INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - DePauw University (7-2), winner of the SCAC's NCAA Division III Football Championship automatic berth, will travel to Presidents' Athletic Conference champion Thomas More (Ky.) (10-0) for a first round matchup on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Noon Eastern time.
DePauw, the region's No. 7 seed, earned its first ever NCAA playoff appearance by finishing 5-1 in SCAC play. The Tigers finished tied with Millsaps College in league play but won the automatic bid via their head-to-head win over Millsaps on Oct. 3.
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The Tigers' opponent, the Saints of Thomas More and the region's No. 2 seed, capped off an undefeated 10-0 regular season highlighted by their 14-7 win over Washington & Jefferson on Oct. 31 to earn the PAC championship and automatic playoff berth. The Saints (#10 AFCA/#11 D3football.com) made the field of 32 teams for the second consecutive year.
Saturday's game will mark the first ever meeting between DePauw and Thomas More. Thomas More makes its fourth appearance in the NCAA playoffs. The Saints have an all-time playoff record of 1-3 and lost last year's first round game at North Central, 44-23.
Twenty-three conferences received automatic-qualifying berths.
Three berths were reserved for true independents and those teams
that are members of conferences that do not receive automatic
qualification. The remaining six berths were awarded to teams from
either automatic qualifying conferences that did not win an
automatic berth, or remaining true independent teams and teams in
non-automatic qualifying conferences.
The first round of the championship will be played November 21 at
the host institution's campus or at an alternate site approved by
the football committee. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national
championship game, will be played December 19, at Salem Stadium in
Salem, Va. The game will be broadcast live on ESNP2 HD at 11 a.m.
Eastern time.