Current season, competition or edition: 2024 NCAA Division II football season | |
 | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| First season | 1973 |
| No. of teams | 28 |
| Country | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Harding (2023) |
| Most titles | Northwest Missouri State (6 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPNU |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Related competitions | Division III |
| Official website | ncaa.com/football/d2 |
The NCAA Division II football championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, and 28 teams in 2016.
The national championship game has been held in eight different cities. Former sites include Sacramento, California (1973–1975); Wichita Falls, Texas (1976–1977); Longview, Texas (1978); Albuquerque, New Mexico (1979–1980); McAllen, Texas (1981–1985); Florence, Alabama (1986–2013); and Kansas City, Kansas (2014–2017).[1] From 1973 through 1985 (with the exception of 1978) the championship game carried a bowl designation (see NCAA Division II bowl games).
Since 2018, the championship game has been played at the McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas.[2] Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on ESPN.
- ^ "Kansas City to host 14 NCAA championships". Sporting Kansas City. December 11, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA seeks new D2 football title game host because Sporting KC will renovate field". KansasCity.com. Kansas City Star. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.