There will be a new champion of NCAA Division II Football. Northwest Missouri State University, who lifted the trophy in 2015 and 2016 at Children’s Mercy Park, lost in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship on Saturday on at the road to Ashland University. It was the first tournament win for Ashland since 2008 and improved their winning streak to 11 games.
Saturday’s slate of games saw upsets all across the country as three No. 2 seeds fell and No. 3 seed Wingate was shut out 31-0 at home to West Florida. This weekend, the four No. 1 seeds will enter the tournament including MIAA champion Fort Hays State, who finished the regular season 11-0. The tigers will host Ferris State who held off a late rally from Ouachita Baptist University to advance to the second round. West Alabama, Indiana (Pa.) and Central Washington University are the three other No. 1 seeds that will begin play this coming weekend.
For the fourth consecutive year, Children’s Mercy Park will host the NCAA Division II Football Championship. The title match will be held on Saturday, December 16 at 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the WatchESPN app. Tickets for the match are on sale now and can be purchased via SeatGeek.
