FCS Playoffs

[eagles_victory]

INDIANAPOLIS---The field of 16 teams competing for the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee.

James Madison University (10-1) tops the bracket as the top seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes, who won the 2004 national championship, are making their ninth tournament appearance.

Second-seeded Appalachian State University (10-2), the three-time defending Football Championship Subdivision national champion, is making its 16th appearance. The Mountaineers captured the Southern Conference automatic berth.

The University of Northern Iowa (10-2), which is making its 14th tournament appearance, is the number-three seed. The Panthers were the national runners-up to Appalachian State in 2005.

Rounding out this year’s seeded teams is the University of Montana (11-1) with the number- four seed. The Grizzlies, who won the 1995 and 2001 national championship, are making their 16th straight appearance and 19th overall.

Other first-round hosts include Cal Poly (8-2), University of Richmond (9-3), Missouri Valley Football Conference automatic qualifier Southern Illinois University (9-2), and Villanova University (9-2).

Other automatic qualifiers in the tournament include 2003 national runners-up Colgate University (9-2), which earned the automatic bid from the Patriot League. Eastern Kentucky University (8-3) was the automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference, while South Carolina State University (10-2) earned the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s automatic bid. Texas State University (8-4) was the automatic qualifier from the Southland Conference and Weber State University (9-3) was the automatic qualifier from the Big Sky Conference.

Other teams in the field are University of Maine (8-4), University of New Hampshire (9-2), Richmond University (9-3) and Wofford College (9-2).

Eight conferences received automatic-qualifying berths: the Big Sky Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Football Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference and Southland Conference.

ESPN’s family of networks will once again provide coverage of all rounds of the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship. In the first round, ESPNU/ESPNUHD will broadcast the South Carolina State at Appalachian State game live at Noon ET, Saturday, November 29.

The 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship game is slated for 8 p.m. Eastern time Friday, December 19, at W. Max Finley Stadium/Davenport Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ESPN2/ESPN2HD/ESPN360.com will televise the championship game.

More games may possibly be televised in the first round as well as additional rounds. Television schedules and games times for all rounds of the 2008 championship will be updated daily at the NCAA Sports web site (www.ncaa.com).

November 29 at Harrisburg, Virginia
Wofford (9-2) at No. 1 James Madison (10-1)

November 29 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Colgate (9-2) at Villanova (9-2)

November 29 at Missoula, Montana
Texas St. (8-4) at No. 4 Montana (11-1)

November 29 at San Luis Obispo, California
Weber St. (9-3) at Cal Poly (8-2)

November 29 at Boone, North Carolina (ESPNU/ESPNUHD at Noon ET)
South Carolina St. (10-2) at No. 2 Appalachian St. (10-2)

November 29 at Richmond, Virginia
Eastern Ky. (8-3) at Richmond (9-3)

November 29 at Cedar Falls, Iowa
Maine (8-4) at No. 3 UNI (10-2)

November 29 at Carbondale, Illinois
New Hampshire (9-2) at Southern Ill. (9-2)

The 2008 championship field consists of eight automatic qualifiers and eight at-large qualifiers.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (8)

Weber St.
Big Sky Conference
James Madison Colonial Athletic Association
South Carolina State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Southern Illinois Missouri Valley Football Conference
Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley Conference
Colgate Patriot League
Appalachian State Southern Conference
Texas State Southland Conference


















AT-LARGE QUALIFIERS (8)

Montana Big Sky Conference
Maine Colonial Athletic Association
New Hampshire Colonial Athletic Association
Richmond Colonial Athletic Association
Villanova Colonial Athletic Association
Cal Poly Great West Conference
Northern Iowa Missouri Valley Football Conference
Wofford Southern Conference

http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2008/ncaa_bracket_FCS_football.html

[sahen]

I am happy Texas State got in but its unfortunate it was by a crappy rule....Central Arkansas should get that spot, its unfortunate that instead of making the rule where you can't qualify for postseason until you have been in a division for 2 years change to you cant qualify for the postseason for 2 years after you move down a division couldnt have happened...Central Arkansas wins the southland in their first year as a FCS school from Div. 2, yet they get shut out of the playoffs cause of a technicality, thats pretty sad and shows how inept/corrupt the NCAA really is...

that said, Eat'em up Cats! wear your insulated undies and give Montana heck!

[eagles_victory]

The reason they cant make it is because they have to get their academic standards up to the FCS level. You have to cycle out the players who wouldn't have qualified to be on the team because of academic reasons if the school was FCS the whole time. I don't exactly agree with the rule but it wouldnt be really fair if a team is playing with athletes that haven't qualified for FCS level competition is in the playoffs. Also UCA knew the rules of trasitioning to FCS when they made the jump and that is just part of how it goes. This was their second year in the Southland also.

[3afan]

Originally posted by sahen
....and shows how inept/corrupt the NCAA really is...

...

oh come on now -- thats way off base

yes the NCAA has a "problems" but this is not one of them ..... all new NCAA schools or new-to-a-division NCAA schools have to serve a mandatory probation period ... its always been that way

how does that make the NCAA corrupt? :confused:

[sahen]

i had read a couple articles on the situation and this is the first im hearing of the academic situation, that makes sense to me....BUT it would make more sense for the NCAA to actually require the team to be in compliance BEFORE they join a new division so situations like this wouldn't happen....


3afan, the NCAA is always corrupt to me no matter what they do, until i see a playoff for the D1-A or BCS level whatever you want to call it then they will be corrupt, even after that happens they'd still be corrupt but i'd be willing to reconsider it....its just one of those deals, when something doesnt make sense blame the NCAA's corruptness cause even if your wrong its too easy to link it back to that...

[GreenGobbla]

im taking richmond

[3afan]

Originally posted by sahen
... when something doesnt make sense blame the NCAA's corruptness cause even if your wrong its too easy to link it back to that...

sorry, thats lame

or at least its really lazy

remember, the NCAA member schools MAKE the rules ...



good luck to TSU-SM

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by sahen
i had read a couple articles on the situation and this is the first im hearing of the academic situation, that makes sense to me....BUT it would make more sense for the NCAA to actually require the team to be in compliance BEFORE they join a new division so situations like this wouldn't happen....


Only thing about that is it is going to be hard to recruit athletes who are good enough and meet the requirments to play at an FCS school to play divison 2. If you did this you take a risk of not being able to compete and setting the program back overall.

[Keith7]

Good luck to Southwest Texas State

[sahen]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
Only thing about that is it is going to be hard to recruit athletes who are good enough and meet the requirments to play at an FCS school to play divison 2. If you did this you take a risk of not being able to compete and setting the program back overall.

are you not taking this risk anyway when you move up a division? Div1-AA championship caliber programs move up to D1-A w/ regularity and most of the time they set themselves back big time except now they have the D1-A or FBS distinction to sell potential recruits and students....For example, Texas State is trying to become Div1-A and they have been in the playoffs 2 of the last 4 years in D1-AA, once they become Div1-A most would not realistically expect them to make a bowl game for 5+ years.....seems to me it'd be easier to recruit a kid to a college saying "we are D2 right now and are a powerhouse so we are moving up to D1-AA, i need athletes like you to be in my program to continue that tradition" than saying "well we were good in D2 but now that we are in D1-AA we are rebuilding and we need kids like you to rebuild the program back to its previous glory"....one way your recruiting while your winning the other your recruiting while your losing (of course in this situation Central Arkansas is an exception since they actually are winning once they came up, but in most cases its tough sledding the first couple years in a new division).....

[Gobbla2001]

Originally posted by GreenGobbla
im taking richmond

Richmond U and U of Richmond the same school? That's where Tre Gray plays, eh?

I'll pull for 'em maybe...

Doesn't Joey Adams play for TX State? another player? Wesley?

[coach]

i have a strong feeling that jimmyceatworld will post on this thread

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by coach
i have a strong feeling that jimmyceatworld will post on this thread me too but i dont know he is more of a d3 guy.

[kepdawg]

Shouldn't these guys be worrying about school instead of the playoffs? :thinking: