Nine berths will be reserved for true independents qualify for automatic qualification. Four berths will be and those teams that are members of conferences that do not provided for those teams remaining from automatic qualifying conferences that do not win their automatic berth. Four competition brackets will be formed according to geographic proximity with seven teams in each bracket. The highest seeded team in each bracket will receive a first round bye. Teams will be paired utilizing seeding and according to geographic policy.
Geographic proximity takes precedence over seeding.
All four preliminary rounds will be played on campus or at an alternate site approved by the Division III Football Committee. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship game, will be played December 18 in Salem, Virginia. The football committee will select teams based on conference results and competition within an institution's respective evaluation region. Results against teams already in the tournament. A team may have an excellent winning percentage, but the strength of schedule and results against teams already in the tournament must also be examined.