The 2023 junior college football season was the season of intercollegiate junior college football running from September to December 2023. The season ended with three national champions: two from the National Junior College Athletic Association's (NJCAA) Division I and Division III and one from the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A).
The NJCAA Division I champion was Iowa Western who defeated 61–14 in the NJCAA National Football Championship. The NJCAA Division III champion was DuPage who defeated 33–29 in the Red Grange Bowl. The 3C2A champion was who defeated 24–21 in the 3C2A State Championship.
Conference changes and new programs Membership changes TeamFormer conferenceNew conferenceSourceAntelope ValleyAmerican Pacific (APL)National Northern (NNL)ASA MiamiD-III independentSchool closedChaffeyNational Central (NCL)American Metro (AML)CitrusAmerican Metro (AML)National Central (NCL)ComptonAmerican Mountain (AML)American Metro (AML)DesertAmerican Mountain (AML)American Metro (AML)East Los AngelesNational Northern (NNL)National Central (NCL)El CaminoNational Central (NCL)National Northern (NNL)Glendale (CA)American Metro (AML)American Pacific (APL)Golden WestNational Southern (NSL)National Central (NCL)GrossmontAmerican Mountain (AML)National Southern (NSL)Long Beach CityNational Northern (NNL)National Central (NCL)Los Angeles SouthwestAmerican Metro (AML)American Pacific (APL)MoorparkAmerican Pacific (APL)National Northern (NNL)Mt. San JacintoAmerican Mountain (AML)National Southern (NSL)Orange CoastAmerican Metro (AML)National Central (NCL)Pasadena CityAmerican Mountain (AML)American Pacific (APL)Riverside CityNational Central (NCL)National Southern (NSL)San Bernardino ValleyNational Southern (NSL)National Central (NCL)Santa Barbara CityAmerican Pacific (APL)National Northern (NNL)Victor ValleyAmerican Mountain (AML)American Metro (AML)
Top 5 matchups Rankings are based on the NJCAA Division I, NJCAA Division III, and 3C2A polls.
Regular season Week 2 No. 1 (D3) DuPage defeated No. 4 (D3) Rochester C&T, 24–21 (Rochester Regional Stadium and Bubble, Rochester, Minnesota)
Week 3 No. 1 (D1) Hutchinson defeated No. 5 (D1) Iowa Central, 27–2 (Dodger Stadium, Fort Dodge, Iowa) No. 2 (D3) NDSCS defeated No. 3 (D3) Minnesota State C&T, 30–14 (Fergus Falls, Minnesota)
Week 4 No. 1 (D3) DuPage defeated No. 2 (D3) NDSCS, 38–31 (Frank Vertin Field, Wahpeton, North Dakota) No. 3 (D3) Rochester C&T defeated No. 5t (D3) Mesabi Range, 37–21 (Virginia, Minnesota) No. 1 (3C2A) San Mateo defeated No. 5 (3C2A) American River, 24–23 (College Heights Stadium, San Mateo, California)
Week 5 No. 2 (D1) Iowa Western defeated No. 1 (D3) DuPage, 41–14 (Bob MacDougall Field, Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
Week 7 No. 2 (D1) Iowa Western defeated No. 5 (D1) Snow, 20–13 (Terry Foote Stadium, Ephraim, Utah) No. 4 (D3) Rochester C&T defeated No. 2 (D3) NDSCS, 28–27 (Frank Vertin Field, Wahpeton, North Dakota)
Week 8 No. 3 (D3) NDSCS defeated No. 4 (D3) Mesabi Range, 14–7 (Frank Vertin Field, Wahpeton, North Dakota)
Week 9 No. 3 (D1) Kilgore defeated No. 4 (D1) Trinity Valley, 37–17 (R. E. St. John Memorial Stadium, Kilgore, Texas)
Week 10 No. 5 (3C2A) San Mateo defeated No. 1 (3C2A) CC of San Francisco, 44–17 (College Heights Stadium, San Mateo, California) No. 4 (3C2A) Fullerton defeated No. 2 (3C2A) Riverside City, 17–16 (Wheelock Stadium, Riverside, California)
Week 12 No. 1 (D1) Hutchinson defeated No. 2 (D1) Iowa Western, 42–28 (Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson, Kansas)
Conference playoffs MCAC playoffs No. 3 (D3) NDSCS defeated No. 4 (D3) Mesabi Range, 21–17 (Frank Vertin Field, Wahpeton, North Dakota) No. 2 (D3) Rochester C&T defeated No. 3 (D3) NDSCS, 24–16 (Husky Stadium, St. Cloud, Minnesota)
Postseason NJCAA Division I Semifinal No. 4 (D1) East Mississippi defeated No. 1 (D1) Hutchinson, 27–23 (Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson, Kansas) No. 2 (D1) Iowa Western defeated No. 3 (D1) Kilgore, 47–7, (Titan Stadium, Council Bluffs, Iowa)
NJCAA Division I Championship No. 2 (D1) Iowa Western defeated No. 4 (D1) East Mississippi, 61–14, (War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas)
Red Grange Bowl (NJCAA Division III Championship) No. 1 (D3) DuPage defeated No. 2 (D3) Rochester C&T, 33–29 (Bob MacDougall Field, Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
NCFC playoffs No. 4 (3C2A) American River defeated No. 5 (3C2A) CC of San Francisco, 41–6 (Beaver Stadium, Sacramento, California) No. 3 (3C2A) San Mateo defeated No. 4 (3C2A) American River, 30–27 (College Station Stadium, San Mateo, California)
NJCAA Division III team wins over NJCAA Division I teams
Upsets This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating NJCAA Division I, NJCAA Division III, and 3C2A-ranked teams during the season.
Regular season Week 1 Highland (KS) 20, No. 7 (D1) Coffeyville, 14
Week 2 Monroe 31, No. 5 (D3) Nassau 13 Contra Costa 45, No. 23 (3C2A) Feather River 14 Bakersfield 29, No. 21 (3C2A) Long Beach City 27
Week 3 Copiah–Lincoln 23, No. 8 (D1) East Mississippi Tyler 52, No. 13 (D1) Georgia Military Mississippi Gulf Coast 49, No. 3 (D1) Northwest Mississippi 14 College of the Canyons 17, No. 21 (3C2A) Palomar 7
Week 4 Georgia Military 17, No. 9 (D1) Lackawanna 9 Nassau 13, No. 5t (D3) Hudson Valley 6
Week 5 Highland (KS) 3, No. 14 (D1) Garden City 0 Navarro 24, No. 3 (D1) Kilgore Allan Hancock 17, No. 25 (3C2A) Moorpark 10
Week 6 Minnesota State C&T 32, No. 3 (D3) Rochester C&T 29 Fresno City 31, No. 16 (3C2A) College of the Sequoias 28 Allan Hancock 21, No. 19 (3C2A) Bakersfield 13
Week 7 New Mexico Military 31, No. 6 (D1) Tyler 17 Mesabi Range 34, No. 3 (D3) Minnesota State C&T 28
Week 8 East Central (MS) 28, No. 9 (D1) Northeast Mississippi Copiah–Lincoln 28, No. 4 (D1) Mississippi Gulf Coast 23 Cisco 21, No. 14 (D1) New Mexico Military 10 Sacramento City 34, No. 22 (3C2A) Contra Costa 7
Week 10 Mississippi Delta 36, No. 4 (D1) Jones 33 Coffeyville 15, No. 13 (D1) Butler (KS) 7 Santa Rosa 17, No. 19 (3C2A) Sierra 14 Mt. San Jacinto 16, No. 20 (3C2A) Saddleback 13
Week 11 Navarro 34, No. 12 (D1) Tyler 24 Nassau 24, No. 5 (D3) Louisburg 21
Week 12 Georgia Military 31, No. 11 (D1) Lackawanna 24
Postseason MCAC playoffs Central Lakes 26, No. 5 (D3) Minnesota State C&T 12
Bowl games Contra Costa 21, No. 15 (3C2A) Fresno City 14 (Gridiron Classic Bowl)
Conference standings NJCAA Division I
NJCAA Division III
3C2A SCFA
NCFC
Rankings
Preseason polls NJCAA Division IRankingTeam 1Iowa Western 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NJCAA Division IIIRankingTeam 1DuPage 2 3 4t 4t 5 3C2ARankingTeam 1 (8) 2 3 4 5 6 7 (1) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17t 17t 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
3C2A final regular season rankings
Rank Team W–L Conference and standing Bowl game 1 National Southern League champions SCFA semifinal 2 National Central League champions SCFA semifinal 3 National Bay 6 League champions NCFC semifinal 4 National Norcal League champions NCFC semifinal 5 National Bay 6 League second place NCFC semifinal 6 National Southern League second place SCFA semifinal 7 National Norcal League second place Northern California Bowl 8 National Central League second place Beach Bowl 9 National Valley League champion NCFC semifinal 10 National Northern League champion (tie) Strawberry Bowl 11 National Northern League champion (tie) SCFA semifinal 12 National Central League third place (tie) Western State Bowl 13 National Northern League third place Western State Bowl 14 National Valley League third place Northern California Bowl 15 National Valley League second place Gridiron Classic Bowl 16 National Northern League fourth place (tie) Patriotic Bowl 17 National Northern League fourth place (tie) Beach Bowl 18 National Southern League third place (tie) Strawberry Bowl 19 National Central League third place (tie) Patriotic Bowl 20 National Central League fifth place (tie) None 21 National Norcal League third place (tie) Golden State Bowl 22 American Pacific 7 League champion American Division Bowl 23 Chaffey Panthers American Metro League champions American Division Championship Bowl 24 National Valley League fourth place Golden State Bowl 25 National Southern League third place (tie) None
Final rankings NJCAA Division IRankingTeam 1Iowa Western 2East Mississippi 3Hutchinson 4Copiah–Lincoln 5Kilgore 6Dodge City 7Iowa Central 8Mississippi Gulf Coast 9Snow 10Trinity Valley 11Georgia Military 12Navarro 13Northwest Mississippi 14Lackawanna 15Highland (KS) NJCAA Division IIIRankingTeam 1DuPage 2Rochester C&T 3NDSCS 4Mesabi Range 5Louisburg 3C2ARankingTeam 1Riverside City (11) 2San Mateo 3American River 4Mt. San Antonio 5Fullerton 6Ventura 7CC of San Francisco 8Butte 9Golden West 10Modesto 11Citrus 12El Camino 13Allan Hancock 14San Diego Mesa 15East Los Angeles 16Reedley 17College of the Canyons 19College of the Sequoias 20Bakersfield 21Cerritos 22Foothill 23Chaffey 24Sierra 25Saddleback
Postseason Playoffs NJCAA Division I
3C2A SCFA playoffs
NCFC playoffs
State Championship
Bowl games The NJCAA Division I and 3C2A had fourteen bowl games combined, featuring teams that did not qualify for their respective leagues' postseason tournament.
DateTime (EST)GameSiteTeamsResultsNov 194:00 p.m.Southern California BowlCampus sitesSanta Ana (8–2)Desert (6–4)Santa Ana 56Desert 48Nov 2012:30 p.m.Beach BowlEl Camino (6–4)Golden West (8–2)El Camino 22Golden West 19Nov 215:00 p.m.Strawberry BowlSan Diego Mesa (6–4)Allan Hancock (7–3)San Diego Mesa 42Allan Hancock 20Nov 252:00 p.m.Gridiron Classic BowlContra Costa (5–5)Fresno City (6–4)Contra Costa 21 Fresno City 14Patriotic BowlEast Los Angeles (6–4)Bakersfield (6–4)East Los Angeles 31 Bakersfield 274:00 p.m.Western State BowlCitrus (7–3)College of the Canyons (6–4)Citrus 42 College of the Canyons 135:00 p.m.American Division Championship BowlChaffey (10–0)Pasadena City (9–1)Chaffey 16 Pasadena City 12Dec 15:00 p.m.Golden State BowlCollege of the Sequoias (5–5)Sierra (5–5)College of the Sequoias 31Sierra 286:00 p.m.Wool BowlDodge City (7–3)New Mexico Military (6–5)Dodge City 37New Mexico Military 6Dec 212:00 p.m.Northern California BowlButte (8–2)Reedley (7–3)Butte 30Reedley 24C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas BowlMemorial Stadium (Commerce, Texas)Copiah–Lincoln (9–2)Navarro (6–4)Copiah–Lincoln 28Navarro 202:00 p.m.American Division BowlCampus sitesFoothill (10–0)Monterey Peninsula (8–2)Foothill 35Monterey Peninsula 22Grizzly BowlCollege of the Redwoods (8–2)Hartnell (7–3)College of the Redwoods 63Hartnell 0Dec 31:00 p.m.Game One BowlUNI-Dome (Cedar Falls, Iowa)Iowa Central (6–4)Snow (9–2)Iowa Central 44Snow 9
Awards and honors Individual honors + NJCAA Division I honors Award Name Team Coach of the Year Scott Strohmeier Iowa Western Offensive Player of the Year Ty Keyes, QB East Mississippi Defensive Player of the Year Daniel Brown, DL Hutchinson
+ NJCAA Division III honors Award Name Team Coach of the Year Terrence Isaac Rochester C&T Offensive Player of the Year Jaden McGill, RB DuPage Defensive Player of the Year Martell Williams, LB Rochester C&T
+ 3C2A honors Region Award Name Team Overall Coach of the Year Tom Craft Riverside City I Tim Tulloch San Mateo II Matt Ravio Foothill III Tom Craft Riverside City IV Darrin Chiaverini Chaffey Overall Offensive Player of the Year Jordan Barton, QB Riverside City I Anthony Grigsby, QB San Mateo II Hingano Hautau, OL Foothill III Jordan Barton, QB Riverside City IV Dereun Dortch, QB Chaffey Overall Defensive Player of the Year Josh Tremain, DL American River I Josh Tremain, DL American River II Samari Russo, DL Merced III Marquis Brown, DB; Brandon Tita-Nwu, LB Golden West; Fullerton IV Zamir Richardson, DL Santa Ana
All-Americans 2023 All-NJCAA Division I Team
Offense