Countdown to the Stagg Bowl! The Cardinals play in the NCAA Division III national title game for the 6th year in a row

Playing in its sixth straight NCAA Division III national championship game, North Central College football looks to claim its first back-to-back title Sunday when the Cardinals face University of Wisconsin–River Falls at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

North Central won national titles in 2019, 2022 and 2024 and finished as the national runner-up in 2021 and 2023. The Cardinals first reached the national quarterfinals in 2010, the semifinals in 2013 and the Stagg Bowl in 2019. 

Game Information

• Kickoff at 7 p.m. CST on Sunday, Jan. 4
• Watch on live video or TV here: ESPN

Watch Parties

• The Lantern, 8 W. Chicago Ave., a proud North Central Cardinal Athletics sponsor
• Features Bar & Grill, 14 W. Chicago Ave.
• Empire Burgers + Brew, 48 W. Chicago Ave. (Please note, Empire closes at 10 p.m.)
• VFW Post 3873, 908 Jackson Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
• The Can Bar, 634 E. Ogden Ave.

Traveling to the Game

• Kickoff at 8 p.m. EST
• Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, 1835 Harrison Ave. N.W., Canton, Ohio
• Gates open at 6:30 p.m.
• Purchase tickets here. Find additional information here.
   

Series History: Sunday marks the first-ever meeting between the Cardinals and Falcons in football.

North Central vs WIAC: The Cardinals are 2-0 against the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season, beating UW-Oshkosh 41-14 in the season opener and UW-La Crosse 35-27 in the third round of the postseason. All-time, North Central is 13-6 against the WIAC, beginning with a 21-0 victory over UW-Oshkosh in 1930.

National Rankings:  North Central is ranked No. 1 nationally in the latest NCAA Division III Top 25 polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

The defending national champion Cardinals earned all 25 first-place votes in the D3football.com poll and swept all 52 first-place votes in the AFCA rankings. North Central has now held the top spot in 44 consecutive AFCA polls and 53 of the last 55 D3football.com polls.

UW-River Falls is ranked No. 4 in the AFCA Top 25 rankings and No. 3 in the D3football.com rankings.

Find full coverage at northcentralcardinals.com.