North Central Claims Their Third National Title

January 6, 2025

WACO, TEX.– North Central (Ill.) went wire to wire at No. 1 in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. Ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll way back on August 26, the Cardinals remained undefeated all season and finished with a 15-0 record after a dominating second half in the 51^st Stagg Bowl. North Central outscored No. 2 Mount Union (Ohio), 27-15 in the final two quarters to win their third NCAA Division III national championship, 41-25.

Johns Hopkins (Md.) rose 14 spots to finish the season at No. 3 thanks to their semifinal run in the playoffs. The other semifinal participant was Susquehanna (Pa.), who ends the 2024 season at No. 4. Salisbury (Md.) rounds out the top five after going 12-1 and making it to the quarterfinals. Springfield (Mass.) went from No. 20 to No. 6 after recording one of the best seasons in program history. The Pride won 12 games for the first time ever and became just the second team from New England to reach the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. Bethel (Minn.) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) also reached the quarterfinals and went from unranked to finishing at No. 10 and No. 11, respectively.

Search:

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Postseason	Head Coach
1	North Central (Ill.) (43)	15-0	1250	1	D. No. 3 Mount Union (Ohio), 41-25, in Stagg Bowl	Brad Spencer
2	Mount Union (Ohio)	14-1	1200	3	Lost to No. 1 North Central (Ill.), 41-25, in Stagg Bowl	Geoff Dartt
3	Johns Hopkins (Md.)	12-2	1120	17	Lost to No. 3 Mount Union (Ohio), 45-37, in semifinals	Dan Wodicka
4	Susquehanna (Pa.)	12-2	1054	6	Lost to No. 1 North Central (Ill.), 66-0, in semifinals	Tom Perkovich
5	Salisbury (Md.)	12-1	938	7	Lost to No. 3 Mount Union (Ohio), 38-17, in quarterfinals	Sherman Wood
6	Springfield (Mass.)	12-1	925	20	Lost to No. 1 North Central (Ill.), 27-3, in quarterfinals	Mike Cerasuolo
7	St. John’s (Minn.)	11-1	825	4	Lost to No. 6 Susquehanna (Pa.), 41-38, in third round	Gary Fasching
8	Cortland (N.Y.)	11-1	773	2	Lost to No. 20 Springfield (Mass.), 40-28, in third round	Curt Fitzpatrick
9	DePauw (Ind.)	11-1	766	8	Lost to No. 17 Johns Hopkins (Md.), 14-9, in third round	Brett Dietz
10	Bethel (Minn.)	11-3	764	NR	Lost to No. 6 Susquehanna (Pa.), 24-21, in quarterfinals	Mike McElroy
11	Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.)	8-4	731	NR	Lost to No. 17 Johns Hopkins (Md.), 17-10, in quarterfinals	Larry Harmon
12	Wartburg (Iowa)	10-2	654	10	Lost to Bethel (Minn.), 24-14, in third round	Chris Winter
13	Hope (Mich.)	11-1	634	14	Lost to No. 1 North Central (Ill.), 41-21, in third round	Peter Stuursma
14	Carnegie Mellon (Pa.)	10-2	632	15	Lost to No. 3 Mount Union (Ohio), 24-19, in third round	Ryan Larsen
15	Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)	10-1	614	5	Lost to Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.), 17-13, in second round	Jesse Burleson
16	Linfield (Ore.)	10-2	518	12	Lost to Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.), 28-18, in third round	Joseph Smith
17	Wisconsin-Platteville	9-2	447	9	Lost to No. 10 Wartburg (Iowa), 19-14, in second round	Ryan Munz
18	Randolph-Macon (Va.)	10-2	433	22	Lost to No. 7 Salisbury (Md.), 35-14, in third round	Pedro Arruza
19	Endicott (Mass.)	10-2	402	11	Lost to No. 2 Cortland (N.Y.), 17-9, in second round	Paul McGonagle
20	Grove City (Pa.)	9-2	364	16	Lost to No. 17 Johns Hopkins (Md.), 17-14, in second round	Andrew DiDonato
21	Wisconsin-La Crosse	8-4	236	19	Lost to No. 4 St. John’s (Minn.), 24-13, in second round	Matt Janus
22	Aurora (Ill.)	9-2	235	13	Lost to No. 14 Hope (Mich.), 49-21, in second round	Don Beebe
23	Whitworth (Wash.)	10-2	177	21	Lost to No. 1 North Central (Ill.), 42-17, in second round	Rod Sandberg
24	Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)	9-2	163	18	Lost to No. 22 Randolph-Macon (Va.), 38-22, in second round	Mike Sirianni
25	Coe (Iowa)	9-2	85	24	Lost to Bethel (Minn.), 31-26, in first round	Tyler Staker

Dropped Out: Lake Forest (Ill.) (23), Wisconsin-River Falls (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Hobart (N.Y.), 80; Lake Forest (Ill.), 49; John Carroll (Ohio), 42; Trinity (Tex.), 37; Wheaton (Ill.), 26; Wisconsin-River Falls, 24; King’s (Pa.), 15; Centre (Ky.), 11; Maryville (Tenn.), 10; Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 5; Texas Lutheran, 5; Ursinus (Pa.), 3; Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2; Alma (Mich.), 1.

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North Central Claims Their Third National Title

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