St. Norbert Heads to St. Thomas in NCAA Playoff Opener

From Sports Information Director, November 11, 2012 | Football
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College will face the University of St. Thomas in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

The Green Knights (8-2) will face the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Tommies (10-0) at Noon Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.

St. Norbert is making its 10th overall NCAA Division III Playoffs appearance and ninth in the last 14 years. The Green Knights are 1-9 all-time in the playoffs, and have won 14 Midwest Conference football titles since joining the league for football in 1984. St. Norbert lost to North Central (Ill.) College 57-7 in a first-round game in its last NCAA appearance in 2010.

St. Thomas is making its fourth consecutive and fifth overall trip to the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The Tommies are 8-4 all-time in the playoffs and advanced to the national semifinals of last year's tournament before losing to eventual national champion UW-Whitewater 20-0.

The matchup marks the third consecutive year St. Norbert will meet St. Thomas on the gridiron. The two schools plays in the 2010 and 2011 season openers. St. Thomas won both meetings, claiming a 40-7 win in De Pere in 2010 and a 20-7 triumph last season in St. Paul. St. Norbert holds a 13-11-1 overall lead in the series, which began in 1947.

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