The Division II Management Council this week supported a recommendation to expand the Division II Football Championship bracket from 28 to 32 teams, starting with the 2025 championship. The recommendation needs final approval from the Division II Executive Board, which meets Tuesday.
This recommendation stemmed from two key actions at the 2025 NCAA Convention. First, the Division II Executive Board approved new exceptions to the triennial budget process that allow bracket changes when championship policies change. Second, Division II members voted to make football an automatic qualification sport, replacing the earned-access model.
According to Division II championship policy, bracket expansion must be considered when automatic qualifiers make up more than 50% of the field. With 16 conferences eligible for automatic qualification in 2025, 57% of the current 28-team bracket would be composed of automatic qualifiers. To accommodate this shift, the bracket would need to expand to 32 teams. There will be no change to the championship date formula. However, the four No. 1 seeds will no longer receive byes under this new format.
“This move toward expansion reflects our commitment to fairness and opportunity across Division II football,” said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Management Council. “As the division adds automatic qualification in football for the first time this fall, it’s essential that our championship structure evolves to match that growth. Most importantly, this change gives more student-athletes the chance to compete for a national title and be part of the championship experience they’ve worked so hard to reach.”
Women’s flag football
The Management Council also sponsored a 2026 NCAA Convention proposal to add flag football as an Emerging Sport for Women.
The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics, which oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, has recommended that each division sponsor legislation to add flag football. Once in the program, a sport must have a minimum of 40 schools sponsoring the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participant requirements (as reflected in the NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Database) to be considered for championship status.
Flag football has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. At least 65 NCAA schools are sponsoring women’s flag football at either the club or varsity level this year, with more slated to join in 2026. Flag football also has been added as a sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Eligibility Review Working Group
The council received an update on the work of the Division II Eligibility Review Working Group, a 25-member group composed of members of the Division II Academic Requirements Committee and Legislation Committee. The chairs of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Management Council and Executive Board also serve on the committee as ex officio, nonvoting members.
The review started with a focus on issues surrounding seasons of competition and period of eligibility. The group also reviewed feedback from the Division II governance structure and affiliated groups on areas that should be addressed due to the current landscape in intercollegiate athletics.
A Division II membership survey was sent this week to seek feedback on the initial concepts developed by the group. The group will use the survey results to make final recommendations to the Management Council and Executive Board this summer.
Division II operating plan
As part of the development of the Division II operating plan, the Management Council reviewed the results of the Division II Membership Survey, which was last distributed in 2018. The survey was the final phase of information gathering to receive membership input before the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee begins drafting initiatives, timelines and funding priorities for final approval by the Management Council and Executive Board this fall.
Management Council members discussed whether consistent issues raised in the survey results should be added to the operating plan for continued focus by the division.
Other items:
- Football officiating: The council approved allowing officiating crews in the football championship to be made up of the same number of officials as their respective conferences use throughout the regular season.
- Cross country selections: The council approved changing the cross country selection criteria so that head-to-head competition has more weight when selecting at-large teams, effective for the 2025 championship. A head-to-head win now counts as a 1.5 win, whereas second-tier comparisons count as a 1.0 win.
- Third-party relationships: The council approved in concept a noncontroversial proposal to provide schools, conferences and the national office with more flexibility to enter into agreements with third-party organizations. If approved in legislative form in July, the proposal would be effective Aug. 1.
- Tryouts clarification/medical exam: The council approved in concept a noncontroversial proposal to clarify that a medical examination for currently enrolled students must be administered within six months before their participation in a tryout. If approved in legislative form in July, the proposal would be effective Aug. 1.
