Ithaca Football Opens NCAA Tournament At Hobart
THE GAME: The Ithaca College football team travels to Hobart in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday, Nov. 22. Ithaca qualified for the tournament as champions of the Empire 8. Hobart earned automatic qualification as champion of the Liberty League. The winner of this Saturday's game will play the winner of a first-round game between Johns Hopkins and Rowan (being played Saturday at Johns Hopkins) in a second-round game on Saturday, Nov. 29.
TICKETS: Ticket information will be available from the host institution on Monday.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Ithaca is making its 19th appearance in the Division III tournament and has a 28-15 record in 43 NCAA games, including national championships in 1979, 1988 and 1991. Ithaca has played in the Stagg Bowl for the national championship seven times. Ithaca made its last tournament appearance in 2013 and defeated Framingham State 20-17 in a first-round game at Butterfield Stadium, before dropping a 23-15 contest at Wesley in the second round. Ithaca ranks fifth all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances with 19, and fifth in all-time NCAA Tournament victories with 28.
Hobart has played in the NCAA Tournament 10 times, with a 7-10 overall record in the tournament. Last year, Hobart advanced to the second round of the tournament. They won a first-round game 34-7 over Gallaudet and lost in the second round 27-6 to St. John Fisher. Both of those games were played at home at Boswell Field.
THE SERIES: Ithaca and Hobart have never met in the NCAA Tournament. The teams have played 27 times in the series history, and Ithaca leads 25-2 in those games, with the first meeting taking place in 1961. They have played one common opponent this season. Ithaca defeated Union 21-16 at Butterfield Stadium in the season-opening game on Sept. 6. Hobart defeated Union 30-6 in a home game on Nov. 1.
THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: A total of 32 teams will be playing in the 2014 NCAA football playoffs; 16 first-round games will be played Nov. 22, with eight second-round games to be played on Nov. 29, followed by quarterfinals on Dec. 6 and semifinals Dec. 13 at campus sites. The 42nd Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl is Dec. 19 at Salem, Va. Eight teams in the tournament field earned at-large invitations and 24 teams earned automatic qualification by virtue of winning their conference.