NCAA Denies 8-2 Whitworth Spot In Division III Football Playoffs
SPOKANE — A conference championship wasn’t enough to impress the NCAA, as they left the Whitworth Pirates out of the Division III football playoffs.
The Pirates finished the regular season Saturday with a 34-13 win over the Puget Sound Loggers in Tacoma. They were 8-2 overall and 6-0 in the Northwest Conference.
But that didn’t impress the selection committee. According to D3football.com, Wisconsin-Eau Claire passed Whitworth in the NCAA ratings on Saturday after beating Wisconsin-Stout 17-14, and thus earned a playoff spot. UWEC is also 8-2, but had two conference losses.
This is the first time the Northwest Conference has not had a team in the Division III playoffs since they joined the NCAA in 1998.
Whitworth has much to be proud of this season. They ran their conference winning streak to 13 games and have won 19 games in the last two seasons for a school record.
