The 2023 DII fall season was one of many firsts

As the calendar is set to flip to the New Year and the second half of the NCAA DII 2023-24 season, let's take a look back at the wild fall season that recently concluded. In sports dominated by the same names and powerhouse programs, five first-time champions were crowned while other firsts were achieved as well.

Harding runs its way to DII football history

The Harding Bisons finished the 2023 DII football season a perfect 15-0 on their way to the first national championship in program history. It was on the back of arguably the best rushing attack in the history of college football that led to the dominating 38-7 victory. 

Blake Delacruz reeled off a 60-yard run early in the fourth quarter that put the Bisons over the 6,000-yard rushing mark on the season. That made Harding the first team in the history of college football to rush for 6,000 yards in a single season. The Bisons averaged an astounding 410.7 yards per game on the ground — that's 30.2 yards per game more than the next closest school (Division III's Springfield) and more than 100 yards better than the top rushing team in FBS (Liberty) or FCS (Davidson). Delacruz ran for 212 yards himself and, as you probably guessed, became the first player in DII football history to eclipse the 200-yard mark in the championship game, breaking Billy Holmes' record of 195 yards rushing in the 1997 title game. Braden Jay added 161 yards rushing and three scores and with a bevy of others in the flexbone attack, the Bisons fell just 23 yards short of the team rushing record for the championship game. 

RANKINGS: A new No. 1 tops the final DII football Power 10 rankings of 2023

California is golden in DII's 50th anniversary

The state of California had a great run in women's sports this past fall. As DII celebrates its golden anniversary, The Golden State celebrated with a pair of first-time champions with Point Loma taking the crown in DII women's soccer and Cal State LA winning it all in DII women's volleyball. 

The Sea Lions' victory came in thrilling fashion as Emma Thrapp headed a Grace Nelson corner kick into the net for what would be the game-winning goal. 

🚨 SEA LIONS TAKE THE LEAD 🚨

Emma Thrapp’s header puts Point Loma in front in the Championship.

— PLNU Sea Lions (@PLNUSeaLions)

It was an impressive run for Point Loma, which posted five straight shutouts in the tournament, outscoring its opponents nine to nil. This wasn't simply the Sea Lions' first DII women's soccer national championship — it was the first NCAA DII national championship of any kind for the school in any sport. Despite traditionally strong DII baseball and basketball programs, it is the 2023 DII women's soccer team that will forever live in Sea Lions' lore. 

About three hours north of Point Loma, the Cal State LA DII women's volleyball team was making program history itself. The Golden Eagles tested themselves right out of the gates in two of the elite early-season tournaments in DII women's volleyball — the Yotes Classic Showcase and Colorado Premier Challenge — and in two fields loaded with nationally ranked talent, Cal State LA left with a 2-6 record. However, the Golden Eagles closed with a fury, going 22-4 the rest of the way and claiming the school's first title ever. Those early-season losses were a valuable lesson: The Golden Eagles pulled off three massive upsets in the finals, downing nationally ranked No. 3 Wayne State (Neb) in the quarterfinals, taking the semis in straight sets from No. 4-ranked Missouri-St. Louis, and upending the defending national champion and No. 5-ranked West Texas A&M Buffaloes in three memorable days in Moon Township Pennsylvania. To many, it was the unthinkable; to Cal State LA, it was a goal the team laden with returners knew could be a reality all the way back in August. 

The Bulldogs put the win in WINgate

Talk about a sport dominated by powerhouses. If your name wasn't Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, Grand Valley State, or Western State for pretty much the past 25 years, you didn't have much of a chance at a DII men's cross country title. One year after nearly breaking through in a historic campaign as the 2022 national runners-up, Wingate reached the pinnacle, winning its first-ever DII men's cross country championship. Wingate won by a score of 70-79, the first time a championship was decided by fewer than 10 points since 2007. The Bulldogs had five All-Americans on their roster, the most of any school this year. 

Kutztown caps historic fall with DII field hockey title

The Golden Bears were on a non-stop party this fall. The Kutztown women's soccer team made it to the second round of the tournament and the football team made history, stunning teams along the way to its first-ever national semifinals. But it was the Golden Bears' field hockey squad that sealed the deal, going the distance and winning the school's first-ever DII field hockey championship.

While DII field hockey has always been a PSAC party, Kutztown was not the team many associated with the sport. That's what makes the Golden Bears' victory the more impressive. To win the trophy, they had to defeat Shippensburg in the semifinals and then East Stroudsburg in the finals. Over the past 10 tournaments, Shippensburg has won five and lost another and East Stroudsburg has won two and lost one itself. The Golden Bears were held scoreless in the championship game, but came firing back to win it 2-1 in thrilling come-from-behind fashion. This team set the program record for wins (19), shutouts (14) and is set to return nearly everyone in 2024.

For Franklin Pierce men's soccer, twice is nice

Talk about a new rivalry for the new decade. For the second time in as many years, Franklin Pierce squared off against Colorado State Pueblo in the DII men's soccer championship match. And for the second time in as many years, Franklin Pierce won the national championship, this year behind a dominating 4-0 performance. 

Have there been repeat champions in DII men's soccer before? Sure. Both Southern Connecticut State and Seattle Pacific accomplished the feat... but that was an eternity ago. Franklin Pierce is the first team this millennium to accomplish the feat, going back-to-back in DII men's soccer for the first time in nearly a quarter century. It was the only NCAA DII fall sport to not have a repeat champion in the past nine years.

The way Franklin Pierce has done it is also worth a mention. The Ravens have not lost since Dec. 2, 2021. That was the third round of the 2021 DII men's soccer championship, a match they lost to Millersville on penalty kicks. Since then, the Ravens have gone 46-0-3, clearly laying claim as the premier team in their sport and earning the No. 1 spot in the poll every week this season. There has never been a "three-peat" in DII men's soccer, so there is certainly something to strive for in 2024 for this Ravens' flock.