The NCAA Division II Executive Board approved the expansion of the Division II football championship bracket from 28 to 32 teams on Tuesday. The expansion stemmed from a vote of DII membership in January to make football an automatic-qualification sport eliminating “earned access” to the playoffs. DII football had been the only team sport across all three NCAA divisions that did not use automatic qualification. According to Division II championship policy, the division must consider bracket expansion for the postseason when automatic qualifiers make up more than 50% of the postseason field for a particular sport. Since 16 conferences will be eligible for the playoffs in 2025 out of the previous 28 spots, that triggered a proposal to expand the bracket to 32 teams. The timeline for the playoffs will be the same. Previously the four No. 1 seeds each received byes to the second round. Those byes will be eliminated and replaced with the last four at-large teams to earn a bid to the postseason. ESU head coach Garin Higgins said the change moves the sport in a positive direction.
ESU hosts Opening Night on Thursday, August 28 against Minot State to kick off the 2025 football season. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m. on the Hornet Sports Network/Mix 104.9.
