Framingham State to Face Ithaca in First Round of NCAA Division III Football Championship
After going a perfect 8-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Framingham State Rams will play Ithaca College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday, November 23, the NCAA announced Sunday.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After going a perfect 8-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Framingham State Rams will play Ithaca College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday, November 23, the NCAA announced Sunday.
The Rams, making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, won the inaugural 2013 MASCAC Championship after going undefeated in conference play and finished the regular season 9-1. The Rams have faced a pair of NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season, defeating Endicott College in the season-opener and falling to Rowan University in week two.
Senior runningback Melikke Van Alstyne led the way for Framingham State with an average of 150 yards rushing per game and 18 touchdowns on the season. In the final regular season game, he surpassed the 6,000 career rushing yard mark in a 36-0 win over Worcester State.
This will be the first meeting between the Rams and the Bombers, the champions of the Empire 8 conference. Ithaca went 8-2 overall this season and were 6-1 in conference competition.
Playing for a spot in the second round, the winner of the game will face off with the winner of John Hopkins University/Wesley College on Nov. 30.
32 teams will compete for a spot in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl Championship game, which will be played Dec. 20, at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va. The game will be broadcast live on ESNPU at 7 p.m. ET.
Video Webstream - http://www.ictv.org/live
Radio Webstream - http://www.wicb.org
Live Stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/ithaca/football/
Portions of this release provided by Framingham State Sports Information.