College

West Florida, Texas A&M-Commerce to meet in NCAA Division II Football Championship on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park

Children's Mercy Park football field

West Florida and Texas A&M-Commerce will lock horns Saturday in the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship, set to kick off at 5 p.m. CT at world-class Children's Mercy Park. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.


Tickets for Saturday's national championship are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, marking the fourth straight year that Children's Mercy Park will host the Division II football title game.


The West Florida Argonauts (11-3) have reached the championship game in just their second year as a program. Head coach Pete Schinnick guided the team to a 27-17 upset victory over top-ranked and previously undefeated Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday, sparked by a dominant first-half performance that saw the Argonauts take a 17-0 lead.


The Texas A&M-Commerce Lions, who have advanced to their first national championship game since joining NCAA Division II in 1981, defeated Harding (Ark.) 31-17 in Saturday's other semifinal matchup. Commerce (13-1) clinched the win with a late 90-yard touchdown pass from Luis Perez to D'Arthur Cowan.