Union, which last appeared in the NCAA event in 1995, was one of 28 teams selected to this year's national championship tournament. The Dutchmen will host Widener College Saturday, November, 18 at noon. Widener, which won the Middle Atlantic-Commonwealth championship with a 5-0 record, finished at 9-1 overall.
“This is a great honor and a true reward for an outstanding group of players who have worked very, very hard since the end of last season,” said ninth-year head coach John Audino. “The tradition of Union football is one of excellence and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament puts us among the elite programs in Division III.”
Union is no stranger to postseason play or the NCAA tournament. This is the Dutchmen's 13th trip to postseason since 1983 and their ninth trip to the NCAAs. Union participated in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the national championship in both 1983 (losing to Augustana, 21-17 in the final three minutes) and 1989 (losing to Dayton, 17-7 in the Flyers last game as a Division III program). The Dutchmen's other NCAA invitations came in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1993, and 1995. Union has also won four ECAC championship games, winning titles in 1990, 1994, 1996 and last year when the Dutchmen defeated Ithaca, 31-7.
Union's explosive offense picked a total of 488 yards and scored 48 points while the Dutchmen's defense limited the nation's No. 1 rushing offense to just 257 yards in Saturday's 48-19 regular-season finale against previously undefeated, and highly regarded, Springfield.
The decisive victory enabled the Dutchmen to end the 2000 season with a seven-game win streak and a 9-1 record, both of which impressed the NCAA Division III selection committee. Union shared the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association championship with Hobart and Rochester at 3-1. Hobart, which finished at 8-1, will host Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on Saturday in another Eastern Regional game. It marks the first time in the six-year history of the UCAA that the league has sent two representatives to the NCAA tournament in the same season.