Western New England Draws No. 6 Frostburg State in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament
Golden Bears will be making fourth straight and fifth overall NCAA appearance
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 11, 2018) – The 2018 Commonwealth Coast Football champion Western New England University will travel to Western Maryland to face Frostburg State in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament next Saturday, November 17 at Bobcat Stadium.
The Golden Bears (8-2) received CCC Football's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament via the conference's tiebreaking procedures (best overall record) as Western New England, Endicott and Salve Regina all finished 5-1 in league play.
Western New England will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament under first-year head coach Jason Lebeau '10, with the four previous trips (2011, 2015-17) coming under Keith Emery. The Golden Bears are 1-4 in the NCAA playoffs with their lone victory coming against Husson in 2016.
Frostburg State (9-0) earned the New Jersey Athletic Conference's (NJAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after going 8-0 in league play this season. The Bobcats are ranked sixth in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and the D3football.com Top-25.
Frostburg State will be making its second straight and third overall appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Bobcats reached the quarterfinals in both 1993 and 2017.
Saturday's contest will serve as the first ever meeting between Western New England and Frostburg State. The winner advances to the second round to take on the winner of the Johns Hopkins/MIT matchup.
