2012 NCAA Division II football season

2012 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	September 1 – November 10, 2012
Postseason	November 17 – December 15, 2012
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champions	Valdosta State
Harlon Hill Trophy	Zach Zulli, Shippensburg
Division II football season «2011 2013»

The 2012 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 1, 2012, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 15, 2012 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Valdosta State Blazers defeated the Winston-Salem State Rams, 35–7, to win their third Division II national title.

It proved to be the final season for the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). Shortly before the start of the 2012–13 school year, the WVIAC's nine football-playing members announced plans to break away and form a new league. Before the new conference was announced, one of the nine breakaway schools (Seton Hill) chose instead to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference; the remaining eight schools joined with three other football-playing schools and one non-football WVIAC member left out of the original split. The new league, officially unveiled in August 2012 as the Mountain East Conference, began play in 2013.

The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Zach Zulli, quarterback from Shippensburg.

Conference changes and new programs

• The Great Lakes Valley Conference began football play in 2012.

School	2011 Conference	2012 Conference
Azusa Pacific	GSAC (NAIA)	GNAC (D-II)
Saint Paul's (VA)	CIAA (D-II)	School Closed
Shorter	MSC (NAIA)	GSC (D-II)

Conference standings

2012 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Elizabeth City State x   6 – 1         8 – 4   Chowan   5 – 2         6 – 4   Virginia Union   3 – 4         5 – 5   Virginia State   3 – 4         4 – 6   Bowie State   2 – 5         5 – 5   Lincoln (PA)   1 – 6         1 – 9   South #2 Winston-Salem St. x$^   7 – 0         14 – 1   Johnson C. Smith   5 – 2         6 – 4   St. Augustine's   4 – 3         6 – 4   Shaw   3 – 4         4 – 6   Livingstone   2 – 5         2 – 8   Fayetteville State   1 – 6         2 – 8   Championship: WSSU 34, ECSU 19 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Great American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 Henderson State $^   8 – 0         10 – 1   #19 Harding ^   7 – 1         9 – 2   Southern Arkansas   6 – 2         8 – 3   Ouachita Baptist   4 – 4         6 – 2   East Central   4 – 4         6 – 5   Arkansas Tech   3 – 5         5 – 6   SE Oklahoma State   2 – 6         4 – 6   SW Oklahoma State   2 – 6         3 – 7   Arkansas-Monticello   0 – 8         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Grand Valley State x   7 – 3         8 – 3   Saginaw Valley State   7 – 3         8 – 3   Michigan Tech   7 – 3         7 – 3   Hillsdale   7 – 3         7 – 4   Wayne State (MI)   5 – 5         5 – 5   Northwood (MI)   4 – 6         5 – 6   Northern Michigan   4 – 6         5 – 6   South #9 Ashland $^   10 – 0         11 – 1   Ohio Dominican   7 – 3         8 – 3   Findlay   7 – 3         7 – 3   Lake Erie   3 – 7         3 – 8   Notre Dame (OH)   2 – 8         3 – 8   Tiffin   2 – 8         3 – 8   Walsh   2 – 8         3 – 8   Malone   1 – 9         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2012 Great Lakes Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #15 Indianapolis $^   8 – 0         10 – 3   #24 Missouri S&T   7 – 1         10 – 1   Urbana   5 – 3         7 – 4   St. Joseph's (IN)   5 – 3         6 – 5   Central State   4 – 4         4 – 7   McKendree   3 – 5         3 – 7   Quincy   3 – 5         3 – 8   William Jewell   1 – 7         2 – 9   Kentucky Wesleyan   0 – 8         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Great Northwest Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Central Washington $   7 – 3         7 – 4   Humboldt State   6 – 4         7 – 4   Western Oregon   6 – 4         6 – 5   Simon Fraser   4 – 6         5 – 6   Azusa Pacific   4 – 6         4 – 7   Dixie State   3 – 7         3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Gulf South Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #21 West Alabama $^   5 – 0         9 – 4   #1 Valdosta State ^   4 – 1         12 – 2   Shorter   2 – 3         6 – 5   North Alabama   2 – 3         5 – 5   Delta State   1 – 4         3 – 7   West Georgia   1 – 4         3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2012 NCAA Division II independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   UNC Pembroke   –         6 – 4   North Greenville   –         5 – 6   OK Panhandle State   –         4 – 6   ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #16 Midwestern State +^   7 – 1         9 – 2   #4 West Texas A&M +^   7 – 1         12 – 3   Tarleton State   5 – 3         6 – 4   Texas A&M-Kingsville   5 – 3         6 – 6   Abilene Christian   4 – 4         7 – 4   Angelo State   4 – 4         5 – 6   Eastern New Mexico   2 – 6         3 – 8   Incarnate Word   1 – 7         2 – 9   Texas A&M-Commerce   1 – 7         1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #5 Missouri Western $^   9 – 1         12 – 2   #22 Emporia State   9 – 2         10 – 2   #10 NW Missouri St. ^   8 – 2         10 – 3   Pittsburg State   7 – 3         7 – 3   Lindenwood   7 – 3         8 – 4   Washburn   7 – 4         7 – 4   Central Missouri   6 – 4         6 – 4   Missouri Southern St.   5 – 5         6 – 5   Fort Hays State   4 – 6         5 – 6   Northeastern State   4 – 6         4 – 6   Truman State   3 – 7         4 – 7   Southwest Baptist   3 – 8         3 – 8   Nebraska-Kearney   2 – 8         3 – 8   Central Oklahoma   2 – 8         2 – 8   Lincoln (MO)   1 – 10         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2012 Northeast-10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #8 New Haven $^   8 – 0         10 – 1   American Int'l College   7 – 1         7 – 3   Bentley   6 – 2         8 – 2   Stonehill   5 – 3         5 – 5   Merrimack   4 – 4         6 – 4   Assumption   3 – 5         3 – 7   So. Connecticut St.   2 – 6         3 – 8   St. Anselm   1 – 7         2 – 9   Pace   0 – 8         0 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North #12 Minnesota-Duluth x^   10 – 1         10 – 2   Bemidji State   7 – 4         7 – 4   St. Cloud State   7 – 4         7 – 4   Northern State   6 – 5         6 – 5   Mary   4 – 7         4 – 7   Minot State   3 – 8         3 – 8   Minnesota-Crookston   2 – 9         2 – 9   MSU-Moorhead   1 – 10         1 – 10   South #3 MSU-Mankato x$^   11 – 0         13 – 1   Winona State   9 – 2         10 – 2   Sioux Falls   9 – 2         9 – 2   Wayne State (NE)   6 – 5         6 – 5   Augustana College   5 – 6         5 – 6   Southwest Minnesota State   4 – 7         4 – 7   Concordia-St. Paul   2 – 9         2 – 9   Upper Iowa   2 – 9         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East #14 Shippensburg x^   7 – 0         11 – 2   #17 Bloomsburg ^   6 – 1         10 – 2   West Chester   4 – 3         7 – 4   East Stroudsburg   4 – 3         5 – 5   Kutztown   4 – 3         7 – 4   LIU Post   2 – 5         3 – 7   Millersville   1 – 6         2 – 9   Cheyney   0 – 7         1 – 10   West #7 Indiana (PA) x$^   6 – 1         12 – 3   Mercyhurst   6 – 1         9 – 2   California (PA)   5 – 2         8 – 3   Slippery Rock   5 – 2         6 – 5   Edinboro   3 – 4         4 – 6   Clarion   2 – 5         4 – 7   Gannon   1 – 6         3 – 8   Lock Haven   0 – 7         1 – 10   Championship: Indiana 41, Shippensburg 10 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2012 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #6 CSU–Pueblo $^   9 – 0         12 – 1   #18 Chadron State ^   8 – 1         9 – 3   New Mexico Highlands   7 – 2         8 – 3   Adams State   6 – 3         8 – 3   Colorado Mines   4 – 5         6 – 5   Colorado Mesa   4 – 5         5 – 6   Black Hills State   3 – 6         4 – 7   Western New Mexico   4 – 5         4 – 6   Western State (CO)   1 – 8         1 – 10   Fort Lewis   0 – 9         0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 South Atlantic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #20 Lenoir–Rhyne $^   6 – 1         9 – 3   #13 Carson–Newman ^   5 – 2         9 – 3   Mars Hill   5 – 2         6 – 4   Wingate   5 – 2         6 – 5   Newberry   3 – 4         5 – 6   Catawba   2 – 5         4 – 7   Brevard   1 – 6         2 – 9   Tusculum   1 – 6         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll	2012 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Fort Valley State x   6 – 1         8 – 3   Albany State   5 – 2         6 – 4   Morehouse   2 – 5         3 – 7   Clark Atlanta   1 – 6         2 – 8   Benedict   1 – 6         1 – 9   West #23 Tuskegee x$   7 – 0         10 – 2   Miles ^   6 – 1         8 – 2   Stillman   4 – 3         6 – 5   Lane   3 – 4         5 – 5   Kentucky State   0 – 7         1 – 8   Championship: Tuskeegee 55, Fort Valley 24 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll
2012 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #25 Shepherd $^   7 – 1         8 – 3   Charleston (WV)   6 – 2         9 – 2   Concord   6 – 2         7 – 4   Glenville State   6 – 2         6 – 5   West Liberty   4 – 4         6 – 5   Fairmont State   4 – 4         4 – 6   West Virginia Wesleyan   2 – 6         3 – 8   West Virginia State   1 – 7         2 – 9   Seton Hill   0 – 8         0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State (14–1, 7–0) Great American Conference – Henderson State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Ashland Great Lakes Valley Conference – Indianapolis Great Northwest Athletic Conference – Central Washington Gulf South Conference – West Alabama Lone Star Conference – Midwestern State and West Texas A&M Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Missouri Western State Northeast-10 Conference – New Haven Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Duluth (North) and Minnesota State–Mankato (South) Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – CSU Pueblo South Atlantic Conference – Lenoir-Rhyne Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Tuskegee West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference‡ – Shepherd

Postseason

2012 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs
Teams	24
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champions	Valdosta State (3rd title)
Runner-Up	Winston-Salem State (1st championship game)
Semifinalists	West Texas A&M Minnesota State–Mankato

The 2012 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 39th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama for the 25th time.

Seeded teams

• Ashland
• Carson–Newman
• Colorado State–Pueblo
• Henderson State
• Minnesota State–Mankato
• New Haven
• Winston-Salem State
• Valdosta State

Playoff bracket

	'First Round' November 17 Campus Sites					'Second Round' November 24 Campus Sites					'Quarterfinals' December 1 Campus Sites					'Semifinals' December 8 Campus Sites					'National Championship Game' December 15 Braly Municipal Stadium, Florence, Alabama
	Super Region 2
	—	Miles	7			—	West Alabama	21
	—	Lenoir–Rhyne	21	—	Carson–Newman	38
	—	Fort Valley State	6			—	Lenoir–Rhyne	35
	Super Region 4
	—	NW Missouri State	35			—	Minnesota State–Mankato	38
	—	Harding	0			—	NW Missouri State	35
	—	Mo. Western State (3OT)	57	—	Henderson State	21
	—	Minnesota–Duluth	55			—	Mo. Western State	45

* Home team    † Overtime

Awards and honors

Harlon Hill Trophy

The Harlon Hill Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Zach Zulli	Shippensburg	QB	52	14	18	202
Michael Hill	Missouri Western	RB	23	26	17	138
Franklyn Quiteh	Bloomsburg	RB	8	27	23	101
Dustin Vaughan	West Texas A&M	QB	10	14	10	68
Taylor Housewight	Ashland	QB	7	14	15	64