Nov. 24, 2010

Contact: Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services, cwaller@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Championship Scoreboard) The 2010 Football Championship Series Quarterfinals will be played out on Saturday, with four schools hosting on-campus sites. In the eight-team field, seven of the programs have appeared in a Quarterfinal game prior to this season. Newcomer Marian (Ind.) is playing in its first-ever round-of-eight game in school history. The four quarterfinal winners will advance to play in the Football Championship Series Semifinals on Dec. 4. The semifinal pairings will be announced by 10 p.m. CST on Saturday.

Since 2000, the home teams in the FCS Quarterfinals are 28-11 overall. All four hosts won last year by an average margin of over 32 points.

McKendree (Ill.) (9-2), a team in its second-ever Quarterfinal, will look to beat No. 1-ranked Sioux Falls (S.D.) (11-0) at home. The Cougars are two-time defending national champions and haven’t lost in nearly three years. Sioux Falls sports a 40-game winning streak, the longest stretch in any division of college football, and is just two victories shy of tying the all-time NAIA record. This meeting is the first for the schools in postseason action.

The rookie to the postseason, Marian (10-2), heads to Helena, Mont., to take on Carroll (Mont.) (11-0). Carroll has had tremendous postseason success with five national championships and a 10-5 record in the Quarterfinals. Kick-off from Nelson Stadium is set for Noon MST.

In the third Quarterfinal game, Saint Francis (Ind.) (10-1) looks to avenge its only loss of 2010 with a trip to Saint Xavier (Ill.) (12-0). On Nov. 6, St. Xavier handed USF a 30-6 defeat. However, the USF Cougars have won both previous meetings when the teams have played each other in the postseason. Overall, St. Francis is 6-2 in the Quarterfinal round, while SXU is 2-1.

Heading to its sixth-straight Quarterfinal, Morningside (Iowa) (10-1) visits MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (11-0). The Mustangs are trying to improve upon a 1-4 record in the Quarterfinals. MidAmerica Nazarene is also looking for success as it is 0-3 in the Quarterfinals. This contest marks the first between the teams in postseason history. The game will be video-streamed live and free via Victory Sports Network. For more information, click here.

The 55th Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship is scheduled for Dec. 18 in Rome, Ga. Rome-Floyd County and Shorter (Ga.) College will host the event at Barron Stadium. The event will be televised live on CBS College Sports Television with kickoff slated for 4:30 p.m. EST. For ticket information, call 1-800-858-7601.

For complete Championship history and records, click here.

For more information on the 2010 National Championship, click here.

Championship Series Quick Facts:

• Defending national champion Sioux Falls is playing for its fifth National Championship and third consecutive. Only one team has won at least three straight titles, with Carroll (Mont.) winning four in-a-row from 2002-05. Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) holds the most NAIA Championships with seven overall.

• Carroll (11) holds the longest active streak of postseason appearances, followed by Sioux Falls (10) and Morningside (Iowa) (7).

• Sioux Falls boasts the most wins all-time in the Football Championship Series with a 34-11 record. The next team with the most wins is Carroll with a 33-13 mark.

• Six teams made their 10th-plus trip to the Football Championship Series.

• Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Georgetown (Ky.), Marian, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Saint Francis (Ind.) all are new compared to the 2009 field.

• Five programs all own at least 10 wins in the Football Championship Series, led by the 34 victories from Sioux Falls.

 • Marian (Ind.) is making its first trip to the Football Championship Series.

• Not including newcomer Marian (Ind.), Azusa Pacific is a team that is breaking the longest playoff drought. The Cougars last played in the 2005 postseason when they hosted Montana Tech, only to lose 24-17.

• Since 2005, four of the past five national champions led the NAIA in total defense. Currently, Sioux Falls (214.0 yapg) is a close second in the country in that category.

• The Mid-States Football Association Mideast League (MSFA – Mideast) boasts the most teams in the 16-team field:  Marian, Saint Francis and Saint Xavier (Ill.). The Great Plains Athletic Conference, Heart of America Athletic Association and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference each land a pair of teams. Overall, 11 conferences / independents sport at least one team.

• Sioux Falls is riding a nation-high 40 game winning streak heading into the Quarterfinal. Last year, the Cougars were on a 25-game winning streak heading into the playoffs. In 2008, Carroll was on a 26-game winning streak heading into the postseason.

• After securing the Frontier Conference Championship, Carroll now has won 11 straight (outright and shared) conference titles. The Fighting Saints own the nation’s longest active streak of conference championships.

• Five teams entered the Football Championship Series with an undefeated record: Carroll, McPherson, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), St. Xavier (Ill.) and Sioux Falls. In each of the last three seasons, there have now been at least five schools to finish the regular season with an unblemished record. Sioux Falls has gone undefeated in each of the last five seasons, the longest active stretch.

 2010 NAIA Football Championship Series

• Quarterfinal Pairings | Saturday, Nov. 27 | All times local and subject to change

Game 1:

• McKendree (Ill.) (9-2) @ Sioux Falls (S.D.) (11-0), Noon

                (First meeting in postseason series history)

                (McKendree: 1-0 in Quarterfinals)

                (Sioux Falls: 10-3 in Quarterfinals)

Game 2

• Marian (Ind.) (10-2) @ Carroll (Mont.) (11-0), Noon

                (First meeting in postseason series history)

                (Marian: 0-0 in Quarterfinals)

                (Carroll: 10-5 in Quarterfinals)

Game 3:

• Saint Francis (Ind.) (10-1) @ Saint Xavier (Ill.) (12-0), 1 p.m.

                (St. Francis leads 2-0 in overall series)

                (St. Xavier: 2-1 in Quarterfinals)

                (St. Francis: 6-2 in Quarterfinals)

Game 4:

• Morningside (Iowa) (10-1) @ MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (11-0), 1 p.m.

                (First meeting in postseason series history)

                (Morningside: 1-4 in Quarterfinals)

                (MidAmerica Nazarene: 0-3 in Quarterfinals)