| Year: | 2016 |
| Championship: | Children's Mercy Park Kansas City, KS December 17, 2016 |
| Hill: | Justin Dvorak, Colorado Mines |
The 2016 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on September 1, 2016 and ended with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 17, 2016 at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Northwest Missouri State successfully defended its national title from the previous season (and won its sixth title overall) by defeating North Alabama, 29–3.[1] [2]
| School | Former conference | New conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-MAC | |||
| RMAC | |||
| G-MAC | |||
| G-MAC | |||
| Lone Star | |||
| RMAC | |||
| Dropped program | |||
| New program | Lone Star | ||
| New program | Gulf South | ||
| Lone Star |
Mississippi College completed their transition to Division II and became eligible for the postseason.
The 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Postseason involved 28 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football.
The tournament began on November 19, 2016 and concluded on December 17, 2016 with the 2016 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The top seven teams per super regional made up the field of 28 teams.[3]
Twelve first-round games were conducted on the campus of one of highest seed of that matchup. In addition, one team per super regional earned first-round byes. Second-round winners met in the quarterfinals at the campus site of the highest seed. Quarterfinal winners advanced to play in the semifinals on the campus of the highest seed. The championship took place at Children's Mercy Park.
The following teams were qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Tournament.
| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSAC | 6th | 2011 | |
| Mountain East | Fairmont State | 1st | Never |
| PSAC | Indiana (PA) | 17th | 2015 |
| Northeast-10 | LIU | 3rd | 2005 |
| CIAA | 2nd | 2013 | |
| Mountain East | Shepherd | 10th | 2015 |
| Northeast-10 | Assumption | 2nd | 2015 |
| MIAA | Northwest Missouri State | 21st | 2015 |
| MIAA | 4th | 2015 | |
| NSIC | Minnesota–Duluth | 10th | 2014 |
| NSIC | Sioux Falls | 3rd | 2015 |
| GNAC | Azusa Pacific | 1st | Never |
| Great American | 2nd | 2014 | |
| MIAA | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Gulf South | North Alabama | 21st | 2015 |
| Gulf South | Valdosta State | 15th | 2015 |
| Independent | UNC Pembroke | 3rd | 2013 |
| South Atlantic | Newberry | 4th | 2015 |
| SIAC | Tuskegee | 4th | 2015 |
| Gulf South | Florida Tech | 1st | Never |
| Independent | North Greenville | 2nd | 2011 |
| GLIAC | Grand Valley State | 18th | 2015 |
| Lone Star | 5th | 2015 | |
| RMAC | 5th | 2007 | |
| GLIAC | Ferris State | 8th | 2015 |
| Lone Star | Midwestern State | 7th | 2015 |
| Great Lakes Valley | Southwest Baptist | 1st | Never |
| RMAC | Colorado Mines | 4th | 2014 |
† Overtime
Teams that make it to the Final Four are re-seeded for the semifinal matches. The semifinal matchups are hosted by the team with the highest seed.
| Game | Date | Location | Winning team (record) | Losing team (record) | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Water Bowl | December 3 | Tiger Stadium Excelsior Springs, Missouri | Bemidji State 8–3 (8–3) | Washburn 7–4 (7–4) | 36–23 | Offensive: Jordan Hein (QB, Bemidji State) Defensive: Kameel Al-Khouri (DB, Bemidji State) |
| Live United Bowl | December 3 | Razorback Stadium Texarkana, Arkansas | Texas A&M–Kingsville 8–3 (6–3) | Southern Arkansas 9–2 (9–2) | 24–17 | Devonte Williams (SS, Texas A&M–Kingsville) |
| Heart of Texas Bowl | December 3 | Bulldawg Stadium Copperas Cove, Texas | Fort Hays State 7–4 (7–4) | Eastern New Mexico 7–4 (6–3) | 45–12 | Shaquille Cooper (RB, Fort Hays State) |
2016 NCAA Division II football teams with an average home attendance of at least 10,000:
| Team | Total attendance | Home average |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Valley St. | 100,388 | 12,549 |
| Tuskegee | 40,518 | 10,130 |