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Belton, Texas – For the third time in program history, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will face Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Semifinals of the NCAA Division III National Championships when the Cru faces the Warhawks in a 2:30 PM kickoff Saturday at Crusader Stadium. The two teams also face off in the 2007 and 2008 National Semifinals and played regular season games during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Saturday's game will also mark the first time a UMHB athletic program has played a National Semifinal game on its own campus.
UMHB advanced to the Semifinals with a 45-23 victory over St. John Fisher in last Saturday's Quarterfinals. The Warhawks advanced to the Semifinals with a 28-17 come-from-behind win over Linfield College last Saturday.
The Cru is 13-0 overall on the season and won the American Southwest Conference Championship with a 6-0 league mark. UMHB is in the Semifinals of the postseason for the second straight year and the fifth time in program history. The Cru has a 24-11 all-time record in the postseason. Wisconsin-Whitewater is also 13-0 overall and won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 7-0 league record. The Warhawks are 34-6 all-time in the NCAA Division III National Championships, have won four national titles and are playing in the Division III Semifinals for the eighth time in the last nine season. UMHB entered the postseason ranked #2 in the country by the American Football Coaches Association and the Cru was ranked #3 in the nation by D3football.com. Wisconsin-Whitewater was ranked #5 in the country in both of those polls at the end of the regular season. The Warhawks lead the all-time series with UMHB 4-0 and beat the Cru 39-13 in the 2008 National Semifinals in Belton when UMHB was still playing its home games at Tiger Field.
"They are really good in every area, just like you would expect from the teams still playing at this time of the year," Cru Head Coach
Pete Fredenburg said. "The chance to play this kind of game on your home field against a team that we've never beaten is an opportunity that I think our guys will embrace and how could you not? Having the chance to play or coach in a game like this, on a stage like this, is what you dream of and we have to find a way to rise to the occasion."
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to face the Mount Union (OH)/North Central (IL) Semifinal winner for the NCAA Division III National Championship. The 41
st Stagg Bowl will be played Friday, December 20
th, at 7:00 PM Eastern Time in Salem, Virginia and will be televised live on ESPNU.
For more information on parking, traffic flow and game day events, please visit the following link:
http://news.umhb.edu/article/game-day-instructions. There will be parking reserved for Wisconsin-Whitewater fans in the parking lot at the corner of 9
th Street and College Drive. Warhawks fans are encouraged to enter the stadium through ticket window #3 at the southeast corner of Crusader Stadium and a block of reserved, chair back, visitor's side seats have been set aside for Wisconsin-Whitewater fans to purchase on game day.
Saturday's game will also be broadcast live on K101.7 FM and through the station's web site with the pre-game show starting at 2:00 PM. ESPN3 will carry the game with video streaming available through the Watch ESPN app or by clicking on the following link:
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/1312410/NCAA-Division-III-Football-Championship-(Semifinal-2). Live statistics for the game will also be available through the Division III Football Interactive bracket at www.ncaa.com. Tickets are still available and may be purchased at the Crusader Stadium ticket windows. Reserved seats are $10, adult general admission tickets are $8 and student general admission tickets are $5. There are no complimentary tickets or passes accepted for NCAA postseason games.
