CALIFORNIA (Nov. 29) – After winning their third-straight NCAA Super Regional One Championship, the No. 22 Vulcans will travel to face No. 2 Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo., on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8:30 p.m. EST in the 2009 NCAA Division II Semifinals. The contest will air nationally on CBS College Sports Network.
The California University of Pennsylvania football team (11-3) captured the regional crown yesterday as the third seed with a 57-35 win over No. 9 West Liberty, the top seed in Super Regional One. In Super Regional Four, Northwest Missouri State claimed a thrilling 21-20 victory over No. 1 Central Washington by blocking the potential game-tying PAT attempt with six seconds left on Saturday.
Both programs have enjoyed successful long post-season runs in recent years. The Vulcans will make their third-consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance, losing the previous two games at Adamson Stadium to the eventual NCAA Division II National Champion. In comparison, the Bearcats have made five-straight appearances in the semifinals with the previous four trips resulting in appearances in the National Championship game.
The game between Cal U and Northwest Missouri State will also feature a meeting of 200-win coaches in
John Luckhardt (Vulcans) and Mel Tjeerdsma (Bearcats) for only the 28th time in all NCAA history with the last coming in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl between Jim Tressel (Ohio State) and Mack Brown (Texas). Tjeerdsma has the most post-season victories in NCAA Division II history with 24, while Luckhardt has a combined 20 post-season victories between Cal U and Washington & Jefferson (NCAA Division III).
In the other NCAA Division II Semifinal, No. 3 Grand Valley (12-1) hosts No. 10 Carson-Newman (Tenn.) (11-2) on Saturday, Dec. 5, with the contest airing nationally at 3:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
The 2009 National Championship will be played on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. The title game will broadcast at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
For additional information about the semifinal game at Northwest Missouri State, please click
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