The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will see a familiar face when the Cru hosts an NCAA Semifinal Game for the fourth time in the last six years this Saturday. UMHB will take on Wisconsin-Whitewater in a 2:30 pm kickoff with a Stagg Bowl XLVI on the line.
The Cru (13-0) and the Warhawks (12-0) will be meeting in the National Semifinals for the fourth time and this will be the sixth overall meeting between the two programs. Wisconsin-Whitewater leads the all-time series 5-0 and posted a 16-15 victory in the 2013 National Semifinals in the last meeting. UMHB won the American Southwest Conference championship this season and is looking to advance to the Stagg Bowl for the third straight year. The Warhawks are champions of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and have six national championships. The Cru goes into the contest ranked #2 in the country in both national polls and the Warhawks are ranked 4th in the nation in one poll and 5th in the other. Both teams are coming off Quarterfinal victories over teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UMHB edged Saint John’s 21-18 last Saturday while Wisconsin-Whitewater topped Bethel University 26-12.
“Their lines are huge on both sides of the ball,” Cru Head Coach Pete Fredenburg said. “They do a nice job of executing their offense and we have to try to find a way to match their physicality. We learned a lot about the resilience of this football team last week. You also learn about the intensity of the games at this time of year. You have to reach deep and play your best game to be able to move on to the next game.”
Wisconsin-Whitewater topped UMHB in regular season meetings in both 2006 and 2007. The Warhawks also have Semifinal wins over the Cru in 2007, 2008 and 2013. Wisconsin-Whitewater is the only opponent UMHB has a losing record against in program history.
For more information on parking, traffic flow and game day events, please visit the following link: http://www.umhb.edu/stadium/directions-and-parking. Wisconsin-Whitewater fans are encouraged to enter the stadium through ticket window #3 at the southeast corner of Crusader Stadium. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to take on the Mount Union/Johns Hopkins winner for the National Championship next Friday night at 6 pm.
ESPN3 will carry Saturday’s Semifinal Game and the broadcast will also be available on the Watch ESPN app. Saturday’s game will also be broadcast live on KRock101.7 FM and through the station’s web site with the pre-game show starting at 2 pm. Tickets are still available and the ticket windows are scheduled to open at 12:30 pm on Saturday. Reserved tickets are $12 at the gate, general admission tickets are $10 and student tickets will be $4 at the gate. The stadium gates will open at 1 pm on Saturday. Tickets left at Will Call will be available for pickup at any ticket window on game day.
