Three E8 football teams earns bids to ECAC bowl game
NEW BRITAIN, CT — The Alfred University, Buffalo State College and St. John Fisher College football teams have earned a bid to play in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) bowl championship game.
This will be the first time that ECAC Bowl games will be played at a neutral site as all six ECAC Bowl Championship games will be played over the course of three days (Nov. 20-22) at Arute Field on the campus of Central Connecticut State University.
The Saxons have been chosen to play Fitchburg (MA) State University in the Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl Championship on Sunday (Nov. 22) at 5 p.m.
Alfred has played in 10 ECAC bowl games since 1986, winning eight and losing two. The last time Alfred played in an ECAC game, in 2013, the Saxons hosted Cortland in the Northwest Bowl Championship and won, 21-14.
Fisher will take on Westminster College (PA) in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl Championship game Saturday at 11 a.m.
This marks the 13
th straight year Fisher has advanced to the postseason. The Cardinals are 6-1 all-time in ECAC Bowl games including a 28-14 victory over Western Connecticut State in last season's ECAC Northwest Championship Bowl. Fisher is 16-6 all-time in the postseason, including 10-5 in the NCAA Championships.
After defeating Alfred University 23-9 at home last Saturday, the Cardinals won their sixth-straight game and clinched a share of the Empire 8 Conference title for the second consecutive season and sixth time in school history.
Buffalo Statewill face Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) this Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Bengals will make their second-consecutive ECAC Bowl appearance, defeating Waynesburg, 59-36, last season in the Southwest Bowl. The Bengals finished the regular season with a 7-3 mark for the second-straight season as well, most recently defeating Brockport, 35-28, in last Saturday's regular season finale.
Following are the ECAC Bowl Championship matchups for the weekend:
Friday, Nov. 20 – Clayton Chapman Bowl – Husson (7-2) vs. Salve Regina (7-2) – 4 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 20 – Presidents Bowl – WPI (7-3) vs. Kean (7-3) – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21 – James Lynah Bowl –
St. John Fisher (7-3) vs. Westminster (8-2) – 11 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Asa S. Bushnell Bowl –
Buffalo State (7-3) vs. RPI (8-2) – 5 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 22 – Legacy Bowl – Bridgewater (7-3) vs. Carnegie Mellon (7-3) – Noon
Sunday, Nov. 22 – Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl –
Alfred (7-3) vs. Fitchburg State (8-2) - 5 p.m.