The new McKinney ISD Stadium officially opened in August 2018 and served as the host site of the 2018 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game in December. Now, NCAA has chosen McKinney to host the championship game for the next three years.

McKinney, Texas – On Tuesday, March 12, NCAA announced that it has chosen McKinney ISD Stadium as the host site for the 2019–2021 Division II National Football Championship games.

The decision follows what NCAA described as a “tremendous experience” when the Lone Star Conference and MISD hosted the 2018 championship game between Valdosta State and Ferris State last December.

NCAA announced last September their plan to move the 2018 contest to the new MISD Stadium after renovations at the originally scheduled host site of Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City prevented that venue’s availability.

Now, the Lone Star Conference and MISD will team up to host the event for the next three years.

“The Lone Star Conference and the city of McKinney performed in an outstanding fashion in hosting the 2018 championship despite having a short window of time for preparation,” said NCAA Division II Football Committee chair Reid Amos in an NCAA release. “Combine that local effort with such an outstanding facility and it was an easy decision for the committee to make regarding future championships.”

Amos praised the work of those who made it all come together. “The efforts of commissioner Jay Poerner of the Lone Star Conference, [Athletic Director] Shawn Pratt and [Associate Athletic Director] Jennifer Frazier of McKinney ISD and their tremendous staff were lauded by everyone who attended or was associated with the 2018 championship,” Amos said. “We are looking forward to seeing what the results will be with a full year to prepare each of the next three years in hosting our NCAA Championship event.”

Pratt was pleased with the NCAA decision but quick to deflect credit for the success of the 2018 event.

“Once again, we are excited to partner with the City of McKinney, the Lone Star Conference and many volunteers to host the NCAA Division II National Football Championship in McKinney,” Pratt said. “The 2018 championship was a great success due to the hard work and hospitality from a lot of people. We were proud to display our great city last December and are equally excited to show it off for another three years with this new bid we just received.”

The game is expected to bring a positive economic impact to the McKinney area.

McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center will host the Division II Football Championship games on Dec. 21, 2019, Dec. 19, 2020, and Dec. 18, 2021.

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