Titans To Host UW-Whitewater In NCAA Championship Quarterfinal
WIAC champion UW-Oshkosh and league runner-up UW-Whitewater will meet for the second time this season when the Titans host the Warhawks in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday (Dec. 5) in Oshkosh. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. (CST) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh (11-1), ranked third in the country by D3football.com, advanced to the quarterfinals following home victories of 48-0 over The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) on Nov. 21 and 42-7 over Ohio Northern University this past Saturday (Nov. 28).
Fifth-ranked UW-Whitewater (11-1) moved to the quarterfinals after registering a 48-0 home win over St. Norbert College on Nov. 21 and a 31-17 road victory over Wheaton College (Ill.) last Saturday.
UW-Oshkosh secured the WIAC's automatic berth into this year's 32-team national tournament by claiming the ninth league title in program history. The Titans captured their second outright conference crown in four seasons by completing the seven-game league schedule unbeaten, a feat they also accomplished in 2012.
UW-Whitewater, which claimed WIAC titles with unbeaten records in 2013 and 2014, received one of seven at-large bids into this year's NCAA Championship after producing a 6-1 league record. The Warhawks are a 34-time WIAC champion.
UW-Oshkosh is competing in the NCAA Championship for the second time, with their only other appearance being in 2012 when they advanced to the semifinal round before losing a 28-14 decision to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.).
UW-Whitewater is participating in NCAA postseason play for the 13th time after winning the past two national titles. UW-Whitewater, which owns six NCAA titles overall, captured last year's crown with a 43-34 victory over the University of Mount Union (Ohio) in the championship game.
The Titans have won 10 straight contests since suffering a 23-21 setback to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics member Robert Morris University (Ill.) on Sept. 5, while the Warhawks have won seven consecutive games since losing a 10-7 result to UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 10 in Oshkosh.
Saturday's game will be the 108th between the teams. The squads have split their last four meetings, with UW-Oshkosh also winning by a 28-13 score in 2012. UW-Whitewater defeated the Titans by scores of 17-14 in 2013 and 24-7 in 2014.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater will be the WIAC's third set of league members to meet in NCAA postseason play. In the two previous meetings, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-La Crosse, 24-21, during the second round of the 2006 playoffs, while UW-La Crosse ousted UW-River Falls, 28-14, in the quarterfinal round of the 1995 event.
The winner between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater will meet the victor of top-ranked University of Mount Union (12-0) and 11th-ranked Wesley College (Del.) (11-1) in the semifinal round on Dec. 12.
Ticket prices for Saturday's game between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens (55 or older) and $6 for students (K-12 & College).