Sunday, November 14, 2004
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne

 

Bridgewater to Face Washington and Jefferson in First-Round of NCAA Tournament


SALEM, VA. -- On the strength of its fourth consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship, Bridgewater College will play at Washington and Jefferson in the first-round of the Division III Football National Tournament.  The game is set for Saturday, November 20th at 12:00 p.m.


BC finished the regular season with a perfect 6-0 mark in the ODAC and 8-2 overall.  Head Coach Mike Clark and his squad have won 29 consecutive league games and qualify for the tournament for the fifth consecutive year.


The Presidents are 10-0 on the season, capturing the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) championship with a 5-0 mark.


Linfield enters the tournament as the top-seed and is one of four-teams to receive a first-round bye.   The Wildcats, 9-0 completed their third straight undefeated regular season and won their fifth consecutive Northwest Conference title.

Rowan, Hardin-Simmons and seven-time National Champion Mount Union were the other teams to receive first-round byes.


Twenty-one conferences received automatic-qualifying berths.  Four berths were reserved for true independents and those teams that are members of conferences that do not receive automatic qualification.  The remaining three berths were awarded to teams from either automatic qualifying conferences that did not win an automatic berth, or remaining true independent teams and teams in non-automatic qualifying conferences.


The first round of the championship will be played November 20 at the host institution’s campus or at an alternate site approved by the football committee.  The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship game, will be played December 18, at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia.


Stagg Bowl XXXII marks the 12th consecutive year the City of Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) have co-hosted the NCAA Division III National Football Championship.

 

To follow the Division III Tournament, log onto www.odaconline.com or  www.ncaachampionships.com.

 

 

www.odaconline.com