Nov. 12, 2006

Indianapolis, Ind. - The NCAA Division II Football Committee announced today the field of 24 teams for the 2006 NCAA Division II Football Championship. Grand Valley State (11-0) was awarded the number one seed in the Northwest Region for the second straight year. GVSU will host the winner of the #5 South Dakota at #4 Northwood game Saturday, November 25 at a time to be announced in a second round contest.

"We are excited to be in the playoffs for the sixth straight year," said third-year head coach Chuck Martin. "This team has put in a lot hard work over the last year and advancing to the playoffs is a reward for that work," added Martin.

Eight first-round games will be conducted on the campus of one of the competing institutions. In addition, two teams per region have earned first-round byes. The first-round winners will all advance to face a bye team in their region in the second round on the campus of one of the competing institutions. Second-round winners will meet in the quarterfinals at various campus sites. Quarterfinal winners will advance to play in the semifinals on the campus of one of the competing institutions. Six teams selected per region make up the field of 24 teams.

"Our kids know that the only game that matters in the playoffs is the game you are preparing for," said Martin. "Our only goal is to find a way to win our next game."

GVSU is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA DII playoffs and the 11th overall in the program's history. GVSU is 17-2 in its last five playoff appearances with three DII National Championships. The Lakers have a 17-7 all-time mark in the DII football playoffs.

The first-round dates, sites and pairings are:

November 18 at Midland, Michigan University of South Dakota (8-3) vs. *Northwood University (8-2)

November 18 at Grand Forks, North Dakota Winona State University (9-2) vs. *University of North Dakota (9-1)

November 18 at Elizabeth City, North Carolina Delta State University (9-2) vs. *Elizabeth City State University (9-2)

November 18 at Newberry, South Carolina Albany State University (Georgia) (7-3) vs. *Newberry College (10-1)

November 18 at North Andover, Massachusetts Southern Connecticut State University (7-3) vs. *Merrimack College (7-3)

November 18 at Smithfield, Rhode Island West Chester University of Pennsylvania (8-3) vs. *Bryant University (8-2)

November 18 at Wichita Falls, Texas Missouri Western State University (9-2) vs. *Midwestern State University (9-2)

November 18 at Canyon, Texas Abilene Christian University (8-2) vs. *West Texas A&M University (10-1)

*Denotes Host Institution

The following institutions earned first-round byes in each region and also will host a second-round game on November 25, 2006.

Northwest: 1. Grand Valley State University (11-0) 2. University of Nebraska at Omaha (8-2)

Southeast: 1. North Carolina Central University (11-0) 2. University of North Alabama (10-0)

Northeast: 1. Shepherd University (10-0) 2. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (10-1)

Southwest: 1. Northwest Missouri State University(11-0) 2. Chadron State College (11-0)

Grand Valley State defeated Northwest Missouri State in the 2005 national championship game to claim the NCAA title.

The championship game will be played December 16, at Noon Eastern time at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama and will be broadcast live on ESPN. The 2006 championship will mark 21 consecutive years that the Division II championship game has been played in Florence. In addition, both semifinal games will be played on Sunday, December 10. Kick-off will be at either 5:30 p.m. Eastern time or 7 p.m. Eastern time and will air on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.