The 15th-ranked and MIAA champion Hope College football team drew a first-round bye and will host Aurora University (Ill.) in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 30, at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
Kickoff time and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
“Now you’re playing for keeps. Forty teams are in it to win a national championship” head coach Peter Stuursma said. “There are some good teams playing for a national championship.
This is Hope’s sixth playoff appearance and first since 2019.
The Flying Dutchmen clinched the MIAA’s automatic postseason by winning the league title for the 23rd time with a 7-0 record.
Hope also won three non-league games, making the Flying Dutchmen 10-0 for the first time in program history.
Aurora (9-1) is champion of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
The Flying Dutchmen have not trailed the entire season and have outscored opponents by a 443-83 margin.
Hope previously finished the regular season without a loss twice, going 9-0 in 1984 and 8-0-1 in 1975.
The Division III playoff kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 23, with eight first-round games. The NCAA expanded the playoff by eight teams this season.
The national championship game will be held on Saturday, Jan. 5, at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. Cortland State (N.Y.) defeated North Central College (Illinois) in the 2023 national title game.
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