Cortland to Host Salisbury in NCAA First Round Nov. 21
The SUNY Cortland football team will host Salisbury University in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Div. III playoffs on Saturday, November 21 at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. Game time is scheduled for noon.
Cortland (8-2) is one of 32 teams competing in the tournament field. The Red Dragons earned an automatic bid into the playoffs after winning the Empire 8 conference title with a 6-2 mark. Salisbury (7-2) won the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title with a 7-1 mark to earn a playoff berth. Ironically, Cortland was a long-time member of the NJAC from 2000-14 before moving to the Empire 8 this fall, while Salisbury was an Empire 8 member from 2011-14 before joining the NJAC this season.
The winner of Saturday's game advances to the second round on Saturday, Nov. 28, and will face either Linfield College of Oregon (9-0) or Whitworth University of Washington at a site to be determined. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, December 5 and the semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Division III national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, is Friday, Dec. 18 in Salem, Va.
Cortland, led by 19th-year head coach
Dan MacNeill, is making its ninth NCAA playoff appearance and fourth since 2008. In their last NCAA appearance in 2012, the Red Dragons defeated Framingham State in the opening round before losing at Wesley in the second round.
Cortland has advanced to the national quarterfinals twice - as part of a 16-team playoff field in 1988 and as part of a 32-team field in 2008. The Red Dragons are 5-8 in NCAA play, but have won their last three first-round games in 2008, 2010 and 2012, all at home.
Saturday's game will mark only the second meeting on the gridiron between Cortland and Salisbury. The Red Dragons lost to the Sea Gulls, 25-0, on the road in 1983. The two schools, however, are no stranger to each other in NCAA tournament play in other sports. Cortland and Salisbury have met in NCAA play in five sports (field hockey, baseball, softball, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse), including four NCAA men's lacrosse title games (2006-08, 2012), four softball World Series games (2003, 2009, twice in 2013), and two baseball World Series games (2001, 2014).
Ticket prices for Saturday's game will be announced at a later time.
NCAA Tournament Selection Release