Nov 22, 2015

The Thunder football team to host UW-Whitewater on Saturday in the NCAA Division III Playoffs Second Round

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton College football team (11-0) will host a Second Round Game of the 2015 NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday November 28. The Thunder will entertain the defending NCAA Division III Champion UW-Whitewater Warhawks (10-1) at McCully Stadium in Wheaton on Saturday in a noon kickoff.

Wheaton, the automatic qualifier from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), opened up the playoffs on Saturday with a 55-6 victory at home against Lakeland College. The Thunder posted a 7-0 record in conference play this year to win the program's third CCIW Championship in four years.

Wheaton is in its ninth appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Thunder has compiled a 13-8 all-time record in the postseason and a perfect 9-0 record in the first round. The winner of next Saturday's Wheaton-UW-Whitewater game will advance to face the winner of another second round game between UW-Oshkosh and Ohio Northern University on December 5.

Wheaton finished the regular season with a 10-0 overall record for the second consecutive season, marking the first time in school history that the program has had consecutive 10-0 marks in the regular season. Wheaton posted its sixth regular season in program history without a loss or tie, also accomplishing the feat in 1958, 1961, 1995, 2003 and 2014.

UW-Whitewater shut out St. Norbert 48-0 on Saturday to win its first round matchup in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The Warhawks are an at-large participant in the tournament out of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). UW-Whitewater is 10-1 on the season and finished second in the WIAC this year. The Warhawks won the 2014 NCAA Division III Championship with a 43-34 victory against University of Mount Union in the 2014 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to pick up the sixth DIvision III Championship in eight years for the program.

Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting on the gridiron between Wheaton and UW-Whitewater since 1937. The Warhawks hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.

Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for students and children under three are admitted for free. As a NCAA Championship event no free passes will be accepted. Fans can purchase advance tickets online at this link beginning Monday (credit card only) and tickets will also be available at the gate at 11:00 a.m. on game day (cash only).Print Friendly Version