The North Central (IL) Cardinals won the 2024 NCAA DIII football championship, beating Mount Union 41-25 for the program's second national title in the last three years. The win serves as redemption for the Cardinals, who lost last year's title game to Cortland, and is the program's third-ever national championship.
Here's everything you need to know for the 2024 NCAA DIII football championship that features 40 teams battling it out in a single-elimination bracket.
The 40-team championship bracket was revealed on Sunday, Nov. 17. Twenty-eight teams earned automatic qualification, while the remaining teams were selected at large by the DIII Football Committee. The tournament began with the first round on Saturday, Nov. 23.
2024 NCAA DIII football tournament bracket
Click or tap here for the 2024 interactive bracket
2024 NCAA DIII football tournament schedule
All games listed in Eastern Time
First round: Saturday, Nov. 23
- Endicott 44, Alfred State 0
- Maryville (TN) 20, Berry 16
- King's (PA) 32, Ursinus 29
- John Carroll 52, Mt. St. Joseph 7
- Wisconsin-La Crosse 59, Northwestern-St. Paul 14
- Bethel (MN) 31, Coe 26
- Mary Hardin-Baylor 29, Trinity (TX) 22
- Whitworth 21, Pomona-Pitzer 13
Second round: Saturday, Nov. 30
- Mount Union 42, John Carroll 7
- Salisbury 33, King's (PA) 13
- Hope 49, Aurora 21
- Susquehanna 42, Hobart 35
- DePauw 45, Maryville (TN) 20
- Randolph-Macon 38, Washington & Jefferson 22
- Johns Hopkins 17, Grove City 14
- Springfield 54, UMass Dartmouth 27
- Carnegie Mellon 24, Centre 15
- Bethel (MN) 48, Lake Forest 21
- Saint John's (MN) 24, Wisconsin-La Crosse 13
- North Central (IL) 42, Whitworth 17
- Mary Hardin-Baylor 17, Hardin-Simmons 13
- Cortland 17, Endicot 9
- Wartburg 19, Wisconsin-Platteville 14
- Linfield 65, Texas Lutheran 3
Third round: Saturday, Dec. 7
- Springfield 48, Cortland 28
- Johns Hopkins 14, DePauw 9
- Salisbury 35, Randolph-Macon 14
- Mount Union 24, Carnegie Mellon 19
- Bethel (MN) 24, Wartburg 14
- North Central (IL) 41, Hope 21
- Susquehanna 41, Saint John's (MN) 38
- Mary Hardin-Baylor 28, Linfield 18
Quarterfinals: Saturday, Dec. 14
- Susquehanna 24, Bethel (MN) 21
- Johns Hopkins 17, Mary Hardin-Baylor 10
- Mount Union 38, Salisbury 17
- North Central (IL) 27, Springfield 3
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 21
National championship: Sunday, Jan. 5
NCAA DIII football championship history
Cortland won its first-ever national title last season, defeating North Central (IL), 38-37, and stopping the Cardinals from winning back-to-back championships for the first time in school history. No program has won two straight titles since Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013 and 2014. Here's every DIII football champion, runner-up and score from the past decade:
| Year | Champion | Coach | Score | Runner-Up | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | North Central (IL) | Brad Spencer | 41-25 | Mount Union | Houston, TX |
| 2023 | Cortland | Curt Fitzpatrick | 38-37 | North Central (IL) | Salem, Virginia |
| 2022 | North Central (IL) | Brad Spencer | 28-21 | Mount Union | Annapolis, Maryland |
| 2021 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Pete Fredenburg | 57-24 | North Central (IL) | Canton, Ohio |
| 2020 | Canceled due to Covid-19 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | North Central (IL) | Jeff Thorne | 41-14 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | Shenandoah, Texas |
| 2018 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Pete Fredenburg | 24-16 | Mount Union | Shenandoah, Texas |
| 2017 | Mount Union | Vince Kehres | 12-0 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Salem, Va. |
| 2016 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Pete Fredenburg | 10-7 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | Salem, Va. |
| 2015 | Mount Union | Vince Kehres | 49-35 | St. Thomas (Minn.) | Salem, Va. |
| 2014 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | Lance Leipold | 43-34 | Mount Union | Salem, Va. |
