BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs, released Sunday.
UMHB will face Trinity University (Texas) in the NCAA First Round. UMHB is 7-5 all-time against the Tigers with a 5-2 mark in postseason action. The Cru the 2022 matchup at Trinity in a 24-17 victory and has four wins all-time in San Antonio. UMHB and the Tigers will face off in a 12 p.m. contest on Saturday, November 23rd in San Antonio.
UMHB finished the 2024 season with a 63.991 National Power Index Ranking, ranking them 35th out of the 40 team-cut for the playoffs. The Cru jumped up two spaces to 35th after a 63-7 win over Howard Payne University on Saturday. Wabash University, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Marietta all suffered losses to close their regular seasons and dropped out of the top 30, helping the Cru move up to secure the 11th at-large bid.
Hardin-Simmons University, Texas Lutheran University and Trinity University also earned bids to the tournament with the Cowboys earning a first-round bye. With a win against the Tigers, UMHB would be the Cowboys' first round of action in the postseason.
This mark's the Cru's 18th appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. UMHB will open on the road for the first time since 2015 and face Trinity in the first round for the seventh time.
