Here you will find the Helmet Bowl National Championship Play-in finalists, the 60 teams who qualify for the National Championship bracket, and a schedule of National Championship Regional Seeding announcements.
And this.
This is a stack of Helmet Bowl III Conference Championship trophies and they are ready to ship out to the Equipment Managers of the 77 Conference Championship teams.
Our thanks to Schutt Sports for the helmets and the design. We are proud to award these trophies to the Equipment Managers of the winners.
Play-In Round
For Helmet Bowl III we introduced an opportunity for 16 teams to play-in to the National Championship bracket of 64. The first 60 spots were earned by the winners of the top Conference playoff vote getters. That left 17 Conference Champions who did not qualify, plus other helmets we deemed worthy of another shot. From that pool, we sat down and selected 16 teams to battle for four spots.
The first week is done and now we have one-on-one battles for one spot in each of the four Regions.
With less than five minutes left in the previous round Elon trailed by one vote to the New Jersey Lions. Then, a burst of votes, the Phoenix lept to the lead and won by five votes.
Meanwhile, the Wooster Fighting Scots pushed aside the Gannon Golden Knights, scoring well more than double the amount of votes.
In the North Region, the Eastern Michigan Eagles may have finally awoken to Helmet Bowl. However, they had a tough Montana State Bobcat helmet to compete against. They ended up winning by just three votes.
Then, the Idaho State Bengals locked up with the Lakeland Muskies. The teams were tied until very late in voting. It ended up being just a four vote win.
In the South, the Vanderbilt Commodores, who don a wonderfully attractive helmet, racked up nearly FOUR TIMES the votes of the Kennesaw Owls. They meet the St. Thomas Bobcats, who similarly beat the VMI Keydets.
With the most votes cast in the Play-in round, the Ottawa Braves are now one step away from the National bracket. They defeated a strong Sterling Warrior vote to face Redlands. Redlands had an uphill climb against the absolutely gorgeous San Diego State Aztec helmet, but emerged victorious.
Congratulations.
National Championship Bracket Teams.
The top 60 Conference winners, as determined by the Conference bracket total votes, automatically qualify for the National Championship.
The teams in the National Championship bracket (in alpha order) are:
| Alabama (Birmingham) Blazers |
| Alvernia Gold Wolves |
| Arkansas Pine Bluff Lions |
| Ashland Eagles |
| Austin College Kangaroos |
| Austin Peay Governors |
| Bates Bobcats |
| Beloit Buccaneers |
| Bentley Falcons |
| Bucknell Bison |
| Campbell Fighting Camels |
| Central College Dutch |
| Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags |
| Colorado School of Mines Orediggers |
| Dakota Wesleyan Tigers |
| Dickinson Red Devils |
| Fitchburg State Falcons |
| Gallaudet Bison |
| Hobart Statesmen |
| Hope Flying Dutchmen |
| Howard Bison |
| Indiana State Sycamores |
| Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats |
| Kansas State Wildcats |
| Lake Erie Storm |
| Lamar Cardinals |
| Limestone Saints |
| Louisville Cardinals |
| Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders |
| Maryland Terrapins |
| McKendree Bearcats |
| Millikin College Big Blue |
| Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons |
| Navy Midshipmen |
| Nebraska Kearney Lopers |
| Ole Miss Rebels |
| Oregon State Beavers |
| Princeton Tigers |
| Richmond Spiders |
| Robert Morris Colonials |
| Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers |
| Sacramento State Hornets |
| Saint Augustine Falcons |
| Saint John Fisher Cardinals |
| Saint Olaf Oles |
| Salve Regina Seahawks |
| Samford Bulldogs |
| San Marcos Bobcats |
| Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm |
| Southern Oregon Raiders |
| Stetson Hatters |
| Thomas More Saints |
| Toledo Rockets |
| UT Permian Basin Falcons |
| West Florida Argonauts |
| West Virginia State Yellow Jackets |
| Western Oregon Wolves |
| William Paterson Pioneers |
| Worchester Poly Technic Engineers |
| Wyoming Cowboys |
Seeding Schedule
We will announce the National Championship bracket Regional Seeding starting Tuesday November 19, after the Play-in finals complete on Monday.
The National Championship begins Monday, December 2.
Here is the announcement schedule:
Tuesday, November 19 – South and West Seeds 13 through 16
Wednesday, November 20 – East and North Seeds 13 through 16
Thursday, November 21 – West and North Seeds 9 through 12
Friday, November 22 – East and South Seeds 9 through 12
Saturday, November 23 – East Seeds 5 through 8
Sunday, November 24 – North Seeds 5 through 8
Monday, November 25 – South Seeds 5 through 8
Tuesday, November 26 – West Seeds 5 through 8
Wednesday, November 27 – South Seeds 3 and 4
Thursday, November 28 – East Seeds 3 and 4
Friday, November 29 – West Seeds 3 and 4
Saturday, November 30 – North Seeds 3 and 4
Sunday, December 1 – North, West, South, East Seeds 1 and 2