2001 NCAA Division III football season

The 2001 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2001, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2001 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their sixth, and second consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Bridgewater (VA) Eagles, 30−27.

2001 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 2001
Playoffs	November – December 2001
National championship	Salem Football Stadium Salem, VA
Champion	Mount Union (6)
Gagliardi Trophy	Chuck Moore (RB), Mount Union
NCAA Division III football seasons

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Chuck Moore, running back from Mount Union.

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

School	2000 Conference	2001 Conference
Christopher Newport	New program	Dixie

Program changes

• After Salisbury State University shortened its name to Salisbury University in 2001, the Salisbury State Sea Gulls became the Salisbury Sea Gulls at the start of the 2001 season.

Conference standings

2001 American Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Hardin–Simmons $^   8 – 0     8 – 2   Mary Hardin–Baylor ^   7 – 1     8 – 2   Howard Payne   7 – 2     8 – 2   Mississippi College   6 – 3     7 – 3   East Texas Baptist   4 – 5     5 – 5   Austin   3 – 5     3 – 6   Louisiana College   3 – 6     4 – 6   Sul Ross   3 – 6     3 – 7   Texas Lutheran   2 – 7     2 – 8   McMurry   0 – 8     0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Atlantic Central Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Wesley $   3 – 0     7 – 3   Frostburg State   2 – 1     4 – 5   Salisbury   1 – 2     4 – 6   Apprentice §   0 – 3     2 – 7   $ – Conference champion § – Not an NCAA member	2001 Centennial Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Western Maryland +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   Muhlenberg +   5 – 1     7 – 4   Johns Hopkins   4 – 2     6 – 3   Ursinus   3 – 3     6 – 4   Dickinson   3 – 3     5 – 5   Gettysburg   1 – 5     4 – 6   Franklin & Marshall   0 – 6     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Augustana (IL) +^   6 – 1     10 – 2   Illinois Wesleyan +   6 – 1     7 – 2   Millikin   5 – 2     8 – 2   Wheaton (IL)   5 – 2     6 – 4   Carthage   3 – 4     6 – 4   North Central (IL)   2 – 5     3 – 7   Elmhurst   1 – 6     2 – 8   North Park   0 – 7     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Dixie Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Ferrum +   5 – 1     6 – 4   Christopher Newport +^   5 – 1     5 – 5   Greensboro   3 – 3     5 – 5   Methodist   3 – 3     5 – 5   Shenandoah   3 – 3     5 – 5   Chowan   2 – 4     2 – 7   Averett   0 – 6     1 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Freedom Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Western Connecticut +^   5 – 1     8 – 2   Plymouth State +   5 – 1     7 – 3   Merchant Marine   3 – 3     4 – 5   Springfield (MA)   3 – 3     4 – 5   WPI   3 – 3     4 – 6   Norwich   1 – 5     4 – 6   Coast Guard   1 – 5     2 – 7   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Anderson (IN) +   5 – 1     8 – 2   Defiance +^   5 – 1     8 – 3   Bluffton   4 – 2     5 – 5   Hanover   4 – 2     5 – 5   Franklin (IN)   2 – 4     3 – 7   Manchester   1 – 5     2 – 8   Mount St. Joseph   0 – 6     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   MacMurray $^   7 – 0     9 – 2   Aurora   6 – 1     7 – 2   Concordia (WI)   4 – 3     6 – 4   Benedictine (IL)   4 – 3     4 – 6   Lakeland   3 – 4     4 – 6   Greenville   2 – 5     5 – 5   Concordia (IL)   1 – 6     1 – 9   Eureka   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Central (IA) $^   8 – 1     9 – 2   Wartburg   7 – 2     8 – 2   Cornell (IA)   6 – 3     7 – 3   Coe   6 – 3     6 – 4   Buena Vista   4 – 5     5 – 5   Loras   4 – 5     5 – 5   Simpson (IA)   4 – 5     4 – 6   Upper Iowa   3 – 6     3 – 7   Luther   2 – 7     3 – 7   Dubuque   1 – 8     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Albion $   5 – 0     8 – 2   Hope   4 – 1     7 – 2   Alma   3 – 2     6 – 4   Adrian   2 – 3     2 – 8   Kalamazoo   1 – 4     5 – 4   Olivet   0 – 5     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion	2001 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Widener $^   10 – 0     12 – 1   Lycoming   8 – 1     8 – 1   King's (PA)   7 – 2     7 – 3   Albright   5 – 4     6 – 4   Juniata   4 – 5     5 – 5   Susquehanna   4 – 5     4 – 6   Wilkes   4 – 5     4 – 6   Moravian   3 – 5     4 – 5   Delaware Valley   2 – 7     3 – 7   Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham   1 – 7     1 – 8   Lebanon Valley   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Ripon +   7 – 1     8 – 2   St. Norbert +^   8 – 1     9 – 1   Monmouth (IL)   6 – 2     8 – 2   Grinnell   5 – 3     5 – 5   Illinois College   4 – 4     6 – 4   Lake Forest   4 – 4     5 – 5   Beloit   2 – 6     3 – 7   Carroll (WI)   2 – 6     2 – 7   Knox   2 – 6     2 – 7   Lawrence   1 – 7     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bethel (MN) +^ 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Saint John's (MN) +^ 8 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 St. Olaf 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Concordia–Moorhead 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Augsburg 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Hamline 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Carleton 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Macalester 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Williams $   8 – 0     8 – 0   Amherst   7 – 1     7 – 1   Tufts   6 – 2     6 – 2   Colby   4 – 4     4 – 4   Middlebury   4 – 4     4 – 4   Trinity (CT)   4 – 4     4 – 4   Wesleyan   4 – 4     4 – 4   Bates   1 – 7     1 – 7   Bowdoin   1 – 7     1 – 7   Hamilton   1 – 7     1 – 7   $ – Conference champion	2001 New England Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Bogan Division Westfield State xy$^   6 – 0     10 – 1   Worcester State   5 – 1     10 – 1   Bridgewater State   3 – 3     5 – 4   Framingham State   2 – 4     2 – 7   Maine Maritime   2 – 4     2 – 7   Massachusetts Maritime   2 – 4     2 – 7   Fitchburg State   1 – 5     2 – 7   Boyd Division Nichols xy   5 – 0     6 – 4   Curry   4 – 1     9 – 2   UMass Dartmouth   3 – 2     6 – 4   Salve Regina   2 – 3     4 – 4   Western New England   1 – 4     3 – 5   MIT   0 – 5     1 – 8   Championship: Westfield State 12, Nichols 0 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Rowan +^   5 – 1     11 – 2   Montclair State +^   5 – 1     9 – 2   TCNJ   4 – 2     6 – 4   Cortland   3 – 3     5 – 5   William Paterson   2 – 4     3 – 7   Kean   1 – 5     2 – 7   New Jersey City   1 – 5     1 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Wittenberg $^   7 – 0     11 – 2   Ohio Wesleyan   6 – 1     9 – 1   Wabash   6 – 1     8 – 2   Allegheny   4 – 3     5 – 5   Earlham   3 – 4     4 – 6   Wooster   3 – 4     4 – 6   Denison   2 – 5     2 – 8   Oberlin   2 – 5     2 – 8   Hiram   1 – 6     3 – 7   Kenyon   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Linfield +   4 – 1     7 – 2   Whitworth +   4 – 1     7 – 2   Pacific Lutheran +^   4 – 1     8 – 3   Willamette   2 – 3     4 – 5   Lewis & Clark   1 – 4     3 – 6   Puget Sound   0 – 5     0 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2001 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mount Union $^   9 – 0     14 – 0   Ohio Northern   8 – 1     8 – 2   Capital   6 – 3     7 – 3   John Carroll   6 – 3     7 – 3   Baldwin–Wallace   5 – 4     5 – 5   Wilmington (OH)   4 – 5     5 – 5   Otterbein   3 – 6     4 – 6   Muskingum   2 – 7     3 – 7   Marietta   1 – 8     2 – 8   Heidelberg   1 – 8     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Bridgewater $^   6 – 0     12 – 1   Emory & Henry   3 – 3     5 – 5   Hampden–Sydney   3 – 3     5 – 5   Washington and Lee   3 – 3     5 – 5   Guilford   3 – 3     4 – 6   Randolph–Macon   2 – 4     4 – 6   Catholic University   1 – 5     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Washington & Jefferson $^   4 – 0     11 – 1   Bethany (WV)   2 – 2     6 – 3   Waynesburg   2 – 2     3 – 7   Grove City   1 – 3     2 – 8   Thiel   1 – 3     2 – 8   Westminster (PA) *   0 – 0     4 – 5   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * Completing reclassification from NCAA Division II—games did not count in conference standings.
2001 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Occidental $   5 – 0     8 – 1   Cal Lutheran   3 – 2     6 – 3   Redlands   3 – 2     5 – 3   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   2 – 3     5 – 3   Whittier   2 – 3     2 – 7   La Verne   0 – 5     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion	2001 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Trinity (TX) $^   6 – 0     9 – 2   Centre   5 – 1     9 – 1   DePauw   4 – 2     5 – 5   Millsaps   3 – 3     6 – 4   Sewanee   2 – 4     5 – 5   Rhodes   1 – 5     5 – 5   Rose–Hulman   0 – 6     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   RPI $   4 – 0     8 – 1   Union (NY)   3 – 1     9 – 2   Hobart   2 – 2     6 – 3   Rochester (NY)   1 – 3     3 – 7   St. Lawrence   0 – 4     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion
2001 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Wisconsin–Eau Claire +   5 – 2     8 – 2   Wisconsin–Stevens Point +^   5 – 2     8 – 3   Wisconsin–Stout   4 – 3     6 – 3   Wisconsin–River Falls   4 – 3     4 – 5   Wisconsin–La Crosse   3 – 4     4 – 6   Wisconsin–Platteville   3 – 4     4 – 6   Wisconsin–Whitewater   2 – 5     5 – 5   Wisconsin–Oshkosh   2 – 5     3 – 6   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	2001 NCAA Division III independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Thomas More ^   –     11 – 1   Ithaca ^   –     11 – 2   Brockport ^   –     9 – 2   Menlo   –     8 – 2   Hartwick   –     7 – 4   Rockford   –     5 – 4   Alfred   –     4 – 5   Martin Luther   –     4 – 5   Wisconsin Lutheran   –     4 – 5   Chapman   –     3 – 6   Colorado College   –     3 – 6   Maranatha Baptist   –     3 – 6   Principia   –     2 – 4   St. John Fisher   –     3 – 7   Pomona-Pitzer   –     2 – 6   Maryville (TN)   –     2 – 8   Westminster (MO)   –     2 – 8   Buffalo State   –     1 – 8   Mount Ida   –     1 – 8   Utica   –     0 – 8   Blackburn   –     0 – 10   ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions

American Southwest Conference – Hardin–Simmons Atlantic Central Football Conference – Wesley Centennial Conference – Western Maryland and Muhlenberg College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) and Illinois Wesleyan Dixie Intercollegiate Football Conference – Christopher Newport and Ferrum Freedom Football Conference – Plymouth State and Western Connecticut State Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Anderson and Defiance Illini-Badger Football Conference – MacMurray Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Widener Midwest Conference – Ripon and St. Norbert Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Bethel (MN) and Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Westfield State (Bogan Division), Nichols (Boyd Division) Championship Game: Westfield State 12, Nichols 0 New England Small College Athletic Conference – Williams New Jersey Athletic Conference – Rowan North Coast Athletic Conference – Wittenberg Northwest Conference – Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitworth Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Bridgewater Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Occidental Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Washington–Saint Louis Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwestern–St. Paul Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – RPI Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Eau Claire and Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Postseason

The 2001 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 29th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the ninth time. This was the third bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.

Playoff bracket

	First Round Campus Sites					Second Round Campus Sites					Quarterfinals Campus Sites					Semifinals Campus Sites					National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia
						Mount Union		32
	Augustana (IL)		54			Augustana (IL)		7
	Defiance		14								Mount Union		49
	Wittenberg		38*								Wittenberg		21
	Hardin–Simmons		35			Wittenberg		41
	Thomas More		34			Thomas More		0
	MacMurray		30													Mount Union		35
																Saint John's (MN)		14
						Central (IA)		21
	Pacific Lutheran		27*			Pacific Lutheran		27*
	Whitworth		26								Pacific Lutheran		6
	Saint John's (MN)		27								Saint John's (MN)		31
	St. Norbert		20			Saint John's (MN)		9
	UW–Stevens Point		37			UW–Stevens Point		7
	Bethel (MN)		27																		Mount Union		30
																					Bridgewater (VA)		27
						RPI		10
	Ithaca		35			Ithaca		27
	Montclair State		23								Ithaca		0
	Rowan		40								Rowan		48
	Brockport		17			Rowan		43
	West. Conn. State		8			West. Conn. State		14
	Westfield State		7													Rowan		24
																Bridgewater (VA)		29
						Bridgewater (VA)		41
	Trinity (TX)		30			Trinity (TX)		37
	Mary Hardin–Baylor		6								Bridgewater (VA)		57
	Widener		56								Widener		32
	Christopher Newport		7			Widener		46
	Wash. & Jefferson		24			Wash. & Jefferson		30
	Western Maryland		21

* Overtime

See also

• 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 2001 NCAA Division II football season