# 2014 NCAA Division III football season

The 2014 NCAA Division III football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, was the most recent season of NCAA Division III football. The season began on September 4 and concluded on December 19 with title game of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. Wisconsin–Whitewater won their sixth Division III title with a 43–34 win over Mount Union at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. This was the ninth time in ten seasons that Mount Union and Wisconsin–Whitewater met in the title game.

## Conference changes and new programs

| School | 2013 conference | 2014 conference |
| Mississippi College | American Southwest (Division III) | Gulf South (Division II) |
| George Fox | Program established | Northwest Conference |

## Conference standings

2014 American Southwest Conference football standings :
| 2014 American Southwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 6 Mary Hardin–Baylor $^  5 –0  11 –1   Louisiana College  4 –1  6 –4   Hardin–Simmons  3 –2  6 –3   East Texas Baptist  1 –4  4 –6   Sul Ross  1 –4  4 –6   Howard Payne  1 –4  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Centennial Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 10 Johns Hopkins $^  9 –0  11 –1   No. 23 Muhlenberg ^  8 –1  9 –2   Ursinus  6 –3  7 –3   Gettysburg  5 –4  5 –5   Franklin & Marshall  4 –5  5 –5   Juniata  4 –5  5 –5   Moravian  4 –5  5 –5   Dickinson  3 –6  3 –7   Susquehanna  2 –7  2 –8   McDaniel  0 –9  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 8 Wheaton (IL) $^  7 –0  11 –1   No. 15 North Central (IL)  6 –1  8 –2   Augustana (IL)  4 –3  5 –5   Elmhurst  4 –3  5 –5   Illinois Wesleyan  2 –5  4 –6   Carthage  2 –5  3 –7   North Park  2 –5  2 –8   Millikin  1 –6  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2014 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Husson $^  7 –0  8 –2   Castleton  5 –2  7 –3   Norwich  5 –2  7 –4   Mount Ida  5 –2  5 –5   SUNY Maritime  3 –4  4 –6   Gallaudet  2 –5  2 –7   Becker  1 –6  1 –9   Anna Maria  0 –7  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2014 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 21 St. John Fisher +  6 –2  9 –2   Ithaca +^  6 –2  7 –4   Buffalo State  5 –3  8 –3   Salisbury  5 –3  7 –4   Utica  5 –3  7 –4   Alfred  3 –5  5 –5   Brockport  3 –5  5 –5   Frostburg State  2 –6  4 –6   Hartwick  1 –7  2 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Franklin (IN) $^  8 –0  8 –3   Mount St. Joseph  7 –1  8 –2   Bluffton  6 –2  6 –4   Rose–Hulman  5 –3  7 –3   Manchester  3 –5  4 –6   Defiance  3 –5  3 –7   Anderson (IN)  2 –6  2 –8   Hanover  2 –6  2 –8   Earlham  0 –8  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2014 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 4 Wartburg $^  7 –0  12 –1   Central (IA)  6 –1  8 –2   Buena Vista  4 –3  5 –5   Coe  4 –3  5 –5   Dubuque  3 –4  4 –6   Luther  2 –5  5 –5   Loras  2 –5  3 –7   Simpson (IA)  0 –7  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Liberty League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 9 Hobart $^  7 –0  12 –1   St. Lawrence  6 –1  8 –2   RPI  4 –3  6 –5   Rochester (NY)  3 –4  5 –4   Springfield  3 –4  5 –5   WPI  3 –4  4 –6   Union (NY)  2 –5  2 –8   Merchant Marine  0 –7  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Framingham State $  8 –0  10 –1   Western Connecticut  6 –2  7 –4   Worcester State  5 –3  7 –3   Fitchburg State  4 –4  6 –4   Westfield State  4 –4  5 –5   Bridgewater State  3 –5  4 –6   Massachusetts Maritime  3 –5  4 –6   UMass Dartmouth  3 –5  4 –6   Plymouth State  0 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion |
| 2014 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Adrian $^  5 –1  8 –3   Albion  4 –2  6 –4   Trine  4 –2  6 –4   Hope  3 –3  6 –4   Olivet  3 –3  6 –4   Kalamazoo  2 –4  2 –8   Alma  0 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2014 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 11 Widener $^  9 –0  12 –1   No. 25 Delaware Valley ^  8 –1  9 –2   Lycoming  7 –2  8 –2   Stevenson  6 –3  8 –3   Albright  5 –4  6 –5   King's  4 –5  4 –6   Lebanon Valley  3 –6  3 –7   Wilkes  2 –7  2 –8   Misericordia  1 –8  1 –9   FDU Florham  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Midwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Macalester xy$^  5 –0  9 –2   Carroll (WI)  4 –1  8 –2   St. Norbert  3 –2  6 –4   Ripon  2 –3  3 –7   Lawrence  1 –4  2 –8   Beloit  0 –5  3 –7   South Illinois College xy  5 –0  7 –3   Monmouth (IL)  4 –1  8 –2   Cornell (IA)  3 –2  5 –4   Lake Forest  2 –3  4 –6   Grinnell  1 –4  3 –7   Knox  0 –5  2 –8   Championship: Macalester 30, Illinois College 27 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Saint John's (MN) $^  7 –1  10 –2   Concordia–Moorhead  6 –2  8 –2   No. 16 St. Thomas (MN) ^  6 –2  8 –3   Bethel (MN)  6 –2  7 –3   Gustavus Adolphus  4 –4  6 –4   Augsburg  3 –5  4 –6   Hamline  2 –6  4 –6   Carleton  1 –7  2 –8   St. Olaf  1 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 New England Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  MIT $^  7 –0  10 –1   Western New England  5 –2  8 –2   Salve Regina  5 –2  7 –4   Endicott  4 –3  5 –5   Curry  3 –4  3 –7   Maine Maritime  2 –5  3 –6   Coast Guard  2 –5  3 –7   Nichols  0 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant | 2014 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Amherst $  8 –0  8 –0   Wesleyan  7 –1  7 –1   Middlebury  6 –2  6 –2   Trinity (CT)  5 –3  5 –3   Bates  4 –4  4 –4   Tufts  4 –4  4 –4   Bowdoin  2 –6  2 –6   Colby  2 –6  2 –6   Williams  2 –6  2 –6   Hamilton  0 –8  0 –8   $ – Conference champion |
| 2014 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Morrisville State +  6 –1  9 –2   Montclair State +  6 –1  8 –2   Rowan +^  6 –1  7 –4   Cortland  4 –3  5 –5   William Paterson  2 –5  4 –6   Kean  2 –5  2 –8   TCNJ  1 –6  2 –8   Southern Virginia #  1 –6  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant # – Provisional NCAA Division III member | 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 17 Wittenberg $^  9 –0  9 –2   No. 13 Wabash ^  8 –1  10 –2   DePauw  6 –3  7 –3   Denison  5 –4  6 –4   Ohio Wesleyan  5 –4  6 –4   Hiram  4 –5  5 –5   Wooster  4 –5  4 –6   Oberlin  2 –7  2 –8   Allegheny  1 –8  1 –9   Kenyon  1 –8  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Wisconsin Lutheran +  5 –1  7 –3   Lakeland +  5 –1  6 –4   Benedictine (IL) +^  5 –1  6 –5   Concordia (WI)  3 –3  5 –5   Rockford  1 –5  2 –8   Concordia (IL)  1 –5  1 –8   Aurora  1 –5  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2014 Northwest Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 3 Linfield +^  6 –1  11 –2   Pacific (OR) +  6 –1  6 –3   Pacific Lutheran  5 –2  7 –2   Whitworth  4 –3  6 –4   Willamette  3 –4  5 –4   Puget Sound  3 –4  4 –5   George Fox  1 –6  1 –8   Lewis & Clark  0 –7  0 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Mount Union $^  9 –0  14 –1   No. 5 John Carroll ^  8 –1  11 –2   Heidelberg  7 –2  8 –2   Ohio Northern  6 –3  7 –3   Otterbein  5 –4  5 –5   Baldwin Wallace  4 –5  5 –5   Muskingum  3 –6  3 –7   Capital  2 –7  3 –7   Marietta  1 –8  2 –8   Wilmington (OH)  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Bridgewater +  5 –2  8 –2   Emory & Henry +  5 –2  8 –2   Guilford +  5 –2  8 –2   Hampden–Sydney +^  5 –2  7 –4   Randolph–Macon  3 –4  5 –5   Shenandoah  2 –5  4 –6   Washington and Lee  2 –5  2 –8   Catholic University  1 –6  3 –7   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant |
| 2014 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 14 Washington & Jefferson +^  7 –1  10 –2   Thomas More +  7 –1  8 –2   Waynesburg  6 –2  8 –3   Bethany (WV)  5 –3  6 –5   Saint Vincent  4 –4  4 –6   Westminster (PA)  4 –4  4 –6   Carnegie Mellon  3 –5  4 –6   Thiel  3 –5  4 –6   Case Western Reserve  3 –5  3 –7   Geneva  2 –6  3 –7   Grove City  0 –8  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Southern Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 22 Centre $^  6 –0  10 –1   Rhodes  5 –1  8 –2   Hendrix  3 –3  6 –4   Birmingham–Southern  3 –3  3 –7   Millsaps  2 –4  3 –6   Berry  1 –5  2 –8   Sewanee  1 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 18 Chapman $^  7 –0  8 –2   Redlands  6 –1  6 –3   Claremont–Mudd–Scripps  4 –3  5 –4   Occidental  4 –3  5 –4   Cal Lutheran  4 –3  4 –5   La Verne  1 –6  2 –7   Whittier  1 –6  2 –7   Pomona–Pitzer  1 –6  1 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2014 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 19 Texas Lutheran $^  3 –0  9 –2   Trinity (TX)  2 –1  4 –6   Austin  1 –2  5 –5   Southwestern (TX)  0 –3  1 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  St. Scholastica $^  9 –0  10 –1   Northwestern (MN)  7 –2  8 –2   Greenville  7 –2  7 –3   Iowa Wesleyan #  6 –3  6 –4   Westminster (MO)  6 –3  6 –4   Crown  4 –5  4 –6   MacMurray  3 –6  3 –7   Eureka  2 –7  2 –8   Martin Luther  1 –8  2 –8   Minnesota–Morris  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant # – Provisional NCAA Division III member | 2014 USA South Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 24 Christopher Newport $^  7 –1  8 –4   Huntingdon  6 –2  7 –3   Maryville (TN)  6 –2  7 –3   Methodist  5 –3  6 –4   North Carolina Wesleyan  4 –4  5 –5   LaGrange  3 –5  5 –5   Greensboro  3 –5  3 –7   Averett  1 –7  2 –8   Ferrum  1 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com |
| 2014 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater $^  7 –0  15 –0   No. 20 Wisconsin–Oshkosh  6 –1  6 –4   Wisconsin–Platteville  5 –2  7 –3   Wisconsin–Stevens Point  4 –3  7 –3   Wisconsin–La Crosse  2 –5  3 –7   Wisconsin–River Falls  2 –5  3 –7   Wisconsin–Stout  1 –6  2 –8   Wisconsin–Eau Claire  1 –6  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division III playoff participantRankings from D3football.com | 2014 NCAA Division III independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Chicago   –  8 –1   No. 7 Wesley ^   –  12 –2   Washington University   –  4 –6   Alfred State #   –  1 –7   Maranatha Baptist   –  0 –6   ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant # – Provisional Division III member Rankings from D3football.com |

## Conference summaries

* Conference champions
* American Southwest Conference – Mary Hardin–Baylor (9–0, 4–0)
* Centennial Conference – Johns Hopkins (9–0, 8–0)
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Wheaton (IL) (9–0, 6–0)
* Eastern Collegiate Football Conference – Husson (8–2, 7–0)
* Empire 8 Conference – Ithaca (7–2, 6–2)
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Franklin (7–0, 7–2)
* Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wartburg (9–0, 6–0)
* Liberty League – Hobart (9–0, 6–0)
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference – Framingham State (10–1, 8–0)
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Adrian (8–3, 5–1)
* Middle Atlantic Conference – Widener (12–0, 9–0)
* Midwest Conference – Macalester (9–2, 5–0)
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) (10–2, 7–1)
* New England Football Conference – MIT (8–3, 7–0)
* New England Small College Athletic Conference – Amherst (8–0, 8–0)
* New Jersey Athletic Conference – Morrisville State (9–2, 6–1), Montclair State (8–2, 6–1), and Rowan (7–4, 6–1)
* North Coast Athletic Conference – Wittenberg (8–1, 8–0)
* Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference – Wisconsin Lutheran (7–3, 5–1)
* Northwest Conference – Linfield (10–1, 6–1)
* Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union (12–0, 9–0)
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Hampden–Sydney (7–4, 5–2)
* Presidents' Athletic Conference – Thomas More (8–2, 7–1) and Washington & Jefferson (9–1, 7–1)
* Southern Athletic Association – Centre (10–1, 6–0)
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Chapman (7–1, 6–0)
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Texas Lutheran (8–1, 2–0)
* University Athletic Association – Chicago (8–1, 3–0)
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – St. Scholastica (10–0, 9–0)
* United States South Athletic Conference – Christopher Newport (8–2, 6–1)
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Whitewater (9–0, 6–0)

## Headlines

* October 18
** Lance Leipold, head coach at Wisconsin–Whitewater, sets an all-divisions NCAA record for the fewest games required to reach 100 career wins, doing so in his 106th career game, a 52–3 blowout of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The previous record was set by Hall of Fame coach Gil Dobie, who reached the 100-win mark in his 108th game at Cornell in 1921.

## Postseason

Twenty-four conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, three conferences had no Pool A bid. The MASCAC and SAA were in the second year of the two-year waiting period; the SCAC had only four members, three short of the requirement. The American Southwest, which had fallen below seven members in 2013, was in the second year of the two-year grace 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 24 Pool A conferences contained 207 schools, an average of 8.6 teams per conference. Twenty-four schools were in Pool B, enough for two bids.
The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.

### Playoff bracket

| First Round November 22 Campus Sites | First Round November 22 Campus Sites | Second Round November 29 Campus Sites | Second Round November 29 Campus Sites | Quarterfinals December 6 Campus Sites | Quarterfinals December 6 Campus Sites | Semifinals December 13 Campus Sites | Semifinals December 13 Campus Sites | National Championship Game December 19 | National Championship Game December 19 |
| Wisconsin–Whitewater* | 55 | | | | | | | | |
| Macalester | 2 | Wisconsin–Whitewater* | 38 | | | | | | |
| Wabash* | 33 | Wabash | 14 | | | | | | |
| Franklin | 14 | | | Wisconsin–Whitewater* | 37 | | | | |
| Saint John's (MN)* | 35 | | | Wartburg | 33 | | | | |
| St. Scholastica | 7 | St. John's (MN) | 10 | | | | | | |
| Wartburg* | 37 | Wartburg* | 21 | | | | | | |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 31 | | | | | Wisconsin–Whitewater* | 20 | | |
| Widener* | 36 | | | | | Linfield | 14 | | |
| Muhlenberg | 35 | Widener* | 37 | | | | | | |
| Delaware Valley* | 26 | Christopher Newport | 27 | | | | | | |
| Christopher Newport | 29 | | | Widener* | 7 | | | | |
| Linfield* | 55 | | | Linfield | 45 | | | | |
| Chapman | 24 | Linfield | 31 | | | | | | |
| Mary Hardin–Baylor* | 27 | Mary Hardin–Baylor* | 28 | | | | | | |
| Texas Lutheran | 20 | | | | | | | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 43 |
| Wesley* | 52 | | | | | | | Mount Union | 34 |
| Hampden–Sydney | 7 | Wesley* | 59 | | | | | | |
| Husson* | 20 | MIT | 0 | | | | | | |
| MIT | 27* | | | Wesley* | 41 | | | | |
| Johns Hopkins* | 24 | | | Hobart | 13 | | | | |
| Rowan | 16 | Johns Hopkins | 21 | | | | | | |
| Hobart* | 22 | Hobart* | 24 | | | | | | |
| Ithaca | 15 | | | | | Wesley | 21 | | |
| Wheaton (IL)* | 43 | | | | | Mount Union* | 70 | | |
| Benedictine (IL) | 14 | Wheaton (IL)* | 12 | | | | | | |
| John Carroll* | 63 | John Carroll | 14 | | | | | | |
| Centre | 28 | | | John Carroll | 28 | | | | |
| Wittenberg* | 25 | | | Mount Union* | 36 | | | | |
| Washington & Jefferson | 41 | Washington & Jefferson | 0 | | | | | | |
| Mount Union* | 63 | Mount Union* | 67 | | | | | | |
| Adrian | 3 | | | | | | | | |
* Home team † Overtime Winner