Hampton
to face William & Mary in Div. I-AA Playoffs
November 21, 2004
Hampton, Va. – Hampton University will travel to Zable
Stadium next Saturday (Nov. 27) at 12 noon to take on the College
of William & Mary in the first round of the 2004 NCAA
Division I-AA Football Playoffs. This will be the first time
since October 31, 1998 that these two schools will meet,
and just the third time overall. William & Mary leads
the overall series, 2-0.
The Pirates earned the automatic bid to the playoffs by
winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a
league record of 6-1 (10-1 overall). The same can be said
for the Tribe of William & Mary, as they won the league’s
(Atlantic 10) automatic bid by capturing a share of the title
with a win over Richmond yesterday. The Tribe holds an overall
record of 7-1 (9-2 overall), and will host next Saturday’s
game as the #3 seed in the playoffs.
This is, for all accounts, one of the first times in I-AA
playoff history that teams so close in proximity will face
each other for the first round. William & Mary and HU
are separated by less than 20 miles heading west on Virginia’s
I-64 towards Richmond. HU sits just off I-64 in Hampton beside
the Chesapeake Bay, while this week’s counterparts
(William & Mary) are nestled nicely in colonial Williamsburg.
Tickets for the event are being sold through the William & Mary
ticket office by calling (757) 221-3340. Ticket prices are
as follows: $20 for sideline seats; $17 for end zone seats;
$5 for William & Mary students. Tickets will go on sale
Monday morning at 10 a.m. Ticket office hours are from 10 a.m.
through 5 p.m. These hours will remain the same on Thanksgiving
Thursday as well.
Following are the match-ups for the first round of competition to be played
Saturday, November 27.
November 27 at Carbondale, Illinois
Eastern Washington (8-3) at No. 1 Southern Illinois (10-1)
November 27 at Huntsville, Texas
Western Kentucky (9-2) at Sam Houston State (9-2)
November 27 at Missoula, Montana
Northwestern St. (8-3) at Montana (9-2)
November 27 at Statesboro, Georgia (6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN
2)
New Hampshire (9-2) at No. 4 Georgia Southern (9-2)
November 27 at Williamsburg, Virginia
Hampton (9-1) at No. 3 William & Mary (9-2)
November 27 at Newark, Delaware (Time TBD on CSTV)
Lafayette (8-3) at Delaware (8-3)
November 27 at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
James Madison (9-2) at Lehigh (9-2)
November 27 at Greenville, South Carolina
Jacksonville State (9-1) at No. 2 Furman (9-2)
The 2004 championship field consists of eight automatic
qualifiers and eight at-large qualifiers.
AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (8)
Southern Illinois - Gateway Football Conference
Furman - Southern Conference
William & Mary - Atlantic 10 Conference
Montana - Big Sky Conference
Hampton - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Jacksonville State - Ohio Valley Conference
Lafayette - Patriot League
Northwestern State - Southland Conference
AT-LARGE QUALIFERS (8)
Georgia Southern - Southern Conference
Eastern Washington - Big Sky Conference
Western Kentucky - Gateway Football Conference
James Madison - Atlantic 10 Conference
New Hampshire - Atlantic 10 Conference
Sam Houston State - Southern Conference
Lehigh - Patriot League
Delaware - Atlantic 10 Conference
ESPN2 and the College Sports Television Network will televise
one first round game each on Saturday, November 27. The game
on ESPN2 will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern and the CSTV kickoff
time will be determined at a later time. There is a possibility
that two more first round games could also be televised regionally
by Comcast Sports South.
All of this year's quarterfinal games will be televised.
One game will be on ESPN2 while the other three will be on
a syndicated platform (local cable, regional sports networks,
over-the air local channels). The three games will also be
available through ESPN's regular season pay-per-view package,
ESPN Game Plan, on Saturday, December 4. One semifinal game
will be played on Friday, December 10 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The other semifinal game will be played on Saturday, December
11 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Both games will be televised on
ESPN2.
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