The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2009 Football Championship Series Sunday, Nov. 15 live on College Fanz Sports Network.
This Saturday, Nov. 21, College Fanz, the world's largest online college sports community launched by ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, will feature one of the first-round playoff games, McKendree University at Saint Xavier University, in a live TV webcast from Chicago at 1 p.m. Central Time/2 p.m. Eastern on
http://www.CollegeFanz.com.
College Fanz features video stream broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week with programming that includes the "College Fanz Report," as well as highlights and features covering a wide-range of college sports, student-athletes, coaches, rivalries, mascots, marching bands, fanz and alumni.
Selected games from the NAIA Football Championship Series first round, quarterfinals and semi-finals will be broadcast live on College Fanz as part of the inaugural season of the
College Fanz NAIA Football Game of the Week. The NAIA Football Championship Series culminates on Saturday, December 19, in Rome, Georgia with the 54th Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship at 12 Noon Eastern in Barron Stadium. College Fanz will broadcast live pre-and post-game shows from Rome, Ga., as well.
All College Fanz broadcasts are available at
http://www.CollegeFanz.com.
The colorful College Fanz Van arrives in Chicago on Friday, November 20, to provide live, on-site coverage, including pre-game, half-time and post-game shows from the campus. Students, alumni, and fanz are a big part of the atmosphere for each College Fanz Game Day, joining the College Fanz broadcasters in the live pre-game show and other Game Day activities on campus.
Rasmussen, who founded ESPN in 1979, is the CEO and founding partner of College Fanz. He will be in attendance at Saturday's contest to meet with fanz before and during the game at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field, and will preside over the coin-toss at the start of the game.
Veteran NAIA sports commentator Jason Dannelly will be the color analyst for this Saturday's gridiron matchup. Dannelly is the director of college relations for College Fanz and producer of the College Fanz NAIA Football Game of the Week.
McKendree University (Lebanon, Illinois) is entering their first Football Championship Series since 2005 after winning the 2009 Mid-States Football Association Midwest League with a 7-0 league record. The Bearcats have matched a program record with their ninth consecutive victory this year, and are 9-1 overall and ranked ninth in the nation. McKendree is trying to snap a three-game losing streak in the NAIA first round with the last two coming at home. Entering Saturday's first-round contest, the Bearcats rank fifth in the country in rushing offense (248.1 yards per game), second in scoring defense (11.4 points per game) and seventh in total defense (258.9 yards per game). Since 2000, McKendree is 10th in the country in total wins, led by head coach Carl Poelker, who won his 100th game as a Bearcat on Oct. 17.
Saint Xavier University (Chicago) is making its fifth overall appearance in the Football Championship Series, after completing the school's first-ever perfect regular season (11-0) while winning its first Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League title. Ranked No. 4 in the NAIA at the end of the regular season, the Cougars have won their last two NAIA first round games. They enter Saturday's contest ranked third in the country in total offense (519.4) and pass offense (343.0).
Since 2000, Saint Xavier holds the sixth-most wins of any NAIA program, and at on point early in the year, topped 50 points in five straight games. The Cougars, under head coach Mike Feminis, ended the regular season by defeating two top-20 teams including a victory over Saint Francis (Ind.), which ended its 56-game home winning streak.
Earlier this fall, College Fanz established the College Fanz Scholarship Fund, to provide contributions to college and university athletic department funds in recognition of the College Fanz NAIA Football Game of the Week "Outstanding Player of the Game," as well as the Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and the 25 student-athletes named to the All-America team. The College Fanz Scholarship Fund is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit corporation. The fund includes individual contributions, sale of College Fanz merchandise, and sales of the Inaugural Season College Fanz Game of the Week t-shirts. In addition, organizations who set up their own Webstorz account will share the proceeds with their organization, the College Fanz Scholarship Fund and the NAIA.About College Fanz:
About College Fanz:Launched September 7, 2007, 28 years to the day that Bill Rasmussen's ESPN dream went on the air for the first time, College Fanz Sports Network is the world's largest online college sports community, with students, alumni, and other fanz of college sports. College Fanz boasts over 22,000 web pages devoted to more than 1,450 colleges and universities competing in over 225,000 NCAA and NAIA athletic events. Additional information is available at http://www.CollegeFanz.com.
For more information, please contact College Fanz media contact:Jim DeLorenzo
215-564-1122
jdelorenzo@collegefanz.com