FLORENCE
-- The University of North Alabama football
team was awarded its 13th NCAA Division II
Football playoff appearance Sunday and will
receive a bye in the opening round due to a
No. 2 seeding in the Southeast Region.
The Lions
finished their regular season with a 9-1
record after a 49-20 blow-out of West
Alabama at home Saturday. That win was good
enough to keep UNA at No. 2 in the Southeast
behind top seeded Valdosta State.
The Blazers
also received a first round bye and will
host the winner of the Catawba-Albany State
first round game. UNA will host the winner
of the other first round game, Delta State
vs. Shaw, on November 24 at Braly Stadium.
It has been our
goal, since we met with our players before
the season, to win a National Championship,"
said UNA head coach Mark Hudspeth. "Our
seniors have been to the playoffs, they've
won a conference championship and they've
had a perfect regular-season, but their goal
is to win a National Championship.
"It's great to
get the No. 2 seed and get a chance to
advance to the second round without
playing,"
Hudspeth said.
"I think our guys need a mental break more
than a physical break and having an open
week after 14-straight weeks will do us a
lot of good.
"We've had a
great season and I don't think the week off
will hurt our momentum. It will give us more
time to prepare and be ready to go on the
24th, and we'll have home field advantage."
North Alabama
has a 23-9 all-time record in the playoffs
which gives the Lions more wins in the post-
season than any current Division II member
institution. UNA's .719 winning percentage
is the second best all- time in Division II
history among schools that have played 10 or
more games.
UNA has been
selected for the Division II playoffs in
1980, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994,
1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 and is
the only school to have won three straight
national championships (1993-95) in Division
II history.
This marks
UNA's third straight playoff appearance
under head coach Mark Hudspeth and fourth
appearance in the last five years.
The selection
of three Gulf South Conference teams marks
the sixth time in league history that three
GSC teams have advanced to post-season. The
GSC has won more Division II National
Championshps (8), has had more different
schools win the championship (5), has more
playoff appearances (53), most different
schools in the playoffs (12), most playoff
games played (119) and most playoff wins
(75) of any Division II league.
TICKETS FOR
UNA'S NOVEMBER 24 PLAYOFF GAME will go on
sale at the UNA Ticket Office on Monday. All
West stand seats are $12 and are reserved,
with the exception of Section A - where
tickets are $5 each for UNA students. East
stand tickets are general admission and are
$10 for adults and $5 for all youth and
students. UNA SEASON TICKET HOLDERS will
have a chance to purchase their same seats
from Monday-thru-Friday at the UNA ticket
office. After that, any unclaimed seats will
go on sale to the general public.
FIRST ROUND -
November 17
NORTHWEST
REGION
Ashland at
Central Washington
Winona State at
North Dakota
SOUTHWEST
REGION
Mesa State at
Abilene Christian
Washburn at
West Texas A&M
SOUTHEAST
REGION
Albany State at
Catawba
Shaw at Delta
State
NORTHEAST
REGION
Bryant at
Southern Connecticut State
Indiana, Pa. at
West Chester
SECOND ROUND -
November 24
NORTHWEST
REGION
Ashland-Central
Washington winner at Nebraska-Omaha Winona
State-North Dakota winner at Grand Valley
State
SOUTHWEST
REGION
Mesa
State-Abilene Christian winner at Chadron
State Washburn-West Texas A&M winner at
Northwest Missouri State
SOUTHEAST
REGION
Albany
State-Catawba winner at Valdosta State
Shaw-Delta State winner at North Alabama
NORTHEAST
REGION
Bryant-Southern
Connecticut State winner at California, Pa.
Indiana,
Pa.-West Chester winner at Shepherd
QUARTERFINALS -
DECEMBER 1
SEMIFINALS -
DECEMBER 9 (Sunday)
CHAMPIONSHIP -
DECEMBER 15
11:00 a.m. -
Florence, Ala.
