| Year Game Played: | 2016 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division II Football Championship |
| Visitor Name Short: | North Alabama |
| Visitor Nickname: | Lions |
| Home Nickname: | Bearcats |
| Visitor School: | University of North Alabama |
| Home Name Short: | Northwest Missouri State |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Home School: | Northwest Missouri State University |
| Visitor Record: | 11–1 |
| Home Record: | 14–0 |
| Visitor Conference: | Gulf South |
| Home Conference: | MIAA |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 15 |
| Visitor Coach: | Bobby Wallace |
| Home Coach: | Adam Dorrel |
| Visitor Seed: | 3 |
| Home Seed: | 1 |
| Date Game Played: | December 17 |
| Stadium: | Children's Mercy Park |
| City: | Kansas City, Kansas |
| Referee: | Bob Rose |
| Attendance: | 9,576 |
| Us Network: | ESPN2 |
| Different Previous: | 2015 |
| Different Next: | 2017 |
The 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in NCAA Division II for the 2016 season. It was played at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on December 17, 2016,[1] with kickoff at 4:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. local CST), and television coverage on ESPN2.
The participants of the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2016 Division II Playoffs, which began with four 7-team brackets to determine super region champions, who then qualified for the national semifinals.[2] The game featured the winners of those national semifinal games: No. 3 seed North Alabama and No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State. This was the third meeting between the two teams; entering the game, Northwest Missouri State led the series 2–0.[3] This was the Bearcats' tenth championship game appearance, having won 5, while the Lions were making their fifth appearance, having won 3.[4] Additionally, the Bearcats entered the game as the defending national champions and were seeking to extend their streak to having won 3 of the last 4 national titles.
Super region champions were seeded 1 to 4 for the national semifinals.
| Statistics | UNA | NWMS |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 74–201 | 74–338 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–22 | 40–226 |
| Passing yards | 179 | 112 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–41–1 | 18–34–1 |
| Time of possession | 27:05 | 32:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Alabama | Passing | Jacob Tucker | 15/41, 179 yards, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Ray Beasley | 4 carries, 29 yards | |
| Receiving | Julius Jones | 4 receptions, 82 yards | |
| Northwest Missouri State | Passing | Kyle Zimmerman | 13/26, 100 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Randy Schmidt | 14 carries, 96 yards | |
| Receiving | Jordan Grove | 6 receptions, 27 yards, 1 TD |