Eternal Power will take on the freshman championship game in a Division III football game Sunday night.
North Central will meet Wisconsin-River Falls at 8 PM ET in Canton, Ohio.
The NCAA Division III Football Championship will be broadcast on ESPN and can be streamed live DirecTV Stream (Free Trial), fuboTV and other live television services.
Undefeated North Central will be playing for its sixth straight national championship. UW-River Falls is making its first appearance in the title game.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: 2026 Division III Football Championship
WHO: Wisconsin-River Falls vs. North Central, Illinois
When: 8:00 PM ET on Sunday, January 4, 2026
Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio
TV: ESPN
Tickets: From $32
Here is more information about the match:
No. 1 North Central College will face No. 3/4 University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Sunday.
North Central, the defending national champion, is seeking its first back-to-back NCAA Division III Stagg Bowl title.
The game is a first in history for both programs. North Central will appear in its sixth consecutive national championship game, while UW-River Falls will compete for a national title for the first time in program history. The two teams have never met on the football field.
North Central enters 14-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association polls. The Cardinals received all 25 first-place votes in the D3football.com poll and swept all 52 first-place votes in the AFCA rankings. North Central has been ranked No. 1 in 44 consecutive AFCA polls and 53 of the last 55 D3football.com polls.
The Cardinals won national titles in 2019, 2022 and 2024 and finished as the national runner-up in 2021 and 2023. North Central owns a 40-13 record in the Division III Football Championship and is 3-2 in the Stagg Bowl.
UW-River Falls brings a 13-1 record and 10-game winning streak to Canton. The Falcons won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship for the first time since 1985 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason. Their playoff run included wins over Chapman (58-7), Saint John’s (42-14), Wheaton (46-21) and Johns Hopkins (48-41).
Falcons quarterback Kaleb Blaha, a Gagliardi Trophy finalist, leads III. division with 4,680 yards and has 40 touchdowns on a 68% completion rate. Blaha also leads the nation with 5,770 yards of total offense this season, tying the NCAA Division III single-season record. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 1,090 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The game will be televised on ESPN with Jay Alter on play-by-play, Rocky Boiman as analyst and Madison Fitzpatrick.
Generative AI was used to organize and structure the information for this story based on data provided by North Central College and UW-River Falls. It has been reviewed and edited by staff.
Where to watch the NCAA Division III football championship live and on demand for free
Non-cable viewers can watch the games live and on demand for free when they sign up for a trial offer from DIRECTV or Fubo.
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