1998 NCAA Division III football season

1998 NCAA Division III football season
1998 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1998
Playoffs	November – December 1998
National; championship	Salem Football Stadium; Salem, VA
Champion	Mount Union (4)
Gagliardi Trophy	Scott Hvistendahl (WR, P), Augsburg

The 1998 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 1998, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1998 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their fourth, and third consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Rowan Profs, 44−24.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Scott Hvistendahl, wide receiver and punter from Augsburg.^[1]

Conference standings

1998 American Southwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Hardin–Simmons $	7	–	0	9	–	1
McMurry	6	–	1	8	–	2
Howard Payne	5	–	2	8	–	2
Austin	4	–	3	4	–	6
Mississippi College	2	–	5	4	–	6
Texas Lutheran	2	–	5	4	–	6
Mary Hardin–Baylor	2	–	5	3	–	7
Sul Ross	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1998 Atlantic Central Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wesley $	3	–	0	7	–	3
Methodist	3	–	1	7	–	3
Frostburg State	2	–	2	7	–	3
Chowan	2	–	3	5	–	5
Ferrum	2	–	3	6	–	4
Salisbury State	1	–	4	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion

1998 Centennial Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Western Maryland $^	7	–	0	10	–	2
Dickinson	5	–	2	8	–	3
Johns Hopkins	5	–	2	7	–	3
Franklin & Marshall	4	–	3	4	–	6
Muhlenberg	3	–	4	5	–	5
Gettysburg	2	–	5	3	–	7
Ursinus	2	–	5	3	–	7
Swarthmore	0	–	7	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Millikin $^	6	–	1	8	–	2
Augustana (IL)	5	–	2	7	–	2
Illinois Wesleyan	5	–	2	7	–	2
Wheaton (IL)	5	–	2	6	–	3
Carthage	4	–	3	5	–	4
Elmhurst	1	–	6	3	–	6
North Central (IL)	1	–	6	3	–	6
North Park	1	–	6	2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Freedom Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Springfield (MA) $^	6	–	0	9	–	2
Plymouth State	4	–	2	7	–	4
Merchant Marine	4	–	2	6	–	3
Western Connecticut	3	–	3	5	–	5
WPI	3	–	3	4	–	5
Norwich	1	–	5	5	–	6
Coast Guard	0	–	6	1	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wabash $	7	–	0	9	–	1
Hanover	6	–	1	9	–	1
Franklin (IN)	4	–	3	6	–	4
Bluffton	4	–	3	5	–	5
Wilmington (OH)	3	–	4	4	–	6
Manchester	2	–	5	2	–	8
Mount St. Joseph	2	–	5	2	–	8
Anderson (IN)	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion

1998 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Aurora $	7	–	0	7	–	3
MacMurray	6	–	1	9	–	1
Concordia (WI)	5	–	2	7	–	3
Lakeland	4	–	3	7	–	3
Benedictine (IL)	3	–	4	3	–	7
Eureka	2	–	5	4	–	6
Greenville	1	–	6	2	–	8
Concordia (IL)	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1998 Iowa Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Central (IA) $^	10	–	0	10	–	1
Wartburg	9	–	1	9	–	1
Buena Vista	7	–	3	7	–	3
Simpson (IA)	7	–	3	7	–	3
Coe	5	–	5	5	–	5
Upper Iowa	5	–	5	5	–	5
Cornell (IA)	4	–	6	4	–	6
Loras	4	–	6	4	–	6
Luther	3	–	7	3	–	7
William Penn	1	–	9	1	–	9
Dubuque	0	–	10	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Albion $^	6	–	0	8	–	2
Hope	4	–	2	5	–	4
Adrian	3	–	3	5	–	4
Alma	3	–	3	5	–	4
Olivet	2	–	4	5	–	4
Kalamazoo	2	–	4	4	–	5
Defiance	1	–	5	3	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Commonwealth
Widener x	4	–	1	8	–	2
Susquehanna x	4	–	1	6	–	3
Juniata	3	–	2	5	–	5
Albright	2	–	3	4	–	6
Moravian	2	–	3	3	–	7
Lebanon Valley	0	–	5	1	–	9
Freedom
Lycoming x^	4	–	0	10	–	1
Wilkes	3	–	1	5	–	4
King's (PA)	2	–	2	3	–	7
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham	1	–	3	2	–	8
Delaware Valley	0	–	4	3	–	7

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Midwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Grinnell $	9	–	0	10	–	0
Beloit	7	–	2	7	–	3
Ripon	7	–	2	7	–	3
Knox	6	–	3	6	–	4
St. Norbert	5	–	4	5	–	5
Lake Forest	4	–	5	4	–	6
Carroll (WI)	3	–	6	4	–	6
Lawrence	2	–	7	2	–	8
Monmouth (IL)	2	–	7	2	–	8
Illinois College	0	–	9	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion

1998 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint John's (MN) $^	9	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Bethel (MN)	7	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	7	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Augsburg	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Concordia–Moorhead	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Hamline	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
St. Olaf	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Carleton	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Macalester	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 New England Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Blue Division
Salve Regina x	6	–	0	10	–	1
UMass Dartmouth	5	–	1	8	–	2
Curry	4	–	2	6	–	4
Western New England	3	–	3	5	–	4
Nichols	2	–	4	5	–	5
MIT	1	–	5	1	–	8
UMass–Boston	0	–	6	0	–	10
Red Division
Bridgewater State x	5	–	1	7	–	3
Maine Maritime x	5	–	1	5	–	5
Massachusetts Maritime	4	–	2	6	–	4
Worcester State	3	–	3	4	–	6
Westfield State	2	–	4	5	–	5
Fitchburg State	2	–	4	3	–	7
Framingham State	0	–	6	2	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions

1998 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Williams	8	–	0	8	–	0
Tufts	7	–	1	7	–	1
Wesleyan	6	–	2	6	–	2
Amherst	5	–	3	5	–	3
Bowdoin	5	–	3	5	–	3
Middlebury	3	–	5	3	–	5
Trinity (CT)	2	–	6	2	–	6
Colby	2	–	6	2	–	6
Bates	1	–	7	1	–	7
Hamilton	1	–	7	1	–	7

No conference champion recognized

1998 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
TCNJ $^	5	–	0	8	–	3
Rowan ^	4	–	1	10	–	3
Montclair State	3	–	2	8	–	3
New Jersey City	2	–	3	6	–	4
Kean	1	–	4	1	–	9
William Paterson	0	–	5	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wittenberg $^	8	–	0	11	–	1
Allegheny	6	–	1	8	–	2
Wooster	6	–	2	8	–	2
Case Western Reserve	4	–	2	5	–	5
Ohio Wesleyan	4	–	4	6	–	4
Kenyon	2	–	5	4	–	6
Denison	2	–	6	3	–	7
Earlham	2	–	6	2	–	8
Oberlin	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Northwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Pacific Lutheran $^	5	–	0	8	–	2
Linfield	4	–	1	7	–	2
Willamette	3	–	2	7	–	3
Whitworth	2	–	3	5	–	5
Puget Sound	1	–	4	2	–	8
Lewis & Clark	0	–	5	1	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mount Union $^	9	–	0	14	–	0
Baldwin–Wallace	8	–	1	8	–	2
John Carroll	7	–	2	8	–	2
Ohio Northern	6	–	3	7	–	3
Marietta	5	–	4	6	–	4
Muskingum	4	–	5	5	–	5
Otterbein	3	–	6	4	–	6
Heidelberg	2	–	7	2	–	8
Hiram	1	–	8	2	–	8
Capital	0	–	9	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Emory & Henry $	5	–	0	10	–	0
Randolph–Macon	4	–	1	7	–	3
Guilford	3	–	2	4	–	6
Hampden–Sydney	2	–	3	3	–	7
Washington and Lee	1	–	4	4	–	6
Bridgewater	0	–	5	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Washington & Jefferson +	3	–	1	5	–	4
Waynesburg +	3	–	1	5	–	4
Grove City +	3	–	1	5	–	5
Bethany (WV)	1	–	3	2	–	8
Thiel	0	–	4	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions

1998 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Whittier $		5	–	0			7	–	2
Redlands		4	–	1			7	–	2
Cal Lutheran		2	–	3			5	–	4
La Verne		2	–	3			4	–	5
Claremont-Mudd		1	–	4			2	–	7
Occidental		1	–	4			1	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1998 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Trinity (TX) $^	6	–	0	12	–	1
DePauw	5	–	1	7	–	3
Rhodes	4	–	2	5	–	5
Centre	3	–	3	3	–	7
Rose–Hulman	2	–	4	3	–	7
Sewanee	1	–	5	2	–	7
Millsaps	0	–	6	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
MacMurray $	4	–	0	9	–	1
Westminster (MO)	3	–	1	9	–	1
Blackburn	2	–	2	4	–	5
Greenville	1	–	3	2	–	8
Principia	0	–	4	0	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1998 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
RPI +	3	–	1	7	–	2
Hobart +	3	–	1	6	–	3
Union (NY)	2	–	2	6	–	3
Rochester (NY)	1	–	3	1	–	8
St. Lawrence	1	–	3	1	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions

1998 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Wisconsin–Stevens Point +	5	–	2	7	–	2
Wisconsin–Whitewater +	5	–	2	7	–	2
Wisconsin–Eau Claire +^	5	–	2	10	–	3
Wisconsin–River Falls +	5	–	2	7	–	3
Wisconsin–La Crosse	4	–	3	4	–	5
Wisconsin–Stout	3	–	4	5	–	5
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	2	–	6	4	–	6
Wisconsin–Platteville	0	–	7	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1998 NCAA Division III independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Catholic University ^		–		10	–	1
Ithaca		–		9	–	2
Hartwick		–		9	–	2
Buffalo State ^		–		9	–	3
Pomona-Pitzer		–		6	–	2
Maranatha Baptist		–		6	–	4
Alfred		–		5	–	4
Maryville (TN)		–		4	–	6
Cortland		–		4	–	6
Brockport		–		3	–	6
Colorado College		–		3	–	6
Thomas More		–		3	–	7
Chapman		–		2	–	7
St. John Fisher		–		2	–	7
Menlo		–		2	–	8

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions
American Southwest Conference – Hardin–Simmons Centennial Conference – Western Maryland College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Millikin Freedom Football Conference – Springfield Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Wabash Illini-Badger Football Conference – Aurora Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Lycoming Midwest Conference – Grinnell Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Salve Regina (Blue Division), Bridgewater State (Red Division) New Jersey Athletic Conference – TCNJ North Coast Athletic Conference – Wittenberg Northwest Conference – Pacific Lutheran Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry Presidents' Athletic Conference – Grove City, Washington & Jefferson, and Waynesburg Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Whittier Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Chicago Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Maranatha Baptist, Martin Luther, and Mount Senario Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – RPI Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Eau Claire, Wisconsin–River Falls, Wisconsin–Stevens Point, and Wisconsin–Whitewater

Postseason

The 1998 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 26th 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 second time. As of 2014, Salem has remained the yearly host of the Stagg Bowl. This was the final bracket to feature sixteen teams before expanding to 28 teams in 1999.^[2]

Playoff bracket

Regionals Campus Sites		Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia

Mount Union	21

Albion	19
		Mount Union	21

		Wittenberg	19
Wittenberg	13

Millikin	10
				Mount Union	34

				Trinity (TX)	29
Lycoming	49

Catholic University	14
		Lycoming	21

		Trinity (TX)	37
Trinity (TX)	30

Western Maryland	20
						Mount Union	44

						Rowan	24
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	28

Central (IA)	21
		Wisconsin–Eau Claire	10

		Saint John's (MN)	3
Saint John's (MN)	33

Pacific Lutheran	20
				Wisconsin–Eau Claire	19

				Rowan	22
Buffalo State	38

Springfield	35
		Buffalo State	17

		Rowan	19
Rowan	26

TCNJ	2

Final NCAA Regional Poll

East Region

Team	Record
1. Springfield(Mass.)	9–0
2. Ithaca	8–1
3. New Jersey	7–2
4. Rowan	6–2
5. Buffalo State	7–2
6. Montclair State	7–2

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Hartwick, Hobart, Rensselaer Polytechnic, and Salve Regina.

South Region

Team	Record
1. Lycoming	9–0
2. Trinity(TX)	9–0
3. Western Maryland	9–0
4. Catholic	9–0
5. Emory and Henry	9–0
6. Hardin-Simmons	8–1

Others receiving votes: McMurry, Pomona-Pitzer, Westminster, and Widener.

North Region

Team	Record
1. Mt. Union	9–0
2. Wittenberg	9–0
3. Wabash	9–0
4. Baldwin-Wallace	8–1
5. Albion	8–1
6. Millikin	7–1

Others receiving votes: Allegheny, Hanover, John Carroll, and MacMurray.

West Region

Team	Record
1. Central(IA)	9–0
2. St. John's	9–0
3. Pacific Lutheran	7–1
4. Wisconsin-Eau Claire	7–2
5. Gustavus Adolphus	8–1
6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point	6–2

Others receiving votes: Grinnell, Linfield, Wartburg, and Wisconsin-Whitewater.^[3]

*This was the final time the NCAA conducted a regional poll for Division III, starting with the 1999 season, American Football Coaches Association conducted a top 25 coaches poll.^[4]

Awards

Gagliardi Trophy: Scott Hvistendahl, Augsburg

AFCA Coach of the Year: Larry Kehres, Mount Union

AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: Region 1: Mike DeLong, Springfield Region 2: Frank Girardi, Lycoming Region 3: Steve Mohr, Trinity(TX) Region 4: Joe Fincham, Wittenberg Region 5: Rich Kacmarynski, Central(IA)^[5]

References

^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
^ "1998 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
^ "Football Polls". February 20, 1999. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
^ "- AFCA to Publish Division III Coaches' Poll in 1999". January 20, 2000. Archived from the original on January 20, 2000. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
^ "Past AFCA Regional Coaches of the Year". December 2, 2016. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2021.

[1] "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[2] "1998 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[3] "Football Polls". February 20, 1999. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved September 23, 2021.

[4] "- AFCA to Publish Division III Coaches' Poll in 1999". January 20, 2000. Archived from the original on January 20, 2000. Retrieved September 23, 2021.

[5] "Past AFCA Regional Coaches of the Year". December 2, 2016. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2021.

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