SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University Tigers were rewarded for their hard work on the gridiron in 2002 with a berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs. On Sunday, the Tigers learned that they had received one of three Pool C bids into the competition and would hit the road next weekend to play at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind. at noon Saturday, Nov. 23.
Tickets will go on sale in the lobby of the HPER Center at Wittenberg on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 5-7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adult general admission and $4 for students with valid identification. There are no assigned seats at Hanover's stadium.
Wittenberg, ranked No. 11 in the country with a 9-1 overall record and runner-up in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 6-1 record, is coming off a dramatic 14-9 victory at the College of Wooster yesterday. In that game, senior tailback Daniel Grove rushed for 212 yards on 34 carries in his first action after four weeks on the sidelines due to a broken foot, and the team's defense made the big plays at the big moments, including a sack, forced fumble and recovery by senior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury. The win capped a seventh consecutive season in which Wittenberg, the top scoring team in the nation with 48.5 points per game, has lost either one or zero games during the regular season.
Hanover enters the playoffs with a perfect 10-0 overall record and the No. 9 ranking in the nation. The Panthers won the 2002 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
"We are thrilled to be involved in the NCAA Division III Playoffs again this year," said Head Coach Joe Fincham. "We are looking forward to the challenge of competing against the best teams in the nation again."
This will be the Tigers' fifth straight trip to the NCAA Division III Playoffs and 11th overall since the division was created in 1973 (Wittenberg also won the inaugural Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 1969 as a member of the NCAA College Division). Wittenberg has an overall playoff record of 16-8. The Tigers won national titles in 1973 and 1975 and finished second in 1977 and 1979, all under the direction of National College Football Hall of Famer Dave Maurer. Under Fincham, Wittenberg is 6-4 in the national competition and has advanced to the quarterfinal round each of the last two years, only to lose to eventual national champion Mount Union College.
053-02