The 2014 NCAA Division II Football tournament enters its final stages as the quarterfinal round wrapped up last weekend. For the first time in tournament history, the championship match will be held at Sporting Park, home of the 2013 MLS Cup champions Sporting Kansas City. The game will kick off at 3 p.m. CT on December 20 on ESPN2.
Of the four quarterfinal matches, three higher seeds advanced to the semifinals. Concord University is the lone No. 1 seed standing after their 32-26 win over Bloomsburg University Saturday afternoon. Concord will now host Minnesota State University, Mankato this weekend with a berth in the championship on the line.
Minnesota State had the most convincing win of the quarterfinal round, defeating Minnesota-Duluth 44-17 last weekend. The Mavericks put up 475 yards of total offense including 307 through the air to keep their perfect season alive.
The other semifinal matchup features No. 2 seed Colorado State University-Pueblo and No. 6 seed University of West Georgia. Colorado State held off a late Ohio Dominican rally for a 31-28 quarterfinal victory. West Georgia pulled off the lone upset of the quarterfinal round, defeating Valdosta State University 31-17. West Georgia has now won three straight road games in their first playoff appearance since 2000.
Both semifinal matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Concord will host Minnesota State at 2 p.m. CT, while Colorado State will host West Georgia at 5:30 p.m. CT
Tickets for the championship match at Sporting Park are now on sale and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
