INDIANAPOLIS -- Before Michigan took the floor to face Gonzaga in the title game of the Players Era Championship back in November, Elliot Cadeau made a comment to his teammates.
"We're the best team ever assembled," Cadeau said at the time.
Michigan proceeded to go out and beat Gonzaga by 40.
From that point on, the Wolverines were the most dominant team in the country -- and they ended Monday the same way they looked all the way back on Thanksgiving Eve: as the best team in college basketball.
PHOENIX – The No. 1-seed UCLA women's basketball team defeated No. 1-seed South Carolina, 79-51, to win its first-ever NCAA Championship on Sunday afternoon before a capacity crowd at Mortgage Matchup Center.
INDIANAPOLIS — Gannon men’s basketball reached a low-point in 2022-23. Its three wins were its fewest since the late 1940s and it had not won a PSAC Tournament game since 2017-18, which was also the last time it qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Three years, 92 wins and a couple PSAC tournament titles later, the Gannon Golden Knights are NCAA Division-II national champions for the first time in program history.
INDIANAPOLIS — Mary Washington's first Division III championship came in dramatic fashion. Mary Washington took down Emory, which was also in search of its first national championship 75-73 in the waning seconds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Using their stout defense, Freed-Hardeman University’s Lions held off the Langston Lions to bring home the Maude Naismith Trophy and the Big Red Banner for the second time in three years as 2026 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Champions.
Over the course of Monday's FCS national championship game, Montana State coughed up a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, blocked an Illinois State field goal to help send the game to overtime, gave up the lead in overtime and still found a way to win.
CANTON, Ohio -- Kaleb Blaha threw a touchdown pass and added two second-half rushing TDs to help Wisconsin-River Falls beat defending national champion North Central 24-14 on Sunday night at Hall of Fame Stadium to win the first Division III title in program history.
Make it four.
Ferris State had explosive starts to both halves on offense and went on to wallop Harding, 42-21, to win the Division II national championship Saturday at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas. It was the fourth national championship in five years for Ferris State.
The Iowa Western football team secured the fourth NJCAA national championship in program history Wednesday night, besting reigning champion Hutchinson, 28-10.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Top-seeded Grand View (Iowa) had the last say in a back-and-forth affair, defeating No. 2 Keiser (Fla.) 22-16 to win the 70th Annual NAIA Football National Championship Saturday (Dec. 20) at Crowley ISD Multipurpose Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas,.
The victory secured the Vikings’ second consecutive football national championship and third overall, having previously claimed the red banner in 2013 and 2024.
The scoring started out slow as neither offense could generate much in the first quarter. However, Keiser (12-1) cracked the scoring column first with a Dorian Hall 27-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the opening frame.
Grand View (14-0) countered with a pair of field goals in the second quarter. Cory Wood connected on kicks from 45 and 41 yards, with the latter coming with 3:08 to go in the half. The Vikings extended their lead to 13-3 when Dalten Van Pelt broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds to go in the second.
Keiser wasted no time in answering, scoring on the opening drive of the second half. Facing fourth and 2 at the 7-yard line, Shea Spencer hooked up with Maurico Porcha for score, cutting Grand View’s lead to 13-10 with 10:19 left in the third. Hall added his second field goal of the day, a 36-yarder, to tie the game at 13-all with 4:26 to go in the third.
Grand View reclaimed the lead with 10:08 remaining in the game when a scrambling Jackson Waring found an open Corey Phillips for a 40-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was no good, leaving the score at 19-13.
Wood tacked on a 32-yard field goal with 2:05 left to give the Vikings a 22-13 advantage.
With two seconds remaining, Hall added a 37-yard field to make the final 22-16. Keiser kept things interesting recovering the onside kick at the Grand View 44 with one second half. Spencer heaved a Hail Mary, but Triston Wilson knocked the ball down to secure the win and national championship for Grand View.
Following the game, Van Pelt was named the Offensive Player of the Game, with teammate Jackson Filer earned Defensive Player of the Game honors. Van Pelt finished with 144 yards rushing and one score on 19 carries. Filer only had three tackles, but all went for a loss of 10 yards as he created havoc in the Keiser backfield.
Waring threw for 144 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-21 passing, connecting with seven different receivers.
For Keiser, Spencer finished with 290 yards on 28-of-50 passing. Porcha and Dallas Desouza each had nine receptions with Porcha covering 114 yards and Desouza 102.
ST. LOUIS, MO. –– Finally, the long-awaited dream is reality.
After a magical, historic and unforgettable season, one that saw a slew of program firsts and plenty more top-shelf accolades, Western Michigan hockey ensured its final act was even more extraordinary.
On Saturday night, in a scene some 52 years in the making, the No. 1-ranked Broncos (34-7-1) showed they belonged on the national stage –– soaring to their first-ever national championship by dominating Boston University, 6-2, and capping the program’s best season ever with the sport’s ultimate prize.
The Broncos are the champions of college hockey.
“I’m feeling a little bit of everything, so many emotions,” WMU graduate forward Tim Washe said postgame in an ESPN interview. “Winning the last game of the year is everything you dream of.”
Sophomore forward Owen Michaels, WMU’s star of the Frozen Four, laced the decisive fourth and sixth goals of game –– capping an incredible four-goal Frozen Four.
Leading 3-2 entering the third period, WMU hit the jets with a three-goal flurry –– all kickstarted and finished off by Michaels, with a Iiro Hakkarainen goal sandwiched in between.
Michaels’ second tally was an empty-netter with just over two minutes left in regulation.
“That was just a ton of emotions but that goal was not about me one bit,” said Michaels, who leaped into the Bronco bench upon scoring his second goal of the game. “It was about this team and this group doing something this program’s never done before. I just wanted to be with the guys.”
WMU’s six goals are the most goals scored by a team in the NCAA championship game since 2014. The Broncos were ready for Saturday –– they believed the moment was theirs.
And they left no doubt.
“It means everything, it means the program is on the map and that the program is moving forward to the future,” Western Michigan fourth-year head coach Pat Ferschweiler told ESPN in a postgame interview.
With the win, WMU wins its first national title since 1965, when the men’s cross country team won back-to-back titles (1964 and 1965). The Broncos also become the sixth Michigan college hockey program to win it all.
With everything on the line, both teams played like it. The pace, the intensity and the electricity was full-bore.
Western Michigan took little time asserting itself on the grand stage. In fact, the Broncos’ very first shot found netting.
Iiro Hakkarainen flipped a shot toward BU’s goal near the blueline, and Wyatt Schingoethe was there to deflect the shot on frame –– the puck fluttered into the net for an early 1-0 advantage just over a minute and a half into the game.
That setup a frantic first period.
Boston got its equalizer later in the period, as a loose puck in front of Hampton Slukynsky’s net was never froze, allowing Cole Eiserman to poke it free and into the back of the net.
Western Michigan would continue to play fast and jumped back in front thanks to a well-executed transition opportunity. On a 3-on-2, Alex Bump’s initial shot created chaos in front of the net and Cole Crusberg-Roseen was there to blast the rebound home from inside the left circle for a 2-1 advantage.
It was Crusberg-Roseen’s third goal of the season –– a testament to the Broncos’ depth, which has come in handy during their tournament run.
“It’s a huge advantage and we’ve had depth all year in scoring,” Ferschweiler said. “I think we’ve been No. 1 or 2 in scoring in the country and that’s for a reason. We’re not carried by just one guy. Alex Bump is our superstar but we have a lot of good supporting players and they came up in some of the most important moments of the game. We believe in them and they believe in themselves.”
Things only picked up from there, and with momentum on their side, the Broncos capitalized minutes into the second period –– all on another man advantage.
A 2-on-1 allowed Cam Knuble space to operate, putting a puck in front of BU goalie Mikhail Yegorov –– which was rebounded and slotted home by Ty Henricks for a commanding 3-1 Bronco lead.
It was the freshman’s sixth goal of the year.
BU would continue to fight, however, and after a Bronco penalty on WMU’s Brian Kramer, the Terriers would be rewarded. A clean BU face off win paved the way for Shane Lachance to clean up a loose puck in Slukynsky’s crease, poking in a goal that pulled the Terriers within 3-2.
Play would continue to amplified in the closing minutes of the second period, as both teams earned power play opportunities but neither found a goal out of it. Hakkarainen took a nasty hit from BU’s Aiden Celebrini near the end of the period and was helped off by his teammates.
Then, Owen Michaels sealed the glory.
On yet another man advantage, the sophomore ripped a wicked wrister from the circle that zipped by Yegorov for a two-goal lead –– the starter to a three-goal period and the exclamation point to a fairytale night.
“I just love the guys that I play with,” Michaels said. “Nothing better than going to the rink each and every day and seeing these guys. This game and this week wasn’t about Owen Michaels, it was about the Western Michigan Broncos doing something this program has never done.”
Boston University (24-14-2) nearly tied the game on a scramble for a loose puck moments prior to Michaels’ first goal, but Slukynsky stopped the initial shot –– while his teammate, Joona Vaisanen laid out in front of the crease to stop the puck from going in.
BU coach Jay Pandolfo challenge the call –– but the officials confirmed the call on the ice.
That turned out to be the game-swinging moment of Saturday.
With the goals pouring in during the final back end of the third period, WMU’s fans at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis could sense the moment –– and so could its fans back home, too.
For the first time in 60 years, the Broncos have a national title to bring back to Kalamazoo.
“To be the first Western Michigan Broncos to win it all, it’s special,” Michaels said.
Florida took down Houston 65-63 in a thriller, preventing the Cougars from getting a shot off in the closing seconds and denying Houston its first-ever title.
This is the Gators' third championship and their first since going back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.
Houston (35-5) led 42-30 early in the second half after holding a 31-28 lead coming out of the break. But as the Gators have done all tournament, Todd Golden's squad hung around, responding with a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to just 45-42.
The Gator's 12-point rally ties the third-largest comeback in national championship history. The largest came in 2022 when Kansas erased a 16-point deficit against North Carolina.
The teams were not separated by more than three points over the final 8:31 of game time. Florida took its first lead since 15:37 in the first half with 46 seconds remaining. In total, the Gators lead for only 64 seconds compared to Houston's 30:44 in front.
The teams were tied 12 times, but the championship only featured three lead changes.
After just four total fouls in the first 20 minutes, Houston tallied 16 in the second half and Florida had nine. Fifteen of the Gator's 37 second-half points came at the line, including their final five points.
Houston had five turnovers entering the final two minutes, but the Cougars coughed the ball up four times over the final 2:05 — a pivotal swing that turned the game in Florida's favor. Meanwhile, Florida turned it over nine times in the first half, but the Gators protected the rock in the second, only committing four all half.
Walter Clayton Jr. was awarded Most Outstanding Player after dropping 34 in the Final Four against Auburn and 11 points and seven assists against Houston. Will Richard provided a huge spark in the first half with 14 points, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
Houston's L.J. Cryer paced the game with 19 points on 6-18 shooting. He was the only Cougar in double digits.
Florida's two-point win is the smallest margin of victory in a men's title game since Duke held off Butler, 61-59, in 2010.
TAMPA, Fla. -- It has been a nine-year wait for UConn to get its 12th national championship. But in a lot of ways, it came at exactly the right time.
The No. 2-seeded Huskies finished their run through three No. 1 seeds, culminating in an 82-59 victory over South Carolina in the NCAA final on Sunday to claim a title that perhaps means a little more because of the journey the program and senior star Paige Bueckers has been on to get it.
After winning four championships in a row from 2013 to 2016 behind superstar Breanna Stewart, the Huskies hit a series of roadblocks with tough losses and injury heartbreaks.
But Sunday, the Huskies moved to the top of the women's basketball world again, sending Bueckers -- who is expected to be the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick on April 14 -- out with her first national championship.
A tearful Bueckers buried her face in coach Geno Auriemma's shoulder as they hugged on the sideline when she exited the game with just over a minute left, mission at last accomplished.
With guards Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, healthy at the same time, and the top freshman in the nation in forward Sarah Strong, UConn looked like so many of its championship teams of old. Not just the best team, but the team that also played the best.
Fudd and Strong both finished with 24 points, and Bueckers had 17. Freshman Joyce Edwards and sophomore Tessa Johnson led South Carolina with 10 points each as the Gamecocks fell short of repeating as national champions and finished 35-4.
UConn now has 12 wins in the Final Four by 20 or more points. All other teams in Division I women's history have 11 combined.
Bueckers was asked before Sunday's game how she would like to be remembered at UConn.
"As a great teammate, a great leader. I think those are the two most important things to me, just being somebody that people love to play with, make their teammates better, wears a UConn jersey with pride," she said.
Now, she also will be remembered as a national champion. Admittedly, there were points in her career where it didn't seem that would happen. UConn's disappointments go back, in fact, to the end of their 111-game winning streak at the Final Four in Dallas in 2017. The Huskies were defeated on a buzzer-beater in overtime in the national semifinals by Mississippi State.
Then in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024, the Huskies also lost in the national semifinals. They fell in the 2022 national championship game to South Carolina, and missed the 2023 Final Four -- the only time since an Elite Eight loss in 2007 that the Huskies have not made the season's final weekend. Bueckers missed the 2022-23 season with a knee injury.
With Fudd out last season, the Huskies went down to the wire with Iowa in the national semifinals, but lost 71-69. That set up a lot of pressure on Bueckers and the Huskies to make their dreams come true this year.
UConn wasn't perfect this season, as has been the case with six former UConn championship teams. But after an 80-76 loss at Tennessee on Feb. 6, the Huskies didn't lose another game. They won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, then dominated their way through the NCAA tournament (including wins over 1-seeds USC, UCLA and South Carolina) to finish 37-3.
Sunday, the Huskies took a 19-14 lead after a first quarter that featured a very fast pace and some intense defense inside from UConn. The Huskies set the tone by shooting 52.9% from the field in the opening period, while holding the Gamecocks to 40%. Unlike UCLA in its semifinal loss to UConn, South Carolina was working the ball into the spots it wanted, but didn't finish well.
Strong's emphatic block of a Raven Johnson layup attempt at the 9:04 mark of the second quarter sent a message, as did her play throughout her first postseason.
Strong set a record for points by a freshman in a single NCAA tournament with 114, passing Tennessee's Tamika Catchings, who had 111 in 1998. That year, incidentally, Strong's mother, Allison Feaster, led Harvard as a No. 16 seed past No. 1 Stanford in the NCAA tournament. Feaster went on to a 10-season career in the WNBA, where her daughter will be headed in a few years.
Strong is also the first player (regardless of class) to have at least 100 points, 25 assists and 10 blocks in a single NCAA tournament since blocks became an official stat in 1988.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley predicted on Saturday that over the next few years, Strong might end up as the best Huskies player of all. Which is saying a ton considering UConn boasts former players such as Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash and two of the most recent Naismith Hall of Fame inductees, Maya Moore and Sue Bird, who were honored at Sunday's game.
UConn, which entered Sunday averaging 8.7 3-pointers per game, had just one in the first half, but that one shot -- by Ashlynn Shade from the left corner with nine seconds left -- gave the Huskies some momentum going into halftime up 36-26.
The Huskies continued to control the game throughout the second half. UConn is now 91-2 when leading by double digits at halftime in the NCAA tournament. The two losses were the 2001 national semifinal (up 12 at the half), when it lost to eventual champion Notre Dame, and in the 1989 first round (up 10) against La Salle.
Auriemma was coaching in his first NCAA tournament in 1989, in his fourth season at UConn. The Huskies have now appeared in 36 NCAA tournaments and 24 Final Fours. Auriemma, who turned 71 in March, is the first coach to win a championship at age 70 or older in Division I women's or men's basketball.
He joked before the game that he thought about quitting multiple times during the season the past few years, but then would go to practice and always be drawn back in.
"I think there's a lot of people counting on me to keep doing what I'm doing at UConn -- all my team, all my staff," Auriemma said. "I think they're counting on me to keep going and keep impacting and keep doing what we do."
EVANSVILLE, IN. - Redemption. One year after falling at the buzzer in the NCAA Division II National Championship game, the second-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Men's Basketball team has reached the top of the NCAA Division II men's basketball world, as the Sharks won the program's second national championship, defeating Cal. State Dominguez Hills 74-73 on Saturday evening in the Ford Center.
MJ Iraldi led NSU in the effort, scoring a team-high 27 points and earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
Head Coach Jim Crutchfield has guided NSU to the program's second NCAA Division II National Championship, the 15th national title for the Nova Southeastern Athletics Department. The Sharks tied the program record for wins in a season (36), have the most wins in NCAA Men's Basketball, and closed the season on a 23-game winning streak.
First Half - Ryker Cisarik netted the first four points of the game for the Sharks, as NSU was able to take a quick lead over the Toros. A 9-0 run, which featured points from Dallas Graziani and MJ Iraldi, gave the Sharks a 13-5 lead less than five minutes into the game. Midway through the half, CSUDH was able to eliminate the NSU advantage, tying the game at 20-20. The Toros continued to hold on to an advantage for the remainder of the half, sending the Sharks into the break trailing 42-38.
Despite shooting just 16% from beyond the arc in the first half, the Sharks trailed the Toros by only four points. Tyler Eberhart led all NSU scorers in the opening 20 minutes, totaling 11 points while shooting 5-8 from the field.
Second Half - Eberhart knocked down a three-pointer, following a steal from Graziani, giving NSU some early momentum in the second half. The Sharks and Toros continued to match each other bucket for bucket, before Cisarik finished an and-one opportunity to tie the game 50-50 with 15:29 left in the game. The Sharks seized a bit of momentum, following the Cisarik and-one, rallying for a 10-2 run and taking a 60-52 lead. CSUDH All-American Jeremy Dent-Smith scored six consecutive points for the Toros, tying the game once again at 62-62. Both All-Americans - MJ Iraldi for NSU - in the title game matched each other down the stretch, but the Toros led 71-68 with less than two minutes remaining. Dent-Smith fouled out, sending Cisarik to the free throw line and the forward knocked down both to bring NSU within one. CSUDH missed a go-ahead three-pointer, as Ryan Davis came down with the defensive rebound, before Graziani hit a pair of clutch free throws to give NSU a 72-71 lead with less than 40 seconds left in the game. The Toros reclaimed the lead moments later, but after drawing a foul, Iraldi knocked down a pair of clutch free throws to give NSU a 74-73 lead.
With the opposing team possessing the ball in the final moments once again, the Sharks defense clamped down and forced a pair of missed opportunities; the final horn sounded and for the second time in three seasons, and second time in program history, head coach Jim Crutchfield's Nova Southeastern Sharks won the NCAA Division II national championship.
No. 2 Nova Southeastern has finished their season as NCAA Division II National Champions for the second time in program history. NSU Athletics thanks you for your support throughout the season.
MJ Iraldi: 27 points, 8-16 FG, 10-12 FT, nine rebounds
Tyler Eberhart: 14 points, 6-11 FG, six rebounds
Dallas Graziani: 13 points, nine assists
Ryker Cisarik: nine points
Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 36-1 | No. 14 CSUDH 30-6
Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 74 | No. 14 CSUDH 73
Location: Ford Center | Evansville, IN.
Get Social: Instagram & X - NSU_MBasketball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The fourth-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team claimed the program's first ever NCAA Division III National Championship with a 64-60 victory over top-ranked New York University, in the Title Game Saturday afternoon at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Trailing 60-59 with ten seconds to play, Will Dorion missed a three-point attempt, but Trevor McDonald battled for the offensive rebound and was off on the putback, but Drew Lazarre grabbed another offensive board and found Henry Vetter at the top of the key, who buried a game-winning three-pointer to help send the Bantams to the 64-60 victory.
Trinity had four scorers in double figures, led by Jarrel Okorougo with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Vetter netted 14 points with five rebounds, while Dorion and Drew Lazarre added 10 points apiece. Lazarre grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season.
NYU was paced by Hampton Sanders with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench. Zay Freeney tallied 14 points and Tristan How recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Bantams grabbed an early 7-4 lead behind five points from Dorion, but the Violets used an 8-4 featuring five points from Sanders to put NYU ahead 12-11 with 10:39 on the clock. The Violets pushed their lead to 25-18, but a pair of buckets from Okorougo and Lazarre trimmed the game to 25-22 at the 3:44 mark. The Violets took a 30-27 lead into halftime.
The Bantams came out of the break rolling, using a 10-3 run, paced by four-point efforts from Okorougo and Lazarre, to harness a 37-33 lead at the 15:19 mark of the second half. Knotted at 48-48 with 6:39 to play, the Violets rattled off a 7-2 run over the next three minutes to regain a 55-50 advantage. A quick triple from Vetter and a pair of free throws from Dorion closed the gap to 57-55 with 2:49 on the clock.
The Bantams edged the Violets on the glass, 40-32, and controlled the paint, 32-26, while the NYU bench outscored the Trinity reserves, 21-8. The Bantams connected on 25-of-66 (37.9%) from the field, 5-of-26 (19.2%) from three-point, and 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the foul line. The Violets shot 22-of-52 (42.3%) from the floor, including 7-of-21 (33.3%) from three-point, and 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the foul line.
With the win, the Bantams matched the program record for wins in a season (30), tying the mark set last season during the Bantams run to the Final Four. Trinity held NYU to their lowest point total of the season (60). Henry Vetter was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Jarrel Okorougo and Drew Lazarre earned All-Tournament Team honors.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Samaje Morgan poured in a game-high 28 points for College of Idaho and Dougie Peoples added 21, as the Yotes claimed the 2025 NAIA Men’s Basketball Red Banner, leading for more than 38 minutes and never trailing, topping Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 93-65, at Municipal Auditorium in Downtown Kansas City.
Morgan and Peoples were two of the four who reached double figures for the Yotes, who also had 12 points from Johnny Radford, and 10 from Tyler Robinett. Oklahoma Wesleyan ended its season at 28-8, getting a pair of 15-point outings out of Jaden Lietzke and Nick Bene.
College of Idaho (35-2) built an early 11-4 lead when Radford tripled at the 16:56 mark in the first half, but OKWU was able to edge at the lead and get back within one, 18-17, on an Ethan Williams basket in the lane at 13:07.
Over the next seven plus, it was all Yotes, who used an 18-3 run to break the game open and go in front 36-22, on a 3-pointer by Robinett with 7:27 in the opening 20.
Back-to-back OKWU baskets, by Lietzke and Isaac Stanek, got the Eagles back within 11, but C of I scored on its next two possessions, going up 41-25, on the way to a 49-29 lead at intermission.
Morgan had nine of his 28 in the first half, and the Yotes shot 56.5 percent, including 64.3 percent from outside the arc on nine made 3-pointers.
C of I didn’t slow down to begin the second half, up 58-35 at the under-15 timeout, and OKWU didn’t get closer than 16 the rest of the way, as C of I ended the game shooting 55.7 percent, holding Oklahoma Wesleyan to 37.1 percent from the floor.
After the game, the 2025 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship All-Tournament Team and individual awards were announced.
Charles S. Stevenson Hustle Award: Yashi McKenzie, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Chuck Taylor Memorial MVP Award: Samaje Morgan, College of Idaho
Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award: Arizona Christian
All Tournament Team:
Peyton Law, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Jordan Stephens, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Ese Onakpoma, Arizona Christian
Jalik Dunkley, Arizona Christian
Derek Talton, Jr., Oklahoma Wesleyan
Jaden Litezke, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Johnny Radford, College of Idaho
Samaje Morgan, College of Idaho
Tyler Robinett, College of Idaho
Drew Wyman, College of Idaho
North Dakota State took down undefeated Montana State, 35-32, in the FCS national championship. This is the Bison’s 10th title since 2011 and their first since 2021.
NDSU led 21-3 at the half, holding the high-powered Bobcat offense to a little over 100 yards in the first 30 minutes. However, Walter Payton Award-winning quarterback, Tommy Mellot, pulled Montana State back within three by the end of the third quarter with a handful of explosive plays.
A 66-yard, five-minute drive sealed the game for the Bison late in the fourth, giving the ball back to the Bobcats with under three minutes to play down 10. Mellot found Taco Dowler on 4th and 2 to cut the lead to three with a little over a minute to play, but MSU did not recover the ensuing onside kick, sealing the game.
Standout wide receiver Bryce Lance powered the NDSU offense, hauling in nine catches for a career-high 108 yards, including a remarkable 39-yard catch that set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Bison quarterback Cam Miller played a remarkably clean game, connecting on 19 of 22 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Miller has now won his second FCS championship after leading NDSU to a title in 2021, also over Montana State.
The North Dakota State defense held the Bobcats over 100 yards under their 301-yard rushing total per game, as MSU finished with 199 on the ground.
The Bison are once again on top of the FCS, spoiling Montana State’s perfect season and bringing yet another title back to Fargo, North Dakota.
HOUSTON -- Luke Lehnen accounted for five touchdowns Sunday night and North Central beat Mount Union 41-25 to win its third Division III national championship.
The Cardinals (15-0) appeared in their fifth consecutive Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
Lehnen threw two of his four touchdown passes to Jacob Paradee and has 162 in his career, tied with John Matocha (D-II Colorado School of Mines, 2019 to 2023) for college football's all-divisions record.
Mount Union's Tyler Echeverry ran 29 yards untouched to open the scoring -- the first time North Central has trailed this season.
Lehnen, who went 57-2 over his college career, threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Myles Walton to make it 7-7 with 4:35 left in the first quarter. It gave Lehnen 159 career TD passes, breaking Braxton Plunk's (Mount Union, 2019 to 2023) D-III record.
After the Purple Raiders failed to convert on fourth down deep in North Central territory, Lehnen scored on a 16-yard run about seven minutes into the second quarter to make it 14-7 and the Cardinals led the rest of the way.
Mount Union (14-1) made trips into the red zone on four consecutive possessions but scored just once, a 30-yard field goal by Ivan Maric with 3:57 remaining in the first half.
The Purple Raiders (75) and North Central (47) have won a combined 122 consecutive regular-season games.
Mount Union has won 13 D-III championships in 23 title-game appearances, both of which are records. North Central -- which captured its first title in 2019, the first championship-game berth in program history -- beat the Purple Raiders 28-21 in the 2022 title game.
Echeverry, who had 68 yards rushing and a touchdown on eight carries in the first quarter, finished with 20 carries for 83 yards.
Ferris State joined an elite group of NCAA Division II football dynasties on Saturday, blasting Valdosta State, 49-14, for its third national championship in four seasons.
Trinidad Chambliss signaled the rout early with a nimble 43-yard run on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage, then finished with 153 yards and three touchdowns passing and 78 yards (on 13 carries) and two touchdowns rushing as Ferris State hoisted the NCAA trophy at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas, for the third time, following back-to-back titles in 2021-22.
Tony Annese’s group is just the fifth program (since Division II began in 1973) with at least three titles in four seasons, following Northwest Missouri State (2013, ’15, ’16), Grand Valley State (2002, ’03, ’05, ’06), North Alabama (1993, ’94, ’95) and North Dakota State (1983, ’85, ’86, ’88).
Trophy time for Ferris State
The 2024 title comes after Ferris State lost its season opener, 19-3, to Pittsburg (Kan.) State. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 14 straight games, knocking off Division II's only remaining unbeaten team to get there.
Following chants from his players of “All day!” Annese received the trophy amid a sea of red and yellow confetti.
“This team just keeps on working," Annese said during the trophy presentation ceremony shown online by ESPN. "They’re definitely a team that knows what it takes to be great and pursue greatness every day. We lost our first game, we just kept on pursuing greatness and, at the end, this is what happens.”
Chambliss finished 11-for-20 passing, and his five total TDs gave him 51 on the season — 26 passing, 25 rushing.
"He’s such a great young man, so it’s awesome to coach him," Annese said. "I’m really tough on him. He said after he came off, the last thing was, ‘Man, love you coach, but you’re tough on me.’ So I, uh, expect perfection — he’s never gonna be perfect, but he’s close to it.”
During the trophy presentation, Chambliss shared credit with his teammates.
“Man, this team’s special, man," the Grand Rapids native said. "Ever since summer workouts, in August, and they doubted us. Vs. Pitt State — after Pitt State, everyone doubted us, and this team’s so special, I couldn’t be more proud of ’em.”
Chambliss shared the rushing load Saturday with Kannon Katzer. The former Washington State back rushed 14 times for 97 yards and added a touchdown catch for 30 yards.
“I got trust in these guys, they got trust in me," Chambliss said. "You know, this is the best team in the nation for a reason, they just work so hard in the offseason — any workout, they were there, man, so we just work hard and we’re a great team, so I’m just so proud.”
Plenty of misdirection early
Chambliss, who finished third in voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy (D-II’s version of the Heisman Trophy), ignited the Ferris State attack with a 43-yard run up the left sideline after faking a pass to the far right side. The Bulldogs used the threat of the pass frequently to set up the run and had few issues moving the ball on the ground in the first quarter, racking up 86 yards on 10 runs in their first 11 plays.
Then, with a little under four minutes left in the first quarter, Ferris flipped the script. After a pair of RPO handoffs to sprinting slot receiver Emari O’Brien picked up 15 yards, the Bulldogs used their third play of the drive on another wide receiver run, as Chambliss handed off to wideout Brady Rose. Except this time, the former high school quarterback (at Muskegon Mona Shores) ran to the right side, planted his feet and lofted a deep ball that Cam Underwood was able to run underneath and rumble into the end zone for a 61-yard score.
On Ferris’ next drive, the Bulldogs again used the run to set up the pass, as an apparent option run by Chambliss to the left became a short lob pass to running back Kannon Katzer — the lead blocker on the play — for a 30-yard TD to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead with 12:39 left in the first half.Costly penalties
After the Bulldogs grabbed their early lead, the Blazers regrouped with a pair of stops, sandwiched around a touchdown drive aided by an offsides call on Ferris State defensive lineman Deron Irving-Bey (formerly of Michigan and Central Michigan) on fourth-and-1.
Valdosta State returned the favor on the final drive of the first half, extending the Bulldogs’ run with an offsides wiping out a punt and then a facemask grab for 15 yards on an apparent third-down stop. Four plays later, on fourth-and-5 with 15 seconds left, Chambliss found O’Brien uncovered on the left side on a crossing route, and the Detroit native went 30 yards untouched to the end zone as time expired, for a 28-7 Ferris lead.
Familiar faces
Saturday’s victory was also Ferris’ second title win against Valdosta State, with the Bulldogs topping the Blazers, 58-17, in the 2021 title game. That followed a 49-47 Valdosta win (featuring a failed 2-point conversion by Ferris State late) in the 2018 championship.
Ferris State has won nine straight postseason games with Annese on the sidelines. The Bulldogs' only NCAA playoff loss in the past four seasons came last year, a first-round defeat at the hands of rival Grand Valley State in which Annese was suspended by the NCAA for the Bulldogs' cigar-smoking celebration following their 2022 title game win over Colorado School of Mines in McKinney.
Contact Ryan Ford atrford@freepress.com. Follow him on X at@theford or on Bluesky at @theford.bsky.social .