# 2016 NCAA Division III football season

The 2016 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 on September 5, 2016 and ended with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, on December 16, 2016 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. However, UMHB's championship was later vacated by the NCAA.

## Conference changes and new programs

Three programs changed conference affiliations.
| School | 2015 conference | 2016 conference |
| Carroll | MWC | CCIW |
| McMurry | Independent | ASC |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | Great Plains (NAIA) | IIAC |
A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website.
This was also the final season of competition for two Division III conferences. The New England Football Conference will be absorbed by the Commonwealth Coast Conference, and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, which had lost most of its membership in 2012 when seven schools left to form the Southern Athletic Association, will end its sponsorship of football and continue as a non-football conference.

## Conference standings

2016 American Southwest Conference football standings :
| 2016 American Southwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^  6 –0  15 –0   No. 13 Hardin–Simmons ^  5 –1  9 –2   Sul Ross  4 –2  6 –4   East Texas Baptist  3 –3  7 –3   McMurry #  2 –4  4 –5   Louisiana College  1 –5  4 –6   Howard Payne  0 –6  0 –10   Belhaven *   –  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant # – Provisional NCAA Division III member * – Provisional NCAA Division III member; games not counted in standings Rankings from D3football.com | 2016 Centennial Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 11 Johns Hopkins $^  9 –0  11 –1   Muhlenberg  8 –1  9 –2   Franklin & Marshall  6 –3  7 –4   Susquehanna  6 –3  6 –4   Moravian  4 –5  5 –5   Juniata  3 –6  4 –6   Gettysburg  3 –6  3 –7   McDaniel  3 –6  3 –7   Ursinus  2 –7  2 –8   Dickinson  1 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 10 North Central (IL) $^  8 –0  11 –1   No. 8 Wheaton (IL) ^  7 –1  11 –2   Illinois Wesleyan  6 –2  7 –2   Carthage  5 –3  7 –3   Elmhurst  4 –4  5 –5   Millikin  3 –5  4 –6   Augustana (IL)  2 –6  3 –7   Carroll (WI)  1 –7  1 –9   North Park  0 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2016 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Husson $^  7 –0  9 –2   Norwich  5 –2  5 –5   SUNY Maritime  4 –3  6 –5   Castleton  4 –3  4 –6   Mount Ida  4 –3  4 –6   Becker  2 –5  3 –7   Gallaudet  1 –6  2 –8   Anna Maria  1 –6  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2016 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Alfred $^  8 –0  12 –1   No. 25 St. John Fisher  6 –2  8 –3   Brockport  6 –2  7 –4   Utica  5 –3  7 –4   Ithaca  4 –4  5 –5   Buffalo State  3 –5  5 –5   Cortland  3 –5  5 –6   Hartwick  1 –7  2 –8   Morrisville State  0 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Franklin (IN) +  7 –1  8 –2   Rose–Hulman +^  7 –1  8 –3   Mount St. Joseph  6 –2  6 –4   Bluffton  5 –3  7 –3   Defiance  4 –4  5 –5   Hanover  4 –4  4 –6   Manchester  2 –6  2 –8   Anderson (IN)  1 –7  1 –9   Earlham  0 –8  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2016 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 17 Coe $^  8 –0  11 –1   Central (IA)  6 –2  8 –2   Dubuque  6 –2  8 –2   Wartburg  5 –3  6 –4   Nebraska Wesleyan  3 –5  4 –6   Buena Vista  3 –5  3 –7   Luther  2 –6  3 –7   Simpson (IA)  2 –6  3 –7   Loras  1 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Liberty League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 24 St. Lawrence +  6 –1  9 –1   No. 19 Hobart +^  6 –1  9 –2   Merchant Marine  4 –3  5 –4   Springfield  4 –3  5 –5   WPI  3 –4  6 –4   RPI  3 –4  6 –5   Union (NY)  2 –5  3 –7   Rochester (NY)  0 –7  1 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Bridgewater State $^  8 –0  8 –3   Framingham State  6 –2  8 –3   Plymouth State  4 –4  6 –4   UMass Dartmouth  4 –4  5 –5   Western Connecticut  4 –4  5 –5   Fitchburg State  3 –5  5 –5   Massachusetts Maritime  3 –5  4 –6   Worcester State  3 –5  3 –7   Westfield State  1 –7  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2016 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Olivet $^  6 –0  9 –2   Hope  5 –1  7 –3   Alma  4 –2  7 –3   Trine  3 –3  6 –4   Adrian  2 –4  4 –6   Kalamazoo  1 –5  3 –7   Albion  0 –6  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2016 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 20 Stevenson $^  8 –1  9 –2   Delaware Valley  7 –2  9 –2   Albright  7 –2  8 –3   Widener  6 –3  6 –4   King's  5 –4  5 –5   Lebanon Valley  4 –5  4 –6   Wilkes  3 –6  3 –7   Lycoming  2 –7  3 –7   FDU Florham  2 –7  2 –8   Misericordia  1 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Midwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 21 Monmouth (IL) $^  8 –0  10 –1   St. Norbert  7 –1  7 –3   Lake Forest  6 –2  8 –2   Macalester  6 –2  7 –3   Illinois College  5 –3  6 –4   Cornell (IA)  4 –4  5 –5   Beloit  2 –6  3 –7   Lawrence  2 –6  3 –7   Knox  2 –6  2 –8   Ripon  2 –6  2 –8   Grinnell  0 –8  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2016 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 6 St. Thomas (MN) $^  8 –0  12 –1   No. 9 Saint John's (MN) ^  7 –1  10 –2   Concordia–Moorhead  6 –2  7 –3   Bethel (MN)  5 –3  5 –5   Gustavus Adolphus  3 –5  5 –5   Hamline  3 –5  5 –5   Augsburg  2 –6  2 –8   St. Olaf  1 –7  2 –8   Carleton  1 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 New England Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 22 Western New England $^  7 –0  11 –1   Salve Regina  6 –1  8 –2   Endicott  5 –2  5 –5   Nichols  4 –3  6 –4   MIT  3 –4  3 –7   Coast Guard  2 –5  3 –7   Curry  1 –6  3 –6   Maine Maritime  0 –7  1 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Trinity (CT) $  8 –0  8 –0   Tufts  7 –1  7 –1   Middlebury  6 –2  6 –2   Wesleyan  6 –2  6 –2   Amherst  4 –4  4 –4   Bates  3 –5  3 –5   Colby  3 –5  3 –5   Hamilton  3 –5  3 –5   Bowdoin  0 –8  0 –8   Williams  0 –8  0 –8   $ – Conference champion |
| 2016 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 23 Frostburg State +  8 –1  10 –1   No. 15 Wesley +^  8 –1  9 –3   Salisbury  6 –3  8 –3   Christopher Newport  6 –3  7 –3   Kean  5 –4  7 –4   Rowan  5 –4  6 –4   Montclair State  3 –6  4 –6   TCNJ  2 –7  2 –8   Southern Virginia  1 –8  2 –8   William Paterson  1 –8  2 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 16 Wittenberg $^  8 –1  10 –2   Denison  7 –2  8 –2   DePauw  7 –2  8 –2   Wabash  7 –2  8 –2   Ohio Wesleyan  6 –3  6 –4   Wooster  4 –5  4 –6   Hiram  3 –6  3 –7   Kenyon  2 –7  3 –7   Allegheny  1 –8  1 –9   Oberlin  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Lakeland +^  5 –1  7 –4   Aurora +  5 –1  6 –4   Benedictine (IL)  4 –2  6 –4   Wisconsin Lutheran  4 –2  5 –5   Concordia (IL)  2 –4  4 –6   Concordia (WI)  1 –5  3 –7   Rockford  0 –6  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2016 Northwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 7 Linfield $^  7 –0  9 –2   Whitworth  6 –1  8 –2   George Fox  5 –2  5 –4   Pacific Lutheran  4 –3  5 –4   Pacific (OR)  3 –4  4 –6   Willamette  2 –5  3 –7   Puget Sound  1 –6  3 –6   Lewis & Clark  0 –7  0 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 3 John Carroll $^  9 –0  12 –2   No. 4 Mount Union ^  8 –1  12 –2   Heidelberg  6 –3  6 –4   Ohio Northern  5 –4  5 –5   Otterbein  5 –4  5 –5   Capital  4 –5  4 –6   Muskingum  3 –6  4 –6   Marietta  3 –6  3 –7   Baldwin Wallace  2 –7  3 –7   Wilmington (OH)  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Randolph–Macon $^  6 –1  9 –2   Emory & Henry  5 –2  6 –4   Washington and Lee  5 –2  6 –4   Shenandoah  4 –3  6 –4   Bridgewater  4 –3  5 –5   Hampden–Sydney  3 –4  3 –7   Guilford  1 –6  4 –6   Catholic University  0 –7  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2016 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 18 Thomas More $^  8 –0  9 –2   Case Western Reserve  7 –1  9 –1   Washington & Jefferson  6 –2  9 –2   Carnegie Mellon  6 –2  7 –4   Westminster (PA)  5 –3  8 –3   Saint Vincent  3 –5  5 –5   Thiel  3 –5  4 –6   Bethany (WV)  2 –6  3 –7   Geneva  2 –6  3 –7   Waynesburg  2 –6  2 –8   Grove City  0 –8  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 Southern Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Berry +  7 –1  9 –1   Washington University +^  7 –1  8 –3   Centre  6 –2  8 –2   Hendrix  5 –3  7 –3   Rhodes  4 –4  6 –4   Chicago  4 –4  4 –6   Millsaps  2 –6  3 –7   Birmingham–Southern  1 –7  1 –9   Sewanee  0 –8  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2016 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Redlands $^  7 –0  8 –2   Claremont–Mudd–Scripps  5 –2  7 –2   Pomona–Pitzer  5 –2  6 –3   Chapman  4 –3  5 –4   Cal Lutheran  4 –3  4 –5   La Verne  2 –5  2 –7   Occidental  1 –6  1 –8   Whittier  0 –7  0 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2016 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Southwestern (TX) $  6 –0  7 –3   Trinity (TX)  3 –3  5 –5   Texas Lutheran  2 –4  2 –8   Austin  1 –5  3 –7   $ – Conference champion | 2016 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Northwestern (MN) $^  8 –1  9 –2   Eureka  7 –2  8 –2   MacMurray  7 –2  8 –2   St. Scholastica  7 –2  7 –3   Minnesota–Morris  5 –4  6 –4   Westminster (MO)  4 –5  4 –6   Iowa Wesleyan #  3 –6  3 –7   Crown  2 –7  2 –8   Greenville  2 –7  2 –8   Martin Luther  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant # – Provisional NCAA Division III member | 2016 USA South Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Huntingdon +^  6 –1  9 –2   Maryville (TN) +  6 –1  8 –2   North Carolina Wesleyan  4 –2  5 –4   Ferrum  4 –3  6 –4   Averett  4 –3  5 –5   Methodist  2 –4  3 –6   LaGrange  1 –6  3 –7   Greensboro  0 –7  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 5 Wisconsin–Whitewater $^  7 –0  12 –1   No. 2 Wisconsin–Oshkosh ^  6 –1  13 –2   No. 14 Wisconsin–Platteville ^  5 –2  8 –3   Wisconsin–Stevens Point  3 –4  6 –4   Wisconsin–River Falls  3 –4  4 –6   Wisconsin–La Crosse  2 –5  5 –5   Wisconsin–Stout  1 –6  3 –7   Wisconsin–Eau Claire  1 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2016 NCAA Division III independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Dean**   –  1 –1   Maranatha Baptist   –  2 –7   Finlandia   –  1 –7   Alfred State*   –  1 –9   * – Provisional Division III member ** – Dean was accepted as a Division III football program for the 2016 season and finished with a 6–4 overall record, but only two games were against varsity level teams. |

## Postseason

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, two conferences had no Pool A bid. The American Southwest, which had fallen below the required seven members in 2013 and lost its Pool A bid after the two-year grace period, was in the first year of the two-year waiting period, having now attained seven members; the SCAC had only four members.
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 222 schools, an average of 8.9 teams per conference. Twelve schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.
The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

### Playoff bracket

| First round November 19, 2016 | First round November 19, 2016 | Second round November 26, 2016 | Second round November 26, 2016 | Quarterfinals December 3, 2016 | Quarterfinals December 3, 2016 | Semifinals December 10, 2016 | Semifinals December 10, 2016 | Championship December 16, 2016 Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia | Championship December 16, 2016 Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia |
| Mary Hardin-Baylor* | 50 | | | | | | | | |
| Redlands | 28 | Mary Hardin-Baylor* | 27 | | | | | | |
| Hardin-Simmons* | 10 | Linfield | 10 | | | | | | |
| Linfield | 24 | | | Mary Hardin-Baylor* | 38 | | | | |
| Wheaton* | 45 | | | Wheaton | 16 | | | | |
| Huntingdon | 10 | Wheaton | 31 | | | | | | |
| North Central* | 41 | North Central* | 14 | | | | | | |
| Rose-Hulman | 7 | | | | | Mary Hardin-Baylor* | 14 | | |
| Alfred* † | 33 | | | | | Mount Union | 12 | | |
| Bridgewater State | 27 | Alfred* | 30 | | | | | | |
| Western New England* | 44 | Western New England | 24 | | | | | | |
| Husson | 27 | | | Alfred* | 45 | | | | |
| Hobart* | 21 | | | Mount Union | 70 | | | | |
| Mount Union | 38 | Mount Union | 28 | | | | | | |
| Johns Hopkins* | 42 | Johns Hopkins* | 21 | | | | | | |
| Randolph-Macon | 21 | | | | | | | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 10 |
| St. Thomas* | 43 | | | | | | | UW-Oshkosh | 7 |
| Northwestern (MN) | 0 | St. Thomas* | 55 | | | | | | |
| Coe* | 21 | Coe | 6 | | | | | | |
| Monmouth | 14 | | | St. Thomas* | 31 | | | | |
| St. John's* | 32 | | | UW-Oshkosh | 34 | | | | |
| UW-Platteville | 31 | St. John's | 14 | | | | | | |
| UW-Oshkosh* | 49 | UW-Oshkosh* | 31 | | | | | | |
| Washington U. | 13 | | | | | UW-Oshkosh* | 10 | | |
| John Carroll* | 37 | | | | | John Carroll | 3 | | |
| Olivet | 12 | John Carroll* †† | 20 | | | | | | |
| Wesley* | 38 | Wesley | 17 | | | | | | |
| Stevenson | 17 | | | John Carroll | 31 | | | | |
| Thomas More* | 30 | | | UW-Whitewater* | 14 | | | | |
| Wittenberg † | 33 | Wittenberg | 9 | | | | | | |
| UW-Whitewater* | 45 | UW-Whitewater* | 37 | | | | | | |
| Lakeland | 27 | | | | | | | | |
* Home team † Overtime Winner

### Bowl games

Winning teams are denoted in bold.
| Date | Bowl | Stadium City | Home team | Away team | Score |
| Nov. 18, 2016 | ECAC Chapman Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Kean | SUNY-Cortland | 30–27 |
| Nov. 18, 2016 | ECAC President's Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Washington & Jefferson | Brockport | 38–31 |
| Nov. 19, 2016 | ECAC Lynah Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Utica | Westminster (PA) | 33–6 |
| Nov. 19, 2016 | ECAC Bushnell Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | No. 24 Frostburg State | No. 22 St. John Fisher | 38–14 |
| Nov. 19, 2016 | New England Bowl | Gaudet Field Middletown, Rhode Island | Salve Regina | Framingham State | 37–34 |
| Nov. 19, 2016 | Centennial-MAC Bowl Series | Scotty Wood Stadium Allentown, Pennsylvania | Muhlenberg | Delaware Valley | 30–27 |
| Nov. 19, 2016 | Centennial-MAC Bowl Series | Shirk Stadium Reading, Pennsylvania | Albright | Franklin & Marshall | 28–23 |
| Nov. 20, 2016 | ECAC Legacy Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Carnegie Mellon | Salisbury | 52–20 |
| Nov. 20, 2016 | ECAC Whitelaw Bowl | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | SUNY-Maritime | RPI | 38–6 |