# 1997 NCAA Division III football season

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1997 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their third, and second consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Lycoming Warriors, 61−12.
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Bill Borchert, quarterback from Mount Union.

## Conference standings

1997 American Southwest Conference football standings :
| 1997 American Southwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Mississippi College $  4 –1  8 –2   Howard Payne  3 –2  7 –3   Hardin–Simmons  2 –3  7 –3   McMurry  2 –3  5 –5   Austin  2 –3  4 –6   Sul Ross  2 –3  4 –6   $ – Conference champion | 1997 Centennial Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Western Maryland $^  7 –0  10 –1   Dickinson  6 –1  7 –3   Johns Hopkins  5 –2  7 –3   Franklin & Marshall  4 –3  4 –6   Ursinus  3 –4  4 –6   Gettysburg  2 –5  4 –6   Muhlenberg  1 –6  1 –9   Swarthmore  0 –7  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Augustana (IL) $  6 –1  7 –2   Illinois Wesleyan  5 –2  7 –2   Carthage  4 –3  5 –4   North Central (IL)  4 –3  5 –4   Millikin  4 –3  4 –5   Wheaton (IL)  4 –3  4 –5   Elmhurst  1 –6  1 –8   North Park  0 –7  0 –9   $ – Conference champion |
| 1997 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Salve Regina $  4 –0  7 –2   Western New England  3 –1  4 –3   MIT  2 –2  5 –4   Nichols  1 –3  2 –7   Curry  0 –4  0 –10   $ – Conference champion | 1997 Freedom Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Coast Guard $^  6 –0  9 –2   Merchant Marine  4 –2  7 –2   Plymouth State  4 –2  7 –3   Springfield (MA)  3 –3  4 –5   WPI  2 –4  4 –6   Western Connecticut  1 –5  4 –6   Norwich  1 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Lakeland $  5 –0  10 –0   Concordia (WI)  4 –1  7 –3   MacMurray  3 –2  8 –2   Eureka  2 –3  5 –5   Concordia (IL)  1 –4  2 –7   Greenville  0 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference champion |
| 1997 Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Hanover $^  6 –0  10 –1   DePauw  5 –1  8 –2   Wabash  4 –2  6 –4   Manchester  2 –4  6 –4   Rose–Hulman  2 –4  3 –7   Anderson (IN)  1 –5  2 –8   Franklin (IN)  1 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 Iowa Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Simpson (IA) $^  8 –0  12 –1   Central (IA)  7 –1  8 –2   Upper Iowa  5 –3  7 –3   Wartburg  5 –3  7 –3   Loras  4 –4  6 –4   Luther  3 –5  4 –6   Buena Vista  3 –5  3 –7   Dubuque  1 –7  3 –7   William Penn  0 –8  1 –9   Coe  0 –0  8 –1   Cornell (IA)  0 –0  6 –3   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Adrian +  4 –1  8 –1   Hope +  4 –1  6 –3   Albion  3 –2  6 –3   Alma  3 –2  6 –3   Kalamazoo  1 –4  3 –6   Olivet  0 –5  3 –6   + – Conference co-champions |
| 1997 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Commonwealth Albright x  5 –0  8 –1   Moravian  4 –1  7 –3   Widener  3 –2  7 –3   Susquehanna  2 –3  6 –4   Juniata  1 –4  3 –7   Lebanon Valley  0 –5  0 –10   Freedom Lycoming x^  4 –0  12 –1   Wilkes  3 –1  5 –5   Delaware Valley  2 –2  5 –5   King's (PA)  1 –3  3 –7   Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham  0 –4  0 –10   x – Division champion/co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 Midwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division Ripon x  4 –1  6 –3   Carroll (WI) xy$  4 –1  5 –5   Lawrence  2 –3  4 –5   St. Norbert  2 –3  4 –5   Beloit  2 –3  3 –6   Lake Forest  1 –4  2 –7   South Division Grinnell xy  3 –0  5 –5   Knox  2 –1  5 –4   Monmouth (IL)  1 –2  2 –7   Illinois College  0 –3  1 –8   Championship: Carroll (WI) 20, Grinnell 15 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant | 1997 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Augsburg $^ 8 –1 –010 –2 –0 St. Thomas (MN) 7 –2 –08 –2 –0 Concordia–Moorhead ^ 7 –2 –08 –3 –0 Saint John's (MN) 6 –3 –06 –4 –0 Bethel (MN) 5 –4 –06 –4 –0 Gustavus Adolphus 5 –4 –06 –4 –0 Hamline 4 –5 –05 –5 –0 St. Olaf 2 –7 –02 –8 –0 Carleton 1 –8 –02 –8 –0 Macalester 0 –9 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 1997 New England Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Worcester State +  7 –1  8 –3   Bridgewater State +  7 –1  7 –3   UMass Dartmouth  6 –2  8 –2   Maine Maritime  4 –4  4 –6   Westfield State  4 –4  4 –6   UMass–Boston  3 –5  3 –6   Massachusetts Maritime  3 –5  3 –7   Fitchburg State  1 –7  3 –7   Framingham State  1 –7  2 –8   + – Conference co-champions | 1997 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Amherst  7 –1  7 –1   Wesleyan  7 –1  7 –1   Williams  7 –1  7 –1   Trinity (CT)  5 –3  5 –3   Bowdoin  4 –4  4 –4   Middlebury  4 –4  4 –4   Tufts  3 –5  3 –5   Hamilton  2 –6  2 –6   Bates  1 –7  1 –7   Colby  0 –8  0 –8   No conference champion recognized | 1997 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Rowan $^  5 –0  11 –1   TCNJ ^  4 –1  9 –3   Montclair State  3 –2  6 –4   Jersey City State  2 –3  5 –5   Kean  1 –4  1 –9   William Paterson  0 –5  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 1997 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Wittenberg +  7 –1  9 –1   Wooster +  7 –1  9 –1   Allegheny +^  7 –1  9 –2   Denison  3 –4  4 –6   Ohio Wesleyan  3 –4  4 –6   Kenyon  3 –5  3 –7   Case Western Reserve  2 –4  3 –7   Earlham  2 –6  2 –8   Oberlin  0 –8  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 Northwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Willamette $^  5 –0  13 –1   No. 19 Linfield  4 –1  6 –3   No. 17 Pacific Lutheran  3 –2  7 –2   Lewis & Clark  2 –3  3 –6   Whitworth  1 –4  2 –7   Puget Sound  0 –5  2 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA poll | 1997 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Mount Union $^  9 –0  14 –0   John Carroll ^  8 –1  10 –2   Ohio Northern  7 –2  8 –2   Baldwin–Wallace  6 –3  7 –3   Heidelberg  5 –4  5 –5   Marietta  3 –6  4 –6   Capital  2 –7  3 –7   Muskingum  2 –7  2 –8   Otterbein  2 –7  2 –8   Hiram  1 –8  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 1997 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Emory & Henry +  4 –1  8 –2   Guilford +  4 –1  8 –2   Randolph–Macon +  4 –1  8 –2   Washington and Lee  2 –3  4 –6   Bridgewater  1 –4  2 –8   Hampden–Sydney  0 –5  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions | 1997 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Grove City $ 5 –0 –09 –1 –0 Washington & Jefferson 4 –1 –06 –3 –0 Waynesburg 3 –2 –05 –4 –0 Bethany (WV) 2 –3 –04 –6 –0 Alfred 1 –4 –02 –8 –0 Thiel 0 –5 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1997 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Redlands +  4 –1  7 –2   Cal Lutheran +  4 –1  5 –4   Whittier +  4 –1  5 –4   La Verne  2 –3  2 –7   Occidental  1 –4  1 –8   Claremont-Mudd  0 –5  0 –9   + – Conference co-champions |
| 1997 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Trinity (TX) $^  4 –0  10 –1   Centre  3 –1  6 –3   Sewanee  1 –3  5 –4   Millsaps  1 –3  3 –7   Rhodes  1 –3  2 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  MacMurray $  4 –0  8 –2   Westminster (MO)  3 –1  6 –4   Greenville  2 –2  2 –8   Blackburn  1 –3  1 –8   Principia  0 –4  0 –8   $ – Conference champion | 1997 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  RPI $  4 –0  9 –1   Union (NY)  3 –1  7 –2   Hobart  2 –2  6 –4   St. Lawrence  1 –3  2 –7   Rochester (NY)  0 –4  1 –8   $ – Conference champion |
| 1997 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Wisconsin–Whitewater $^  7 –0  9 –1   Wisconsin–La Crosse  5 –2  7 –2   Wisconsin–Stout  5 –2  6 –4   Wisconsin–Eau Claire  4 –3  7 –3   Wisconsin–Stevens Point  3 –4  6 –4   Wisconsin–River Falls  3 –4  5 –5   Wisconsin–Oshkosh  1 –6  3 –7   Wisconsin–Platteville  0 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 1997 NCAA Division III independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Catholic University ^   –  10 –1   Methodist   –  9 –1   Cortland ^   –  8 –2   Buffalo State   –  7 –2   Hartwick   –  7 –2   Pomona-Pitzer   –  6 –2   Ithaca   –  7 –3   Wesley   –  7 –3   Frostburg State   –  6 –3   Brockport   –  6 –4   Menlo   –  5 –5   Thomas More   –  5 –5   Aurora   –  4 –5   Chapman   –  4 –5   Bluffton   –  4 –6   Ferrum   –  4 –6   Wilmington (OH)   –  4 –6   Colorado College   –  3 –6   Salisbury State   –  3 –6   Maryville (TN)   –  3 –7   Chowan   –  2 –8   Defiance   –  1 –8   ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |

## Conference champions

* Conference champions
* American Southwest Conference – Mississippi College
* Centennial Conference – Western Maryland
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL)
* Freedom Football Conference – Coast Guard
* Illini-Badger Football Conference – Lakeland
* Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference – Hanover
* Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Simpson
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Adrian
* Middle Atlantic Conference – Albright and Lycoming
* Midwest Conference – Carroll (WI)
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Augsburg
* New England Football Conference – Bridgewater State and Worcester State
* New Jersey Athletic Conference – Rowan
* North Coast Athletic Conference – Allegheny, Wittenberg, and Wooster
* Northwest Conference – Willamette
* Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry, Guilford, and Randolph-Macon
* Presidents' Athletic Conference – Grove City
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Cal Lutheran, Redlands, and Whittier
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX)
* University Athletic Association – Carnegie Mellon
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Not available
* Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – RPI
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater

## Postseason

The 1997 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 25th 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 second time. As of 2014, Salem has remained the yearly host of the Stagg Bowl. Like the previous twelve tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.

### Playoff bracket

| Regionals Campus Sites | Regionals Campus Sites | Regionals 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 | 34 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Allegheny | Allegheny | 30 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Allegheny | Allegheny | 30 | Mount Union | Mount Union | 59 | | | | | | | |
| | | | John Carroll | John Carroll | 7 | | | | | | | |
| John Carroll | John Carroll | 30 | John Carroll | John Carroll | 7 | | | | | | | |
| Hanover | Hanover | 20 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hanover | Hanover | 20 | | | | Mount Union | Mount Union | 54 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Simpson | Simpson | 7 | | | | |
| Simpson | Simpson | 34 | | | | | | | Simpson | Simpson | 7 | | | | |
| Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 31 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–Whitewater | Wisconsin–Whitewater | 31 | Simpson | Simpson | 61 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Augsburg | Augsburg | 21 | | | | | | | |
| Augsburg | Augsburg | 34 | Augsburg | Augsburg | 21 | | | | | | | |
| Concordia–Moorhead | Concordia–Moorhead | 22 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Concordia–Moorhead | Concordia–Moorhead | 22 | | | | | | | | Mount Union | Mount Union | 61 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Lycoming | Lycoming | 12 |
| Lycoming | Lycoming | 27 | | | | | | | | | | | Lycoming | Lycoming | 12 |
| Western Maryland | Western Maryland | 13 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Maryland | Western Maryland | 13 | Lycoming | Lycoming | 46 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Trinity (TX) | Trinity (TX) | 26 | | | | | | | |
| Trinity (TX) | Trinity (TX) | 44 | Trinity (TX) | Trinity (TX) | 26 | | | | | | | |
| Catholic University | Catholic University | 33 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Catholic University | Catholic University | 33 | | | | Lycoming | Lycoming | 28 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Rowan | Rowan | 20 | | | | |
| Rowan | Rowan | 43 | | | | | | | Rowan | Rowan | 20 | | | | |
| Coast Guard | Coast Guard | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coast Guard | Coast Guard | 0 | Rowan | Rowan | 13 | | | | | | | |
| | | | TCNJ | TCNJ | 7 | | | | | | | |
| TCNJ | TCNJ | 34 | TCNJ | TCNJ | 7 | | | | | | | |
| Cortland | Cortland | 30 | | | | | | | | | | |