NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship is an annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III collegiate men's soccer in the United States.
 | |
| Founded | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 62 |
| Current champions | Tufts (4 titles) |
| Most successful club(s) | Messiah (11 titles) |
| Website | Website |
Messiah is the most successful team, with 11 titles. Tufts is the reigning champion, having won their fourth title in 2019.[1]
History
It has been held each year since 1974 when the Division III championship was established for universities that do not award athletics scholarships. Division III teams had previously competed as part of the NCAA College Division Men's Soccer Championship (now Division II). A total of 62 teams participate, making it the largest of the NCAA's men's soccer tournaments.
Traditionally, the tournament is held in November and December at the end of the regular season. The tournament finals were initially held on the campus of one of the teams participating in the semifinals. Since 2004, however, they have been held at the same pre-determined neutral site as the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship (added in 1986).
Selection format
Of the three NCAA divisions, Division III has the most complicated selection process. In 2012, the tournament was a 62-team, single-elimination tournament. Teams are divided into three pools. Pool A consists of the 36 conference champions, who all receive automatic bids to the tournament. Pool B consists of all teams which are not in conferences or which are in conferences that do not meet the requirements to be awarded an automatic bid. Four teams are selected from Pool B. Pool C consists of all the other teams, plus those Pool B teams not already selected. The remaining teams in the field are selected from Pool C. Two teams received first round byes, and the rest of the bracket was filled by geographical proximity. The early rounds of the championship were played at campus sites with the higher seeded team hosting the match. The semifinals and finals are played at a predetermined campus site. The 2012 Division III final rounds were held at Blossom Soccer Complex in San Antonio.[2]
Champions
| NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Finals Site (Host) |
Final Match | Third Place Match / Semifinalists | Finals Attendance | |||||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||||
| 1974 Details |
Wheaton, IL (Wheaton (IL)) |
Brockport State | 3–1 | Swarthmore | Westfield State | 3–1 | MacMurray | 100 | |||
| 1975 Details |
Brockport, NY (Brockport State) |
Babson | 1–0 | Brockport State | Ohio Wesleyan | 1–0 | Johns Hopkins | 1,700 | |||
| 1976 Details |
Elizabethtown, PA (Elizabethtown) |
Brandeis | 2–1 (2OT) |
Elizabethtown | 2–1 | MacMurray | 2,000 | ||||
| 1977 Details |
Wellesley, MA (Babson) |
Lock Haven | 1–0 | Cortland State | Babson | 1–0 | Wooster | 500 | |||
| 1978 Details |
Lock Haven (2) | 3–0 | Washington (MO) | Cortland State | 2–1 (OT) |
North Adams State | 800 | ||||
| 1979 Details |
Trenton, NJ (Trenton State) |
Babson (2) | 2–1 | Glassboro State | Washington (MO) | 2–1 | Lock Haven | 1,500 | |||
| 1980 Details |
Wellesley, MA (Babson) |
Babson (3) | 1–0 (OT) |
Scranton | Glassboro State | 1–0 | Washington (MO) | 3,000 | |||
| 1981 Details |
Elizabethtown, PA (Elizabethtown) |
Glassboro State | 2–1 (4OT) |
Brandeis | 4–2 | Ohio Wesleyan | 1,100 | ||||
| 1982 Details |
Greensboro, NC (UNC Greensboro) |
UNC Greensboro | 2–1 | Bethany (WV) | Cortland State and Scranton | 1,200 | |||||
| 1983 Details |
UNC Greensboro (2) | 3–2 | Claremont–Mudd–Scripps | Plymouth State and Scranton | 1,500 | ||||||
| 1984 Details |
Wheaton, IL (Wheaton) |
Wheaton (IL) | 2–1 (3OT) |
Brandeis | Kean and RIT | 3,000 | |||||
| 1985 Details |
St. Louis, MO (Washington) |
UNC Greensboro (3) | 5–2 | Washington (MO) | Fredonia State and Glassboro State | 2,688 | |||||
| 1986 Details |
Greensboro, NC (UNC Greensboro) |
UNC Greensboro (4) | 2–0 | UC San Diego | Fredonia State and Messiah | 2,100 | |||||
| 1987 Details |
UNC Greensboro (5) | 6–1 | Washington (MO) | Cal State San Bernardino and Salem State | 2,500 | ||||||
| 1988 Details |
Rochester, NY (RIT) |
UC San Diego | 3–0 | RIT | Messiah and Salem State | 1,207 | |||||
| 1989 Details |
Elizabethtown, PA (Elizabethtown) |
Elizabethtown | 2–0 | Greensboro | UC San Diego and RIT | 2,288 | |||||
| 1990 Details |
Delaware, OH (Ohio Wesleyan) |
Glassboro State | 1–1 (4OT, PK) |
Ohio Wesleyan | Salem State and Wheaton (IL) | 2,100 | |||||
| 1991 Details |
San Diego, CA (UC San Diego) |
UC San Diego (2) | 1–0 | Trenton State | Babson and Ohio Wesleyan | 1,550 | |||||
| 1992 Details |
Union, NJ (Kean) |
Kean | 3–1 | Ohio Wesleyan | Colorado College and RIT | 1,100 | |||||
| 1993 Details |
Williamstown, MA (Williams) |
UC San Diego (3) | 1–0 | Williams | Clarkson and Kenyon | 1,797 | |||||
| 1994 Details |
Trenton, NJ (Trenton State) |
Bethany (WV) | 1–0 (2OT) |
Johns Hopkins | Trenton State & Wisconsin–Oshkosh | 747 | |||||
| 1995 Details |
Williamstown, MA (Williams) |
Williams | 2–1 | Methodist | Chapman and Muhlenberg | 1,951 | |||||
| 1996 Details |
Gambier, OH (Kenyon) |
College of New Jersey | 2–1 (OT) |
Kenyon | Chicago and Ithaca | 1,124 | |||||
| 1997 Details |
Fredericksburg, VA (Mary Washington) |
Wheaton (IL) (2) | 3–0 | College of New Jersey | Amherst and Mary Washington | 540 | |||||
| 1998 Details |
Delaware, OH (Ohio Wesleyan) |
Ohio Wesleyan | 2–1 (OT) |
UNC Greensboro | Rowan and Williams | 1,357 | |||||
| 1999 Details |
Wheaton, IL (Wheaton) |
St. Lawrence | 2–0 | Wheaton (IL) | Alma and Richard Stockton | 2,398 | |||||
| 2000 Details |
Glassboro, NJ (Rowan) |
Messiah | 2–0 | Rowan | Linfield and Wisconsin–Oshkosh | 1,525 | |||||
| 2001 Details |
Grantham, PA (Messiah) |
Richard Stockton | 3–2 | Redlands | Messiah and Ohio Wesleyan | 2,644 | |||||
| 2002 Details |
Canton, NY (St. Lawrence) |
Messiah (2) | 1–0 | Otterbein | St. Lawrence and Trinity (TX) | 456 | |||||
| 2003 Details |
Madison, NJ (Drew) |
Trinity (TX) | 2–1 | Drew | Wheaton (MA) and Wisconsin–Oshkosh | 2,003 | |||||
| 2004 Details |
Greensboro, NC | Messiah (3) | 4–0 | UC Santa Cruz | Geneseo State and Salisbury | 801 | |||||
| 2005 Details |
Messiah (4) | 1–0 | Gustavus Adolphus | Plattsburgh State and Wheaton (IL) | 1,374 | ||||||
| 2006 Details |
Lake Buena Vista, FL | Messiah (5) | 3–0 | Wheaton (IL) | NYU and Ohio Wesleyan | 605 | |||||
| 2007 Details |
Middlebury | 0–0 (4–3 pen) |
Trinity (TX) | Loras and Messiah | 502 | ||||||
| 2008 Details |
Greensboro, NC | Messiah (6) | 1–1 (3–0 pen) |
Stevens Tech | Amherst and Loras | 877 | |||||
| 2009 Details |
San Antonio, TX | Messiah (7) | 2–0 | Calvin | Dominican (IL) and Williams | 706 | |||||
| 2010 Details |
Messiah (8) | 2–1 (OT) |
Lynchburg | Bowdoin and Wisconsin–Oshkosh | 854 | ||||||
| 2011 Details |
Ohio Wesleyan (2) | 2–1 | Calvin | Montclair State and Oneonta State | 579 | ||||||
| 2012 Details |
Messiah (9) | 5–1 | Ohio Northern | Loras and Williams | 605 | ||||||
| 2013 Details |
Messiah (10) | 2–1 (2OT) |
Rutgers–Camden | Loras and Williams | 639 | ||||||
| 2014 Details |
Kansas City, MO | Tufts | 4–2 | Wheaton (IL) | Ohio Wesleyan and SUNY Oneonta | 750 | |||||
| 2015 Details |
Amherst | 2–1 | Loras | Calvin and SUNY Oneonta | 864 | ||||||
| 2016 Details |
Salem, VA | Tufts (2) | 1–0 (2OT) |
Calvin | Brandeis and St. Thomas (MN) | 817 | |||||
| 2017 Details |
Greensboro, NC | Messiah (11) | 2–1 | North Park | Brandeis and Chicago | 669 | |||||
| 2018 Details |
Tufts (3) | 2–1 | Calvin | Chicago and Rochester (NY) | |||||||
| 2019 Details |
Tufts (4) | 2–0 | Amherst | Calvin and Centre | |||||||
Summary
Team titles
| Rank | Team | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Messiah | 11 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017 |
| 2 | UNC Greensboro | 5 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 |
| 3 | Tufts | 4 | 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
| 4 | Babson | 3 | 1975, 1979, 1980 |
| UC San Diego | 1988, 1991, 1993 | ||
| 5 | Lock Haven | 2 | 1977, 1978 |
| Ohio Wesleyan | 1998, 2011 | ||
| Rowan (Glassboro State) | 1981, 1990 | ||
| Wheaton (IL) | 1984, 1997 | ||
| 6 | Amherst | 1 | 2015 |
| Middlebury | 2007 | ||
| Trinity (TX) | 2003 | ||
| Stockton (Richard Stockton) | 2001 | ||
| St. Lawrence | 1999 | ||
| TCNJ | 1996 | ||
| Williams | 1995 | ||
| Bethany (WV) | 1994 | ||
| Kean | 1992 | ||
| Elizabethtown | 1989 | ||
| Brandeis | 1976 | ||
| SUNY Brockport | 1974 |
See also
- NCAA Men's Soccer Championships (Division I, Division II)
- NCAA Women's Soccer Championships (Division I, Division II, Division III)
- NAIA national men's soccer championship
- Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association
References
- Pekale, Zach (December 7, 2019). "DIII men's soccer championship: Bracket, schedule, scores, how to watch". NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- "DIII Men's College Soccer". NCAA.com.
External links
| NCAA | | |
|---|---|---|
| Division I | ||
| Division II | ||
| Division III | ||
| Single-division sports and championships | ||
Events listed in italics have been discontinued. | ||
