No. 24 West Chester Selected For NCAA II Playoffs; Heads to Notre Dame (Ohio)

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The suspense is over. West Chester is in.
 
The West Chester Golden Rams learned that they were one of seven schools from Super Region 1 to be selected for the NCAA Division II Football Tournament Sunday evening when the field of 28 was revealed on NCAA.com. West Chester is the sixth seed in the region and will travel to Notre Dame (Ohio) for a first-round contest on Saturday.
 
The Golden Rams (9-2) are coming off a thrilling 20-19 victory over California (Pa.) in a contest that literally came down to the final play of the game Saturday. It was that win that cemented a playoff spot for West Chester.
 
West Chester is making its third straight playoff appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 14th overall, showing a record of 10-13 in its previous postseason endeavors. Notre Dame (10-1) is the three seed and is making its second straight appearance in the tournament.
 
Slippery Rock, which won the PSAC Championship on Saturday by beating Kutztown is the top seed in the region and receives a first-round bye. Kutztown is the No. 2 seed and will host Tiffin out of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). Indiana (Pa.) is the four-seed and will host Shepherd in the other Super Region 1 first-round tilt.
 
DII football is broken down into four Super Regions. Each one of these regions will send their top seven teams to the DII Football Championship based upon the DII Football Committee's selections, with the four No. 1 teams earning a first-round. Unlike many other brackets, there are no automatic bids awarded in DII football – just earned access, which goes to conference champions, who did not rank in the Top 7, but did appear in spots 8-10.
 
The NCAA DII Football Committee will fill the 28-team bracket prior to the selection show. Ten schools in each of the four Super Regions are ranked based on selection criteria that includes in-region winning percentage, DII strength of schedule, and DII head-to-head competition. The top seven from Super Region One through Four will make the tournament, with the No. 1 seeds earning a first-round bye. For a complete understanding of how the DII football championship works, you can reference our guide in the link below.
 
This year will see an added change the tournament. The committee will be able to adjust the qualified teams in the bracket with the intention of reducing the charter flights of the earlier rounds. This means if a team in Super Region One is closer to a team in Super Region Two, that could be a potential matchup to reduce travel for schools as well as give the fans a better opportunity to get to early-round games.
 
Game time for Saturday's first round game will be determined Monday following a conference call with the two participating schools.