The NCAA Division II Football Committee announced Sunday the field of 28 teams for the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship. Four teams from Kansas and Missouri are in the field with 2015 champion Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville, MO) entering the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll.
For the third consecutive year, the NCAA Division II Football Championship will be held at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The match will kick off at at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, December 17 and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and WatchESPN. Tickets for the match are now available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-KC-GOAL.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats earned the No. 1 seed in Super Regional Three after finishing the regular season unbeaten for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the previous four years. Coach Adam Dorrell’s side won their 28th conference championship this season and will look to add to their five national championship victories.
The path to the championship for the Bearcats is not easy, though, as they could square off against another local team as early as the second round. Emporia State University (Emporia, KS) finished the season 9-1 and will host Minnesota-Duluth in the first round. University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, MO) earned the No. 6 seed in Super Regional Three and will travel to Harding University for a first round matchup.
The final Missouri-based team was placed in Super Regional Four with Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, MO) earning the No. 3 seed in the group after finishing the regular season 10-1. They will host the Colorado School of Mines this weekend.
Twelve first-round games will be conducted on the campus of one of the competing institutions. In addition, one team per super regional has earned a first-round bye. The first-round winners will all advance to the second round with games on the campus of one of the competing institutions. Second-round winners will meet in the quarterfinals at various campus sites. Quarterfinal winners will advance to play in the semifinals on the campus of one of the competing institutions with the championship match held at Children's Mercy Park.
