Courtesy d3football.com

U.S. Head Coach Ron Schipper is pleased with the look of his team. "Versatility is very important when we select this team because of our limited numbers," Schipper said. "We've got a very talented roster this year and this group of young men can do a lot of different things on the football field. I'm excited about working with them this week."

The Aztec Bowl is the traditional season-ending game for Mexico's college football schedule. The game has been played 31 times since 1947 with the last five contests featuring the United States-Mexico matchup. Mexico faced a mixture of NCAA and NAIA colleges, junior colleges, armed forces teams and international teams in the 26 Aztec Bowls prior to 1997. In their first five Aztec Bowl meetings, the United States Division III all-stars defeated Mexico, 37-5 in 2001 in Saltillo, 27-26 in 2000 in Merida, 44-13 in 1999 in Mexico City, 40-13 in 1998 in Monterrey, and 42-41 in the 1997 game in Toluca.

Schipper returns as the U.S. head coach in 2002 for the sixth year. In 36 years at Central (1961-1996) Schipper amassed 287 career victories, second among NCAA Div. III coaches. In recognition of his stellar coaching career, Schipper was among the 2000 class of inductees for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Former Division III head coaches Bob Reade (Augustana), Jim Christopherson (Concordia-Moorhead), Bill Manlove (Widener, Delaware Valley) and Bob Packard (Baldwin-Wallace) have been named assistants.

This year's game will kick off at noon CST on December 14 and will be played at Estadio Infierno Azul in Torreon. The game can be heard via a webcast that can be accessed at either www.afca.com, www.tsrnsports.com, www.d3football.com or www.aztecbowl.com. Results will be available on the AFCA's website at www.afca.com.

2002 roster