Monday, October 24, 2011

2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Weekly e-Newsletter, Oct. 19

2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
January 7, 2012; Noon
Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas

The 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game will be played Saturday, January, 7, 2012, at noon, Central, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The game, which concludes a 20-team national playoff, will be hosted by the Southland Conference, the City of Frisco and Hunt Sports Group. Last year, Eastern Washington beat Delaware, 20-19, in the first college football game at Pizza Hut Park. The venue will host the championship again in 2013.

2012 Ticket Information
Tickets for the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game are now available online at ncaa.com/fcs or by calling (469) 365-0000 for group and suite sales. Fans are encouraged to buy early for the most affordable ticket options, which are just $35 for a midfield seat and $30 for a sideline seat. After the playoff bracket is announced Nov. 20, tickets increase to $45/$40 and on game day to $55/50. Another attractive ticket package is the Family Four-Pack, which includes four tickets to the game, four hot dogs and four drinks for $99.

About the Football Championship Subdivision
The Football Championship Subdivision, formerly named Division I-AA from 1978-2005, is made up of 124 football playing institutions, though only 118 are eligible for the championship. The FCS includes the conferences and institutions that compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship – Big Sky, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley Football, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Pioneer Football, Southern and the Southland – in addition to two other conferences, the Ivy League and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The FCS experience provides more than 12,000 NCAA student-athletes with an opportunity to compete while also working toward an academic degree and ultimately graduation. The FCS embodies a tradition of excellence through high level competition, student-athlete character and sportsmanship throughout the regular season and the championship experience.

FCS Wins vs. FBS in 2011
There have been six wins by teams in the Football Championship Subdivision over teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) this season.

Indiana State (Missouri Valley Football) vs. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt), 44-16
North Dakota State (Missouri Valley Football) vs. Minnesota (Big 10), 37-24
Richmond (Colonial ) vs. Duke (Atlantic Coast), 23-21
Sacramento State (Big Sky) vs. Oregon State (Pacific 12), 29-28
Sam Houston State (Southland) vs. New Mexico (Mountain West), 48-45 in OT
Southern Utah (Independent) vs. UNLV (Mountain West), 41-16

FCS History
The 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game will be the 34th edition. The first championship took place in 1978 when Florida A&M beat Massachusetts 35-28 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Chattanooga, Tenn., has hosted the championship game more than any other city with 13 games between 1997-2009. The FCS was formerly named Division I-AA from 1978-2005. Since the NCAA does not sponsor a championship for the FBS, the tournament to determine the FCS winner was changed to be called the Division I Football Championship in 2006. Georgia Southern, currently the No. 1 team in the FCS, has won the most championships with six.

Recent NCAA Division I National Champions
2010: Eastern Washington
2009: Villanova
2008: Richmond
2007: Appalachian State
2006: Appalachian State
2005: Appalachian State

All-Time NCAA Division I National Champions
Appalachian State (3 championships), Boise State, Delaware, Eastern Kentucky (2), Eastern Washington, Florida A&M, Furman, Georgia Southern (6), Idaho State, James Madison, Louisiana-Monroe, Massachusetts, Marshall (2), Montana (2), Montana State, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Villanova, and Youngstown State (4).

This Week’s National FCS Polls
FCS Coaches Poll (Oct. 17)
Rk.  Team (No. 1 Votes)           Record
1.    Georgia Southern (27)             6-0
2.    Northern Iowa (1)                     5-1
3.    Montana State                            6-1
4.    Wofford                                         5-1
5.    North Dakota State                   6-0
6.    Appalachian State                      4-2
7.    Lehigh                                             6-1
8.    Jacksonville State                       5-1
9.    Montana                                       5-2
10.  Sam Houston State                   6-0
For the complete FCS Top 25 Coaches poll, click here.

The Sports Network/Fathead.com Poll (Oct. 17)
Rk.  Team (No. 1 Votes)           Record
1.    Georgia Southern (125)           6-0
2.    Northern Iowa (18)                   5-1
3.    North Dakota State (9)            6-0
4.    Montana State (2)                     6-1
5.    Wofford (3)                                  5-1
6.    Appalachian State                      4-2
7.    Sam Houston State                   6-0
8.    Lehigh                                             6-1
9.    Maine                                             5-1
10.  Jacksonville State                       5-1
For the complete Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25, click here.

FCS Game of the Week: Oct. 22
No. 9 Maine (4-2) at No. 22 Massachusetts (4-2) at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.
2:30 p.m., Central; TV: Comcast SportsNet New England (DirecTV Ch. 630/DISH Ch. 435)

Division I Football Championship
The NCAA Division I Football Championship provides for a maximum field of 20 teams. Ten member conferences have been granted automatic qualification for this year’s championship, including the Big Sky, Big South, Colonial, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley Football, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern and Southland. The remaining 10 teams will be selected at large by the Division I Football Championship Committee, made up of 10 individuals from the association. This year’s bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 20. All 19 games of this year’s championship will be broadcasted on the ESPN family of networks, including the championship game at Pizza Hut Park on ESPN2HD.

Current FCS Conference Leaders
Big Sky: Montana State (6-1, 4-0)
Big South: Liberty (4-3, 2-0)
Colonial: Maine(5-1, 3-0) and Towson (5-1, 3-0)
Mid-Eastern: Norfolk State (6-1, 4-0)
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa (5-1, 4-0)
Northeast: Albany (4-2, 3-0)
Ohio Valley: Jacksonville State (5-1, 4-0)
Patriot: Lehigh (6-1, 1-0) and Holy Cross (3-3, 1-0)
Southern: Georgia Southern (6-0, 5-0)
Southland: Sam Houston State (6-0, 3-0)

FCS Players in the NFL
There are currently 167 former FCS student-athletes appearing on active NFL rosters, including Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Miles Austin (Monmouth), Sean Lissemore (William & Mary) and Jason Hatcher (Grambling State) for the Dallas Cowboys. Notable FCS alumni to play in the NFL also include the likes of Walter Payton (Jackson State), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Terrell Owens (Chattanooga), Steve McNair and Donald Driver (Alcorn State), Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Brian Westbrook (Villanova), Adam Vinatieri (South Dakota State), Chad Pennington (Marshall) and Marcellus Wiley (Columbia) to name a few.

Charles Haley to Serve as FCS Ambassador
Charles Haley, a former James Madison University student-athlete and the only NFL player to win five Super Bowls, including three with the Dallas Cowboys, will serve as the FCS Ambassador for the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship. As ambassador, Haley will lend his support to the championship game in a number of ways, including pre-game interaction with fans, serving as an instructor at a youth clinic, performing the pre-game coin toss and participating in the postgame awards ceremony. Haley is the third ambassador of the football championship, following Wayne Chrebet (Hofstra) in 2009 and Everson Walls (Grambling State) in 2010.

Key Upcoming Dates
Nov. 19: Final Regular Season Games
Nov. 20: NCAA Announces 20-Team Bracket for 2012 NCAA Championship
Nov. 26: First-Round Games at Campus Sites
Dec. 3: Second-Round Games at Campus Sites
Dec. 9-10: Quarterfinal Games at Campus Sites
Dec. 16-17: Semifinal Games at Campus Sites
Jan. 7: NCAA Division I Championship Game, Pizza Hut Park, Frisco.


For more Information, Contact
Todd Lamb, Assistant Commissioner/Communications
Southland Conference
Phone: 972-422-9500, ext. 107

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