With the playoffs expanded to 40 teams this year, four teams from Texas officially found out their seasons would continue in the playoffs when the NCAA Division III bracket was released on Sunday.

After winning the American Southwest Conference title outright for the second consecutive season and the fourth unblemished record in the regular season in program history, Hardin-Simmons earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Power Index, used to select and seed teams for the playoffs. The Cowboys earned a bye in the first round and will have homefield advantage through the national semifinals. The national title game will be played at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on January 5, 2025.

The Cowboys are making their third consecutive and 13th overall appearance in the Division III playoffs and 25th postseason in program history. HSU is guaranteed to make the second round of the DIII playoffs for the first time since advancing to the national semifinals in 2000. They will meet the Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor winner, who meet on Saturday in San Antonio.

The Tigers won their final six games of the regular season to claim a share of their fourth consecutive Southern Athletic Association championship and 21st conference title in program history. They earned an at-large bid to the playoffs, their fourth consecutive and 16th overall appearance in the DIII playoffs. 

UMHB returns to the NCAA DIII playoffs for the 21st time in program history after missing the playoffs last season. The Crusaders are making their second appearance in the playoffs under head coach Larry Harmon, who led the Cru to the national semifinals in 2022. A UMHB victory over Trinity would set up a rare third meeting with rival Hardin-Simmons. The Cowboys have won both meetings with the ASC using a double round-robin format.

Texas Lutheran won a share of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title and will make its first postseason appearance since 2014 after receiving an at-large bid. The Bulldogs will travel to McMinnville, Ore, to play Linfield, champions of the Northwest Conference in the second round. The winner between TLU and Linfield would meet the winner of the Hardin-Simmons contest against either Trinity or UMHB in the third round.

TLU finished undefeated at home for the first time since Bulldog Stadium opened in 2014 and is making its fifth postseason appearance in program history. The Bulldogs earned their fourth conference championship, the first since 2015, by splitting the regular season series with McMurry.