Bloomsburg University Football Earns Bid to NCAA Championships

BLOOMSBURG-- The Bloomsburg University football team earned its second straight bid to the NCAA championships on Sunday when it was one of the 24 teams selected to play in the national championship tournament.

The Huskies (10-1) will be the second seed from the Northeast Region and will host the winner of the game between number three seed Bryant College (8-2) and number six West Chester (8-3) on Saturday, Nov. 25 at noon. Advance tickets for the game will go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the Sports Information Office of Bloomsburg University located in the Waller Administration Building. Adult tickets are $10 with seniors and students $5 each. All Bloomsburg University students will be admitted free, but need to pick up a ticket for admission.

Bloomsburg, which dropped its opening game of the year to Division I-AA power James Madison, rattled off 10 consecutive wins to capture the PSAC Eastern Division title for the second straight season.

The NCAA tournament bid is the sixth in school history for the Huskies and marks the second time in school history the team has earned an NCAA bid in back-to-back seasons. Bloomsburg was knocked out of last year's tournament in the second round and also lost an opening round game in 2001 to Grand Valley College. During the 2000 season, Bloomsburg advanced to the NCAA title game where it lost to Delta State. The Huskies also made NCAA playoff appearances in 1996 and 1985.

The top ranked team in the NCAA Northeast Region is Shepherd University (11-0) and will also receive a first-round bye. Shepherd will host the winner of the Merrimack-Southern Connecticut game on Nov. 25. The winners of the second round games on Nov. 25 will meet on Dec. 2 at the highest remaining seeded team for the regional title. The NCAA semifinals are set for Dec. 9-10 with the NCAA Division II title game on Dec. 16 in Florence, Alabama.