6   Simpson (IA)  3 –5  3 –7   Luther  1 –7  2 –8   Cornell (IA)  0 –8  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Liberty League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 20 Hobart +^  5 –1  8 –2   No. 25 Union (NY) +^  5 –1  7 –3   Rochester (NY)  4 –2  7 –4   RPI  3 –3  7 –3   St. Lawrence  3 –3  5 –4   Merchant Marine  1 –5  3 –7   WPI  0 –6  3 –6   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2006 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Hope $^  7 –0  7 –4   Alma  5 –2  6 –4   Olivet  5 –2  6 –4   Adrian  4 –3  5 –5   Albion  3 –4  5 –5   Kalamazoo  2 –5  2 –7   Tri-State #  2 –5  2 –8   Wisconsin Lutheran  0 –7  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – Provisional NCAA Division III member | 2006 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 14 Wilkes $^  9 –0  11 –1   Delaware Valley  8 –2  8 –3   Widener  6 –3  7 –4   King's  6 –3  6 –5   Lebanon Valley  5 –4  6 –4   Lycoming  4 –5  4 –5   Moravian  4 –5  4 –6   Albright  2 –7  2 –8   FDU Florham  2 –7  2 –8   Juniata  2 –7  2 –8   Susquehanna  2 –7  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Midwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  St. Norbert $^  9 –0  10 –1   Monmouth (IL)  7 –2  7 –3   Ripon  7 –2  7 –3   Illinois College  6 –3  6 –4   Lake Forest  5 –4  5 –5   Lawrence  4 –5  5 –5   Carroll (WI)  4 –5  4 –6   Grinnell  2 –7  2 –8   Knox  1 –8  2 –8   Beloit  0 –9  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2006 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 5 Saint John's (MN) +^  7 –1  11 –2   No. 17 Bethel (MN) +^  7 –1  9 –2   St. Olaf  6 –2  8 –2   St. Thomas (MN)  5 –3  6 –4   Gustavus Adolphus  4 –4  6 –4   Concordia–Moorhead  3 –5  4 –6   Carleton  2 –6  4 –6   Hamline  1 –7  3 –7   Augsburg  1 –7  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 New England Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Bogan Division Coast Guard xy  7 –0  8 –3   Bridgewater State  6 –1  8 –2   Maine Maritime  5 –2  6 –3   Fitchburg State  3 –4  4 –5   Worcester State  3 –4  4 –6   Massachusetts Maritime  2 –5  3 –6   Framingham State  1 –6  1 –8   Westfield State  1 –6  1 –8   Boyd Division Curry xy$^  7 –0  11 –1   Endicott  5 –2  6 –4   Nichols  4 –3  5 –4   UMass Dartmouth  4 –3  5 –4   Plymouth State  4 –3  4 –5   Western New England  3 –4  5 –4   MIT  1 –6  2 –7   Salve Regina  0 –7  1 –8   Championship: Curry 34, Coast Guard 28 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2006 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Williams $  8 –0  8 –0   Trinity (CT)  7 –1  7 –1   Middlebury  6 –2  6 –2   Amherst  5 –3  5 –3   Tufts  4 –4  4 –4   Wesleyan  3 –5  3 –5   Bowdoin  2 –6  2 –6   Colby  2 –6  2 –6   Hamilton  2 –6  2 –6   Bates  1 –7  1 –7   $ – Conference champion |
| 2006 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 21 Cortland +  6 –1  9 –2   No. 12 Rowan +^  6 –1  9 –3   Montclair State  5 –2  7 –3   Kean  4 –3  7 –4   Western Connecticut  2 –5  5 –5   TCNJ  2 –5  4 –6   Buffalo State  2 –5  3 –7   William Paterson  1 –6  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Wabash +  6 –1  8 –2   Wittenberg +^  6 –1  7 –4   Wooster  5 –2  8 –2   Allegheny  4 –3  6 –4   Oberlin  4 –3  5 –5   Kenyon  3 –4  4 –6   Denison  3 –4  3 –7   Ohio Wesleyan  3 –4  3 –7   Earlham  1 –6  3 –7   Hiram  0 –7  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2006 Northwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 9 Whitworth $^  6 –0  11 –1   No. 23 Linfield  5 –1  6 –3   Pacific Lutheran  4 –2  4 –5   Puget Sound  3 –3  7 –3   Willamette  2 –4  2 –7   Menlo  1 –5  4 –6   Lewis & Clark  0 –6  0 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Mount Union $^  9 –0  15 –0   No. 3 Capital ^  8 –1  11 –2   Baldwin–Wallace  6 –3  7 –3   Marietta  5 –4  6 –4   Ohio Northern  5 –4  6 –4   John Carroll  5 –4  5 –5   Otterbein  3 –6  4 –6   Wilmington (OH)  3 –6  3 –7   Muskingum  1 –8  2 –8   Heidelberg  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Washington and Lee $^  5 –1  7 –4   Bridgewater  4 –2  8 –2   Emory & Henry  4 –2  6 –4   Hampden–Sydney  4 –2  4 –6   Guilford  3 –3  6 –4   Catholic University  1 –5  3 –7   Randolph–Macon  0 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2006 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 18 Washington & Jefferson $^  6 –0  10 –2   Waynesburg  5 –1  6 –4   Thiel  4 –2  5 –5   Thomas More  2 –4  6 –4   Bethany (WV)  2 –4  4 –6   Grove City  1 –5  3 –7   Westminster (PA)  1 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2006 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 15 Occidental $^  6 –0  9 –1   Redlands  4 –2  4 –5   Cal Lutheran  3 –3  6 –3   La Verne  3 –3  3 –6   Claremont–Mudd–Scripps  2 –4  4 –5   Pomona–Pitzer  2 –4  3 –6   Whittier  1 –5  2 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Millsaps $^  6 –0  7 –4   Trinity (TX)  5 –1  8 –2   DePauw  3 –3  6 –4   Rhodes  3 –3  6 –4   Centre  2 –4  5 –5   Austin  2 –4  4 –6   Sewanee  0 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2006 University Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 22 Carnegie Mellon $^  3 –0  11 –1   Washington University  2 –1  6 –4   Case Western Reserve  1 –2  5 –5   Chicago  0 –3  4 –5   $ – Conference champion^ – Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2006 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Minnesota–Morris xy$#  7 –0  7 –3   Northwestern (MN) #  6 –1  7 –3   Crown #  2 –5  3 –6   Trinity Bible §  2 –5  2 –6   Martin Luther  2 –5  2 –8   South Rockford xy  5 –2  7 –3   Maranatha Baptist  4 –3  6 –3   Westminster (MO)  4 –3  4 –5   Blackburn  3 –4  3 –7   Principia  0 –7  0 –9   Championship: Minnesota–Morris 27, Rockford 20 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant # – Provisional NCAA Division III member § – Not an NCAA member | 2006 USA South Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 24 Christopher Newport +^  6 –1  8 –3   Averett +  6 –1  7 –3   North Carolina Wesleyan  5 –2  6 –4   Maryville (TN)  4 –3  5 –5   Methodist  2 –5  4 –6   Greensboro  2 –5  3 –7   Ferrum  2 –5  2 –7   Shenandoah  1 –6  2 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2006 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Wisconsin–Whitewater $^  7 –0  14 –1   No. 6 Wisconsin–La Crosse ^  6 –1  9 –2   Wisconsin–Stevens Point  4 –3  6 –4   Wisconsin–Oshkosh  3 –4  5 –5   Wisconsin–Platteville  3 –4  5 –5   Wisconsin–Eau Claire  2 –5  3 –7   Wisconsin–River Falls  2 –5  3 –7   Wisconsin–Stout  1 –6  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2006 NCAA Division III independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Huntingdon   –  6 –4   Husson   –  6 –4   Mount Ida   –  5 –4   Colorado College   –  5 –5   Chapman   –  4 –5   Macalester   –  2 –7   SUNY Maritime   –  1 –6   Morrisville State #   –  1 –8   Becker   –  0 –9   LaGrange   –  0 –10   # – Provisional Division III member |

## Conference champions

* Conference champions
* American Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor
* Atlantic Central Football Conference – Wesley
* Centennial Conference – Dickinson
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL), North Central (IL), and Wheaton (IL)
* Empire 8 Conference – St. John Fisher and Springfield
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Mount St. Joseph
* Illini-Badger Football Conference – Concordia (WI)
* Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA)
* Liberty League – Hobart and Union (NY)
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hope
* Middle Atlantic Conference – Wilkes
* Midwest Conference – St. Norbert
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Bethel (MN) and Saint John's (MN)
* New England Football Conference – Coast Guard (Bogan Division), Curry (Boyd Division)
* Championship Game: Curry 34, Coast Guard 28
* New England Small College Athletic Conference – Williams
* New Jersey Athletic Conference – Rowan and SUNY Cortland
* North Coast Athletic Conference – Wabash and Wittenberg
* Northwest Conference – Whitworth
* Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Washington & Lee
* Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Occidental
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Millsaps
* University Athletic Association – Carnegie Mellon
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Minnesota–Morris
* USA South Athletic Conference – Averett and Christopher Newport
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater

## Postseason

The 2006 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 34th 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 14th time.

### Qualification

Twenty-one conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, five conferences had no Pool A bid. The NWC was in the first year and the PAC in the second year of the two-year waiting period, while the ACFC, UAA, and UMAC failed to meet the seven-member requirement.
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 21 Pool A conferences contained 181 schools, an average of 8.6 teams per conference. Thirty-seven schools were in Pool B, enough for four bids.
The remaining seven playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

### Playoff bracket

| First Round Campus Sites | First Round Campus Sites | First Round Campus Sites | Second Round Campus Sites | Second Round Campus Sites | Second Round Campus Sites | Quarterfinals Campus Sites | Quarterfinals Campus Sites | Quarterfinals Campus Sites | Semifinals Campus Sites | Semifinals Campus Sites | Semifinals Campus Sites | National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia | National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia | National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia |
| Mount Union | Mount Union | 49 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hope | Hope | 0 | Mount Union | Mount Union | 35 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wheaton (IL) | Wheaton (IL) | 42 | Wheaton (IL) | Wheaton (IL) | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| Mount St. Joseph | Mount St. Joseph | 28 | | | | Mount Union | Mount Union | 17 | | | | | | |
| North Central (IL) | North Central (IL) | 35 | | | | Capital | Capital | 14 | | | | | | |
| Concordia Wisconsin | Concordia Wisconsin | 6 | North Central (IL) | North Central (IL) | 13 | | | | | | | | | |
| Capital | Capital | 32 | Capital | Capital | 41 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wittenberg | Wittenberg | 14 | | | | | | | Mount Union | Mount Union | 26 | | | |
| Wilkes | Wilkes | 42 | | | | | | | St. John Fisher | St. John Fisher | 14 | | | |
| Washington & Lee | Washington & Lee | 0 | Wilkes | Wilkes | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| Rowan | Rowan | 20 | Rowan | Rowan | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| Hobart | Hobart | 18 | | | | Rowan | Rowan | 0 | | | | | | |
| St. John Fisher | St. John Fisher | 49 | | | | St. John Fisher | St. John Fisher | 31 | | | | | | |
| Union (NY) | Union (NY) | 21 | St. John Fisher | St. John Fisher | 27 | | | | | | | | | |
| Springfield | Springfield | 42 | Springfield | Springfield | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| Curry | Curry | 14 | | | | | | | | | | Mount Union | Mount Union | 35 |
| Wesley | Wesley | 49 | | | | | | | | | | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 16 |
| Dickinson | Dickinson | 21 | Wesley | Wesley | 37 | | | | | | | | | |
| Carnegie Mellon | Carnegie Mellon | 21 | Carnegie Mellon | Carnegie Mellon | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Millsaps | Millsaps | 0 | | | | Wesley | Wesley | 34 | | | | | | |
| Washington & Jefferson | Washington & Jefferson | 27 | | | | Mary Hardin–Baylor | Mary Hardin–Baylor | 28 | | | | | | |
| Christopher Newport | Christopher Newport | 23 | Washington & Jefferson | Washington & Jefferson | 27 | | | | | | | | | |
| Mary Hardin–Baylor | Mary Hardin–Baylor | 33 | Mary Hardin–Baylor | Mary Hardin–Baylor | 30 | | | | | | | | | |
| Hardin–Simmons | Hardin–Simmons | 21 | | | | | | | Wesley | Wesley | 7 | | | |
| Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 59 | | | | | | | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 44 | | | |
| St. Norbert | St. Norbert | 17 | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–La Crosse | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 28 | Wisconsin–La Crosse | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| Bethel (MN) | Bethel (MN) | 21 | | | | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 17 | | | | | | |
| Whitworth | Whitworth | 27 | | | | Saint John's (MN) | Saint John's (MN) | 14 | | | | | | |
| Occidental | Occidental | 23 | Whitworth | Whitworth | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint John's (MN) | Saint John's (MN) | 21 | Saint John's (MN) | Saint John's (MN) | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| Central (IA) | Central (IA) | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* Overtime