The NCAA Division II football championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded four times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, 28 teams in 2016, and 32 teams in 2025.

The national championship game has been held in eight cities. Former sites include Sacramento, California (1973–1975); Wichita Falls, Texas (1976–1977); Longview, Texas (1978); Albuquerque, New Mexico (1979–1980); McAllen, Texas (1981–1985); Florence, Alabama (1986–2013); and Kansas City, Kansas (2014–2017). From 1973 through 1985 (with the exception of 1978) the championship game carried a bowl designation (see NCAA Division II bowl games).

Since 2018, the championship game has been played at the McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas. Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on ESPN.

Prior to 1973, for what was then called the NCAA College Division, national champions were selected by polls conducted at the end of each regular season by two major wire services, the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). In some years, the two polls named different number one teams. From 1964 to 1972, postseason bowl games crowned four regional champions. NCAA Division II bowl games still exist, but only as postseason contests for teams not qualifying for the championship playoffs.

Polls to rank "small college" football teams were conducted by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) during, and at the end of, each regular season. The AP polled a panel of writers, while UPI polled a panel of coaches. When UPI began its poll in 1958, it explained that the poll would cover college football programs not considered "major" by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), with the small schools (then numbering 519) belonging to the NCAA, the NAIA, both, or neither. The AP began its poll in 1960.

Since 1973, a post-season tournament has been held to determine the Division II Champion. The current format, in use since 2025, features 32 teams organized into 4 super-regions of 8 teams each. Prior to the championship game, all contests are hosted by the higher-seeded team. the semi-final games are held at the home stadiums of the two highest-seeded remaining teams. Since 2018, the championship game has been played at the McKinney Independent School District Stadium, a 12,000 seat facility that opened in August 2018.

Programs that no longer compete in Division II are indicated in italics.

Of the programs that no longer compete in D-II, Akron, Central Michigan, Delaware, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky currently compete in Division I FBS, while Mississippi College no longer fields a football team. All others compete in Division I FCS.