INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The #18 University of Sioux Falls Football Team has been bypassed for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs and will instead participate in the Mineral Water Bowl in December.
The Cougars, which finished 10-1 overall and 6-1 (second) in the NSIC South, was passed over for Harding (Ark.) which was selected by the NCAA DII National Committee as one of the 24 teams in the playoffs.
The six teams in the region included #1 Ouachita Baptist (10-0) #2 Minnesota State-Mankato (11-0), #3 Pittsburg State (10-1), #4 Minnesota-Duluth (11-0), #5 Northwest Missouri State (10-1) and #6 Harding (9-1). USF will now play Central Oklahoma (8-3) of the MIAA in the 49th Mineral Water Bowl at noon, Saturday, Dec. 6 in Excelsior Springs, Mo..
“We are very excited to play in the Mineral Water Bowl, which will be our first ever DII football post-season appearance, thereby making history for our football program,” said USF Director of Athletics Josh Snyder. “We look forward to the opportunity to play in the bowl, which has a great history. A lot of people put in a lot of hard work to make it an attractive opportunity for our program and others,” he said.
“We are disappointed that we will not have the chance to prove ourselves in the playoffs,” said Snyder. “Based on our calculations of the primary selection criteria, which includes strength of schedule, won-loss record and more, USF held the advantage over schools being considered for the final spot in Super Region 3. We respect the decision of the committee and hope we will get an explanation for the decision soon,” he said.
USF Head Football Coach Jed Stugart was also disappointed by the decision to exclude USF from the playoffs.
“Undoubtedly, we feel like we are a playoff team,” said Stugart. “I feel bad for our seniors and the rest of the team and coaches who played with heart and focus every week this season. We understand the decision was very tough and involved consideration of two football teams. We feel that our schedule as part of one of the nation's top DII conferences, and the fact that we defeated every opponent by double digits and led the #1 team in the region and the nation into the fourth quarter should have provided us a chance to continue our championship dream. We will respect the decision of the committee and move forward.”
This season, the Cougars, which ranked third in scoring offense (42.7 ppg) and first in turnover margin (37-to-19) in the NSIC, have recorded 10 wins all by double digit margin totals. In fact, they have won seven games by 20 points or more. USF, which won has nine wins or more for the second time in three years under Stugart.
“We are extraordinarily proud of our football team, which won 10 games for the first time since our transition to NCAA DII,” said Stugart. “They played with heart and character every week. We know they will shine when we play in the Mineral Water Bowl which will be a marvelous opportunity for our program,” he said.
Ticket information for the Mineral Water Bowl will be made available early this week.
