Grizzlies left out of FCS playoff field
11/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
The 2010 Montana football season is over.
The Grizzlies were not selected for an at-large bid to the 20-team FCS playoff field, ending a run of 17 straight postseason appearances by Montana.
Both Montana State and Eastern Washington will represent the Big Sky Conference. MSU earned the conference automatic bid and the fourth seed in the tournament, while the Eagles are the fifth seed as an at-large qualifier.
The main reasons Montana was not selected to this year???s playoffs (according to UM Director of Athletics Jim O???Day, who chairs the selection committee):
1). UM had only six Division I wins. The victory against Division II Western State did not count in the final information provided to committee members.
2). UM did not defeat a team under final playoff consideration - and in particular Eastern Washington and Montana State.
3). There are only 10 at-large berths in the playoff bracket. None of the at-large berths were awarded to teams with less than seven Division I wins.
4). Financial considerations are only used to determine sites for non-seeded teams. Only the top 5 seeds are guaranteed a home berth in their first game ??? if they meet the minimum bid requirement of $30,000. Schools cannot "buy" their way into the tournament.
5). Despite sitting on the committee, O'Day was unable to vote for his own team.
6). Montana was in the final grouping of schools considered for the final two spots in the bracket.?? Others who were also considered with better records included Jacksonville (10-1), Dayton (10-1) and Liberty (8-3).
7). All teams are selected on merit - not rumor or speculation on behalf of fans. There are 10 automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large selections. The Pioneer Conference does not have an automatic qualifier.
NCAA Release
INDIANAPOLIS - The field of 20 teams competing for the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee.
Appalachian State University (9-2) tops the bracket as the top seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers, who won three consecutive championships from 2005-07, are making their 18th appearance and sixth straight overall.
Second-seeded College of William and Mary (8-3) is making its ninth appearance. The Tribe captured the Colonial Athletic Association automatic berth.
University of Delaware (9-2), which is making its 15th overall tournament appearance, is the number-three seed. The 2003 national champion, the Blue Hens tied William and Mary for the CAA championship.
Montana State University (9-2) is the number-four seed after capturing the Big Sky Conference automatic berth. The Bobcats, the 1984 national champion, are making its fifth appearance and first since 2006.
Rounding out this year???s seeded teams is Eastern Washington University (9-2) with the number-five seed. The Eagles are making its eighth overall appearance.
First-round hosts include Big South automatic qualifier Coastal Carolina (6-5), North Dakota State University (7-4), Missouri Valley Football Conference automatic qualifier University of Northern Iowa (7-4), and Georgia Southern University (7-4).
The top four national seeds will host winners from the first round match-ups. Others hosting second rounds game will be Eastern Washington, Bethune-Cookman University (10-1), who was the automatic qualifier from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State University (9-2) and Stephen F. Austin State University (9-2), who earned the Southland Conference???s automatic bid.
Other automatic qualifiers in the tournament include Robert Morris University (8-2), the Northeast Conference champion, clinched its first trip into the championship. Also making its first trip into the championship is Southeast Missouri State University, winner of the automatic bid from the Ohio Valley Conference. Winning the Patriot League was the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University (9-2).
Other teams in the field are New Hampshire University (7-4), South Carolina State University (9-2), the defending national champion Villanova University (7-4), Western Illinois University (7-4) and Wofford College (9-2). Along with Southeast Missouri State, North Dakota State and Robert Morris are making their first ever appearance in the championship.
Ten conferences received automatic-qualifying berths: the Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Football Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference and Southland Conference.
The combination of www.NCAA.com and ESPN???s family of networks will once again provide coverage of all rounds of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship.
Television schedules and games times for all rounds of the 2010 championship will be updated daily at the NCAA Sports web site (www.NCAA.com/football).
The 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game is slated for 7 p.m. Eastern time Friday, January 18, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. ESPN2HD/ESPN3.com will televise the championship game.
FIRST ROUND GAMES
November 27 at Conway, S.C.
Western Illinois (7-4) at Coastal Carolina (6-5)
November 27 at Fargo, N.D.
Robert Morris (8-2) at North Dakota State (7-4)
November 27 at Cedar Falls, Iowa
Lehigh (9-2) at Northern Iowa (7-4)
November 27 at Statesboro, Georgia
South Carolina State (9-2) at Georgia Southern (7-4)
SECOND ROUND GAMES
December 4 at Boone, North Carolina, Noon (ET)
Western Illinois/Coastal Carolina winner at #1 Appalachian State (9-2)
December 4 at Nacogdoches, Texas, 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Villanova (7-4) at Stephen F. Austin (9-2)
December 4 at Cheney, Washington
Southeast Missouri State (9-2) at #5 Eastern Washington (9-2)
December 4 at Bozeman, Montana, 2 p.m. (ET)
Robert Morris/North Dakota State winner at #4 Montana State (9-2)
December 4 at Newark, Delaware
Lehigh/Northern Iowa winner at #3 Delaware (9-2)
December 4 at Daytona Beach, Florida
New Hampshire (7-4) at Bethune-Cookman (10-1)
December 4 at Jacksonville, Alabama, Noon (ET)
Wofford (9-2) at Jacksonville State (9-2)
December 4 at Williamsburg, Virginia
South Carolina St./Georgia Southern winner at #2 William and Mary (8-3)
The 2010 championship field consists of eight automatic qualifiers and eight at-large qualifiers.
Automatic:
Big Sky Conference ??? #4 Montana St. (9-2)
Big South Conference - Coastal Caro. (6-5)
Colonial Athletic Association - #2 William & Mary (8-3)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference - Bethune-Cookman (10-1)
Missouri Valley Football Conference - UNI (7-4)
Northeast Conference - Robert Morris (8-2)
Ohio Valley Conference - Southeast Mo. St. (9-2)
Patriot League - Lehigh (9-2)
Southern Conference - #1 Appalachian St. (9-2)
Southland Conference- Stephen F. Austin (9-2)
At-large:
Big Sky Conference - #5 Eastern Washington (9-2)
Colonial Athletic Association - #3 Delaware (9-2)
Colonial Athletic Association - New Hampshire (7-4)
Colonial Athletic Association - Villanova (7-4)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference - South Carolina St. (9-2)
Missouri Valley Football Conference - North Dakota St. (7-4)
Missouri Valley Football Conference - Western Illinois (7-4)
Ohio Valley Conference - Jacksonville St. (9-2)
Southern Conference - Ga. Southern (7-4)
Southern Conference - Wofford (9-2)
