HAMILTON – For the first time in 15 years, NCAA playoff football is returning to Hamilton.
Eighth-seeded Colgate squares off against sixth-ranked James Madison is the NCAA Division I Football Championship’s Second Round. Kickoff Saturday from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is 1 p.m.
Colgate and James Madison met in the second round three years ago in Virginia. Colgate won 44-38 to advance to the 2015 NCAA quarters. This year’s winner draws the winner of Saturday’s game between top-seeded North Dakota State and Montana State.
The Raiders earned their No. 8 seed after winning the Patriot League and finishing 9-1, with their only loss to an FBS Army team that is now ranked 23rd in the major polls.
Colgate’s No. 8 seed is the first seed by a Patriot League team. Colgate in the final regular season polls ranked seventh in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and ninth in the STATS FCS media/SID ranking.
Colgate dominated the Patriot League postseason awards, with Dan Hunt named Dick Biddle Patriot League Coach of the Year, James Holland Jr., earned league Offensive Player of the Year honors and T.J. Holl taking home the top defensive trophy.
Colgate Athletics announced Thursday a five-year extension of Hunt’s contract that keeps the head coach in Hamilton through the 2023 season.
Saturday’s game marks Colgate’s first home playoff appearance since 2003, when the Raiders knocked off Massachusetts and Western Illinois en route to the NCAA championship game. JMU has played in the NCAA title game the last two years, beating Youngstown State in 2016 and falling to North Dakota State a year ago. The Dukes also won the 2004 national championship.
