NCAA Division II Football Bowl Games | |
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In operation | 1997–present |
Number of teams | varies |
Most bowl appearances | Tuskegee (SIAC) 10, Missouri Western (MIAA) 9 |
Most bowl championships | Tuskegee (SIAC) 7, Missouri Western (MIAA) 6 |
NCAA Division II bowl games are American college football bowl games played annually among some of the highest-ranking NCAA Division II football teams not invited to participate in the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs. The games are officially recognized by the NCAA. They are held in December, and are most commonly scheduled on the first Saturday of the month, three weeks after the final games of the Division II football regular season.
Like the bowl games of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) that are not integrated into the College Football Playoff, Division II bowl games are purely "consolation" games, with conferences supplying teams to specific bowls by prior arrangement. Unlike Division I bowl games, they offer no financial "payout" to the participating schools, are typically played in small venues before small crowds, and must be sustained by the efforts of local sponsors and chambers of commerce. As a result, Division II bowl games have been fewer in number and mostly short-lived. Nine bowls have been contested since 1997, with at least one (and as many as four) being played in any given year. Teams from ten conferences (plus independents) have participated.