2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game Update
2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game Update, Dec. 22
Delaware and Eastern Washington will meet in the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game Friday, January 7, 2011, at 6 p.m. (CST) at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The game, which concludes a 20-team national playoff, is being hosted by the Southland Conference, the City of Frisco and Hunt Sports Group. Pizza Hut Park will also host the 2012 and 2013 national championship games.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game are available online at ncaa.com/championships/football/fcs or by calling (469) 365-0000. Tickets range from $30 to $40.
Home and Away Designations
Eastern Washington will be the home team for the championship game and will wear dark jerseys (black tops on black pants). The Eagles will occupy the west sideline at Pizza Hut Park and their fans will sit behind them on the same side as the press box. Delaware will be the visiting team and will wear light jerseys (white tops on gold pants). The Blue Hens will stand on the east sideline and their fans will sit behind them.
Meet the Delaware Blue Hens
Location: Newark, Del.
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
Enrollment: 21,138
Colors: Royal Blue & Gold
Head Coach: K.C. Keeler
Alma mater: Delaware, 1981
Record at UD: 74-41, ninth season
Career Record: 162-62-1, 18th season
2010 Record: 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the CAA
2010 Season Capsule: The Blue Hens find themselves back in the championship game for the first time since 2007 when it lost to Appalachian State, 49-21. Delaware won the 2003 national championship by beating Colgate, 40-0. It first reached the title game in 1982. The 2010 squad improved to 12-2 after beating Georgia Southern, 27-10, last week in the semifinals. The Blue Hens tied for first in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 6-2 record. Head coach K.C. Keeler, is 74-41 in his ninth season at his alma mater and owns a 162-62-1 career record. Delaware reached the semifinals with wins over Lehigh (42-20) and New Hampshire (16-3).
Quarterback Pat Devlin has completed 239-of-350 passes for 2,812 yards and 22 touchdowns. He has thrown just two interceptions, has a completion percentage of 68.3 percent and his 155.37 rating ranks third in the Football Championship Subdivision. His primary targets are Nihja White, who has 55 receptions for 679 yards and six touchdowns, and Phillip Thaxton, who has 45 grabs for 503 yards and five scores. Four other receivers have caught multiple touchdown passes. On the ground, the Blue Hens' work horse is Andrew Pierce, who has scored 13 touchdowns and is averaging 108.1 yards per game on 301 carries. Delaware has one of the nation's stoutest defenses, leading the subdivision in scoring defense, allowing only 11.5 points per game. The Blue Hens also rank fifth in total defense (277.4), eighth in passing defense (98.6) and 15th in rushing defense (111.0).
Notable UD Alumni:
Joe Biden (Vice President); Tom Mees (original anchor of ESPN Sportscenter); George Thorogood, musician; Larry Probst (chairman of US Olympic Committee); Kevin Mench (nine-year MLB veteran and former Texas Ranger, 2002-06).
Notable NFL Players from UD - Current: Joe Flacco (Ravens); Mike Adams (Browns); Ben Patrick (Cardinals). Former: Rich Gannon (Raiders) and Scott Brunner (Giants, Broncos & Cardinals).
Meet the Eastern Washington Eagles
Location: Cheney, Wash.
Conference: Big Sky Conference
Enrollment: 11,504
Colors: Red & White
Head Coach: Beau Baldwin
Alma mater: Central Washington, 1996
Record at EWU: 26-11, third season
Career Record: 36-14, fourth season
2010 Record: 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky
2010 Season Capsule: The Eagles have advanced to the championship game for the first time in school history. They had reached the semifinals only once previously, falling to Youngstown State, 25-14, in 1997. The Eagles are 12-2 this season and tied for first in the Big Sky Conference with a 7-1 record. Eastern Washington is coached by Beau Baldwin, who is 26-11 in his third season with the school. He has a career record of 36-14 in his fourth season. The Eagles beat Villanova, the defending champion, last week in the semifinals. They also have playoff victories against Southeast Missouri State (37-17) and North Dakota State (38-31 in overtime).
SMU transfer Bo Levi Mitchell returns to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with his new team, the Eastern Washington Eagles. Mitchell has completed 271-of-462 passes for 3,194 yards and 34 touchdowns. The Katy, Texas, native (Katy HS), has a completion percentage of 58.7 and a pass rating of 134.96. When the Eagles take to the ground, they typically give the ball to Taiwan Jones, who averages 145.2 yards to rank second in the FCS. He has totaled 1,742 rushing yards and 221 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Jones, who has scored 14 rushing touchdowns, also ranks second in the subdivision with an average of 201.8 total yards per game. The Eagles are a top-10 team in both scoring offense, averaging 32.3 points per game to rank 12th, and in total offense, averaging 402.1 yards per game to rank 19th.
Notable EWU Alumni:
Colin Cowherd (ESPN personality); Rodney Stuckey (Detroit Pistons); Todd McFarlane (co-owner of the NHL Edmonton Oilers); Jess Walter (novelist); Dave Christensen (Wyoming football coach).
Notable NFL Players from EWU - Current: Matt Nicholls (Cowboys); Michael Roos (Titans); Nathan Overbay (Broncos); Keith Grennan (Browns); Jesse Chatman (Jets). Former: Jeff Ogden (Cowboys, Dolphins & Ravens); Kurt Schulz (Bills & Lions); Tom Ackerman (Saints & Titans); Ed Simmons (Redskins & Rams).
Everson Walls to Serve as FCS Ambassador
Everson Walls, former Grambling State University student-athlete and former Dallas Cowboy, was named by the NCAA as the FCS Ambassador for the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship game. Walls, a 13-year NFL veteran, 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 on the field. Walls received his bachelor's of arts degree in business in 1981 from Grambling State and played under legendary coach Eddie Robinson. He was a part of three Southwestern Athletic Conference champion teams. He was selected for the Kodak All-American team, the Black College All-American team, and during his senior year he led the nation in interceptions with 11. A four-time NFL Pro-Bowler, Walls played from the Dallas Cowboys (1981-89), New York Giants (1990-92) and Cleveland Browns (1993).
Television Coverage of Championship Game
The 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game will be televised by ESPN2 HD and ESPN3.com. Dave Neal will handle play-by-play duties for the broadcast, while Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware will serve as the color analyst. Jon Berger will offer anecdotes from the sideline. The telecast will begin at 6 p.m., CST.
Playoff Results
First-Round Results, Nov. 27
Western Illinois 17, at Coastal Carolina 10
at North Dakota State 43, Robert Morris 17
Lehigh 14, at Northern Iowa 7
at Georgia Southern 41, South Carolina State 16
Second-Round Results, Dec. 4
at Appalachian State 42, Western Illinois 14
Villanova 54, at Stephen F. Austin 24
at Eastern Washington 37, Southeast Missouri State 17
North Dakota State 42, at Montana State 17
at Delaware 42, Lehigh 20
New Hampshire 45, at Bethune-Cookman 20
Wofford 17, at Jacksonville State 14
Georgia Southern 31, at William and Mary 15
Quarterfinal Results, Dec. 10 & 11
Villanova 42, at Appalachian State 24
at Eastern Washington 38, North Dakota State 31 (OT)
at Delaware 16, New Hampshire 3
Georgia Southern 23, at Wofford 20
Semifinal Results, Dec. 17 & 18
Eastern Washington 41, Villanova 31
Delaware 27, Georgia Southern 10
About the Football Championship Subdivision
With 119 member universities and nearly 13,000 student-athletes taking the field each fall, the Division I Football Championship Subdivision embodies a tradition of excellence through a high level of competition, student-athlete character and sportsmanship throughout the regular season and the championship experience. Ten FCS conferences receive automatic berths to the NCAA Championship, including the Big Sky, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley Football, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern and the Southland.
Former FCS football student-athletes include Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Kurt Warner and current NFL stars Tony Romo, Jared Allen, Miles Austin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Joe Flacco. Former coaches in the FCS, include Eddie Robinson, Jim Tressel, Mack Brown, Bobby Bowden, and Dennis Franchione. Current Dallas Cowboys interim head coach Jason Garrett attended Princeton, an Ivy League school and member of the FCS.