NCAA D-II Approves Automatic Qualification for All Programs That Sponsor Football

Division II's football-sponsoring delegates at Friday's business session of the 2025 NCAA Convention approved a membership-sponsored proposal to provide automatic-qualification privileges to all conferences that sponsor football, eliminating the current earned access legislation. 

Supporters of the proposal, which passed with 60% of the vote and is effective Aug. 1, emphasized that football is the only team sport in Division II that does not require that all conferences be represented in the championship bracket. Division II football is also the only team sport across all three divisions that does not use automatic qualification, including Division I Football Championship Subdivision football and Division III football. The selection of automatic qualification will remain the purview of each conference. This proposal was sponsored by the Northeast-10 Conference and co-sponsored by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

"It will provide more schools with the ability to access the football championship due to winning their conference championship," said Darius Satterfield, a football and golf student-athlete at Elizabeth City State who serves on the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. "Winning your conference championship is worthy of a postseason selection, and all football student-athletes should get the opportunity to fight for a chance to win a national championship." 

Other legislative proposals

The full Division II delegate body approved six other proposals, including one that will permit Division II student-athletes in their initial year of collegiate enrollment to participate in up to 30% of the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition in Bylaw 17 without using a season of competition, regardless of sport.

Supporters of the proposal highlighted how it will provide consistency, help student-athlete development and ease their transition to the college level. Opportunities for student-athletes in all sports to participate in minimal competition will ease the decision for coaches and help with student-athlete retention. 

"This proposal will also assist coaches with roster management and reduce the pressure coaches may feel to play a student-athlete who may not be ready for competition and would otherwise use a season of competition," said Jerry Haywood, faculty athletics representative at Fort Valley State and a member of the Division II Management Council. 

Delegates also approved a proposal to eliminate the requirement that a student-athlete must complete 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of academic credit during the regular academic year to be eligible for competition.

Supporters of the proposal, effective Aug. 1, for certification of progress-toward-degree requirements for fall 2025 and thereafter, noted that data showed that eliminating the legislation will simplify the certification process without jeopardizing the overall academic success of student-athletes, as student-athletes will still be required to meet several other academic requirements. 

"The elimination of (this) requirement will streamline the progress-toward-degree legislation and help student-athletes to better understand academic requirements while also simplifying the certification process for compliance administrators," said Danny McCabe, director of athletics at Adelphi and member of the Division II Management Council.

Other approved proposals: 

• Delegates approved a proposal to establish a women's wrestling national collegiate championship,which Divisions I and III also approved this week. The first championship is slated for 2026.  
• Delegates approved a proposal to permit a team participating in practice or competition during the championship segment to engage in countable athletically related activities on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, provided student-athletes are given a day off from countable athletically related activities to participate in civic engagement activities and programming within 15 days before or after that date. The proposal also requires a school to develop civic engagement policies through a collaborative process involving student-athletes, coaches and senior athletics department staff members to ensure student-athletes are provided adequate opportunities, resources and programming to engage in such activities.
• Delegates approved a proposal that specifies that a medical examination or evaluation must be administered within one year prior to a prospective student-athlete's participation in a tryout. The proposal also included an amendment to a common provision to extend the medical examination timing to within one year for currently enrolled students, student-athletes beginning their initial season of competition and returning student-athletes. Because that legislation is a common provision, it must be changed by all three divisions to become effective. 
• Delegates approved a proposal that eliminated the requirement that a qualifier who is a two-year college transfer must earn transferable credit hours in English, math and science.  

Award of Excellence 

Roberts Wesleyan was announced at the business session as the 2025 recipient of the Division II Award of Excellence. The award recognizes the school's outstanding community engagement efforts through its Redhawks Reach Out initiative, particularly its support for the Pirate Toy Fund.