INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Division II football playoffs will expand from 28 to 32 teams beginning this season to accommodate the format change that will award automatic bids to all 16 conferences.
According to Division II policy, bracket expansion must be considered when automatic qualifiers make up more than 50% of the field. That prompted the expansion to 32 teams, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
Division II football schools in January approved a proposal that requires all conferences be represented in the championship bracket. Division II football was the only team sport across all three divisions that did not use automatic qualification.
The playoff schedule will remain the same, except that the four No. 1 seeds will no longer receive first-round byes. The championship game is Dec. 20 in McKinney, Texas.