The Division II Football Championship final will return to Florence, Alabama, in 2010 and 2011.

The Shoals National Championship Committee and the University of North Alabama will host the games in 14,500-seat Braly Municipal Stadium. The SNCC has served as sponsoring agency for the game since 1986.

The Division II Football Committee made the site recommendation, and it was approved by the Division II Championships Committee.

“The SNCC and North Alabama have a longstanding 23-year tradition of hosting the championship,” said Kevin Buisman, chair of the Division II Football Committee and director of athletics at Minnesota State Mankato. “The community has supported that tradition through the team host program it has developed during those years. They have done a very good job of providing a quality experience for student-athletes participating in the championship game.”

Buisman said the SNCC and university enhanced the championship even further during the past two years by initiating a community-engagement event in which the participating teams visited elementary students the day before the game to read to pupils.

The actual dates of the 2010 and 2011 championship finals remain to be set since Division II is considering moving the game a week later than it currently is played.

The potential date change is related to a proposal by the Division II Legislation and Championships Committees to schedule the first regular-season game no earlier than the Thursday preceding September 6. That proposal still must be reviewed by the Division II Management and Presidents Councils this summer.

The 2009 game will be played December 12.