2003 NCAA Division II football season

2003 NCAA Division II Football Championship
2003 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	16
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL;
Champion	Grand Valley State; (2nd title, title game);
Runner-up	North Dakota; (2nd title game);
Semifinalists	North Alabama; Texas A&M–Kingsville;
Winning coach	championship;

2003 NCAA Division II football season
2003 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	September 6 – November 15, 2003
Playoffs	November 22 – December 13, 2003
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL
Champion	Grand Valley State (2)
Harlon Hill Trophy	Will Hall, North Alabama
	← 2002; NCAA Division II football seasons; 2004 →;

The 2003 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on September 6, 2003, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 13, 2003 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Grand Valley State Lakers defeated the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 10–3, to win their second Division II national title.^[2]

The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Will Hall, quarterback from North Alabama.

Conference changes and new programs

Conference changes

School	2002 Conference	2003 Conference
Minnesota Morris	Northern Sun	UMAC (D-III)
Morningside	North Central	GPAC (NAIA)
North Greenville	NAIA Independent	Independent
Northern Colorado	North Central	Independent
Quincy	Independent	Mid-States (NAIA)
Shaw	Program Revived	CIAA
Tiffin	Mid-States (NAIA)	Independent

Conference standings

2003 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern
Virginia Union xy	5	–	2	6	–	5
Bowie State	5	–	2	6	–	4
Shaw	4	–	3	7	–	3
Virginia State	3	–	4	5	–	5
Elizabeth City State	2	–	5	2	–	8
Western
Fayetteville State # xy$	5	–	2	8	–	3
Winston-Salem State	5	–	2	7	–	3
Livingstone	3	–	4	3	–	7
North Carolina Central	2	–	5	4	–	6
Johnson C. Smith	1	–	6	1	–	9
St. Augustine's @	0	–	4	0	–	5
Championship: Fayetteville State 23, Virginia Union 19
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant # – Pioneer Bowl participant @ – St. Augustine's vacated 5 wins including 3 in conference play.

2003 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Saginaw Valley State $^	10	–	0	12	–	1
No. 4 Grand Valley State ^	9	–	1	14	–	1
Northwood	6	–	4	6	–	5
Ferris State	5	–	5	6	–	5
Findlay	5	–	5	6	–	5
Indianapolis	5	–	5	6	–	5
Michigan Tech	5	–	5	5	–	5
Mercyhurst	4	–	6	5	–	6
Hillsdale	4	–	6	4	–	7
Northern Michigan	3	–	7	3	–	8
Wayne State (MI)	2	–	8	3	–	8
Ashland	2	–	8	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2003 Great Northwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Western Washington $	3	–	0	4	–	6
Central Washington	2	–	1	6	–	4
Western Oregon	1	–	2	4	–	6
Humboldt State	0	–	3	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion First Humboldt State vs. Western Oregon game (Sept. 6) did not count as a conference game

2003 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 North Alabama $^	9	–	0	13	–	1
No. 5 Valdosta State ^	8	–	1	10	–	2
No. 12 Southern Arkansas ^	7	–	2	9	–	3
No. 14 Delta State	7	–	2	9	–	2
Ouachita Baptist	4	–	5	5	–	5
Arkansas Tech	4	–	5	5	–	6
Central Arkansas	3	–	6	5	–	6
Harding	3	–	6	4	–	6
Arkansas–Monticello	3	–	6	4	–	7
Henderson State	3	–	6	4	–	7
West Georgia	2	–	7	3	–	8
West Alabama	1	–	8	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2003 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 15 Central Missouri State +	7	–	2	9	–	2
No. 16 Emporia State +^	7	–	2	9	–	3
Missouri Western # +	7	–	2	9	–	3
No. 13 Pittsburg State +^	7	–	2	9	–	3
No. 25 NW Missouri State +	7	–	2	8	–	3
Truman	4	–	5	4	–	7
Washburn	3	–	6	5	–	6
Southwest Baptist	2	–	7	3	–	8
Missouri Southern	1	–	8	1	–	10
Missouri–Rolla	0	–	9	0	–	11

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Mineral Water Bowl participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2003 North Central Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 North Dakota $^	7	–	0	12	–	2
No. 23 North Dakota State	5	–	2	8	–	3
No. 24 Nebraska–Omaha	5	–	2	8	–	3
South Dakota State	4	–	3	7	–	4
St. Cloud State	4	–	3	7	–	4
South Dakota	2	–	5	5	–	6
Augustana (SD)	1	–	6	3	–	8
Minnesota State	0	–	7	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2003 Northeast-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 19 Bentley $^	9	–	0	10	–	1
C. W. Post	8	–	1	9	–	2
Southern Connecticut	7	–	2	9	–	2
Merrimack	6	–	3	6	–	3
American International	5	–	4	5	–	4
Bryant	3	–	6	3	–	7
Assumption	2	–	7	4	–	7
Saint Anselm	2	–	7	3	–	7
Pace	2	–	7	2	–	8
Stonehill	1	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2003 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Winona State +^	7	–	1	11	–	2
Concordia–St. Paul +	7	–	1	8	–	4
Minnesota Duluth	6	–	2	8	–	3
Northern State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Bemidji State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Minnesota State–Moorhead	2	–	6	3	–	8
Wayne State (NE)	2	–	6	3	–	8
Southwest Minnesota State	1	–	7	3	–	8
Minnesota–Crookston	1	–	7	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

2003 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
East Stroudsburg x	5	–	1	8	–	3
Bloomsburg x	5	–	1	7	–	4
West Chester	4	–	2	8	–	3
Mansfield	3	–	3	8	–	3
Kutztown	3	–	3	6	–	5
Millersville	1	–	5	4	–	7
Cheyney	0	–	6	2	–	9
West Division
No. 6 IUP x	5	–	1	10	–	1
No. 18 Edinboro x^	5	–	1	9	–	3
Shippensburg	4	–	2	8	–	3
California (PA)	2	–	4	6	–	4
Slippery Rock	2	–	4	4	–	7
Clarion	1	–	5	3	–	8
Lock Haven	1	–	5	3	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2003 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mesa State $^	8	–	0	10	–	2
Chadron State	6	–	2	8	–	2
Fort Hays State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Colorado Mines	4	–	4	6	–	5
Nebraska–Kearney	4	–	4	5	–	5
Western State (CO)	4	–	4	5	–	6
Adams State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Fort Lewis	2	–	6	3	–	8
New Mexico Highlands	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

2003 South Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Carson–Newman +^	6	–	1	11	–	2
No. 11 Catawba +	6	–	1	9	–	2
No. 17 Tusculum +	6	–	1	9	–	2
Mars Hill	3	–	4	7	–	4
Wingate	2	–	5	5	–	6
Presbyterian	2	–	5	4	–	6
Newberry	2	–	5	3	–	7
Lenoir–Rhyne	1	–	6	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA poll

2003 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Albany State # $	7	–	1	10	–	2
Miles	6	–	2	7	–	3
Kentucky State	6	–	2	7	–	4
Fort Valley State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Benedict	4	–	4	6	–	5
Tuskegee	4	–	4	5	–	6
Morehouse	3	–	5	4	–	7
Lane	1	–	7	2	–	9
Clark Atlanta	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion # – Pioneer Bowl participant

2003 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
West Virginia Wesleyan $	7	–	0	9	–	2
Glenville State	4	–	3	5	–	6
Shepherd	4	–	3	4	–	6
Fairmont State	3	–	4	4	–	6
West Liberty State	3	–	4	4	–	7
West Virginia State	3	–	4	3	–	8
Concord	2	–	5	3	–	8
West Virginia Tech	2	–	5	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion

2003 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
UC Davis		–		6	–	4
Quincy		–		5	–	6
Western New Mexico		–		3	–	7
Saint Joseph's (IN)		–		2	–	9
New Haven		–		1	–	9

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Fayetteville State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saginaw Valley State Great Northwest Athletic Conference – Western Washington Gulf South Conference – North Alabama Lone Star Conference – Texas A&M–Kingsville Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Central Missouri State, Emporia State, Missouri Western State, Northwest Missouri State, and Pittsburg State North Central Conference – North Dakota Northeast-10 Conference – Bentley Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Concordia–Saint Paul and Winona State Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg (East), Edinboro and Indiana (PA) (West) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Mesa State South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Tusculum Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – West Virginia Wesleyan

Postseason

The 2003 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 30th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II. This was the final year of the 16-team bracket before the field expanded to 24 teams in 2004.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites		Quarterfinals Campus sites		Semifinals Campus sites		Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL

North Dakota	24

Pittsburg State	14
		North Dakota	36

		Winona State	29
Winona State	10

Emporia State	3
				North Dakota	29

				North Alabama	22
North Alabama	48

Southern Arkansas	24
		North Alabama	41

		Carson–Newman	9
Carson–Newman	35

Valdosta State	29
						North Dakota	3

						Grand Valley State	10
Saginaw Valley State	33

Edinboro	9
		Saginaw Valley State	3

		Grand Valley State	10
Grand Valley State	65

Bentley	36
				Grand Valley State	31

				Texas A&M–Kingsville	3
Central Oklahoma	20

Mesa State	15
		Central Oklahoma	6

		Texas A&M–Kingsville	49
Texas A&M–Kingsville	34

Tarleton State	10

References

^ "2000-2004 Grand Valley State Schedules". College Football Warehouse. cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^ "2003 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

[1] "2000-2004 Grand Valley State Schedules". College Football Warehouse. cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

[2] "2003 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

[1]

[2]

v t e NCAA football seasons
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