Arkansas Tech University will enter the final week of the 2017 football regular season in position to earn a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
The Wonder Boys (8-2) are ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 poll released on Monday, Nov. 6.
Seven teams from the region will be selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, which begin at on-campus sites on Saturday, Nov. 18, and conclude with the national championship game on Saturday, Dec. 16, in Kansas City, Kan.
No conference receives automatic qualification into the postseason, but earned access to the playoffs can be gained by a conference if a conference’s highest-ranked team is in the top eight of the final super regional rankings on selection Sunday, which this season will take place on Nov. 12. The top seed in each region receives a first-round bye in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Conferences in Super Region 3 include the Great American Conference (GAC), Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
Fort Hays State University (1st, 10-0) and the University of Indianapolis (2nd, 10-0) are the only undefeated teams in the region.
They are followed in the Nov. 6 regional rankings by Ashland University (3rd, 9-1), Ferris State University (4th, 8-1), Ouachita Baptist University (5th, 8-2), Northwest Missouri State University (6th, 8-2), Arkansas Tech (7th, 8-2), Harding University (8th, 7-3), Grand Valley State University (9th, 7-3) and the University of Central Missouri (10th, 7-3).
Arkansas Tech and Harding will meet for a 2 p.m. regular season finale at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Tickets ($10 adults/$5 senior citizens and students) will be available at the stadium ticket office on game day. Admission will be free with a valid ATU identification card.
The Wonder Boys would clinch at least a share of the Great American Conference championship with a victory.
ATU is attempting to reach the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the fourth time in program history. The Wonder Boys’ previous appearances came in 1999, 2004 and 2009.
Live coverage of the ATU-HU game will be available from radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com.
