The field of 16 teams competing for the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. The field includes Elon and Appalachian State from the Southern Conference.

The University of Montana (11-0) tops the bracket as the top seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies, the lone undefeated team in the Football Championship Subdivision and 1995 and 2001 national champions, are making their 17th straight appearance and 20th overall.

Second-seeded Villanova University (10-1) is making its eighth appearance. The Wildcats captured the Colonial Athletic Association automatic berth.

Southern Illinois University (10-1), which is making its seventh straight and eighth overall tournament appearance, is the number-three seed. The Salukis, who captured the national championship in 1983, won the Missouri Valley Football Conference title.

Rounding out this year’s seeded teams is the defending national champion, University of Richmond (10-1) with the number-four seed. The Spiders defeated Montana 24-7 to win the school’s first national title in 2008.
Other first-round hosts include Southern Conference automatic qualifier Appalachian State (9-2), McNeese State University (9-2), Southland Conference automatic qualifier Stephen F. Austin University (9-2), who is making its first appearance since 1995, and the College of William and Mary (9-2).

Other automatic qualifiers in the tournament include Eastern Illinois University (8-3), who was the automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference. The College of Holy Cross (9-2), automatic bid qualifier from the Patriot League, clinched its second trip and first since 1983 into the championship.

South Carolina State University (10-1) earned the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s automatic bid.

Other teams in the field are Eastern Washington University (8-3), Elon University (9-2), University of New Hampshire (9-2), South Dakota State University (8-3) and Weber State University (7-4). Elon and South Dakota State are making their first ever appearance in the championship.

Eight conferences received automatic-qualifying berths: the Big Sky Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Football Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference and Southland Conference.

ESPN’s family of networks will once again provide coverage of all rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship. In the first round, ESPNU/ESPNUHD will broadcast the South Carolina State at Appalachian State game live at Noon ET, Saturday, November 28.

The 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship game is slated for 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at W. Max Finley Stadium/Davenport Field in Chattanooga.

ESPN2/ESPN2HD/ESPN360.com will televise the championship game.
More games may possibly be televised in the first round as well as additional rounds. Television schedules and games times for all rounds of the 2009 championship will be updated daily at the NCAA Sports website (www.ncaa.com/football).

November 28 at Missoula, Montana
South Dakota St. (8-3) at No. 1 Montana (11-0)

November 28 at Nacogdoches, Texas
Eastern Wash. (8-3) at Stephen F. Austin (9-2)

November 28 at Richmond, Virginia
Elon (9-2) at No. 4 Richmond (10-1)

November 28 at Boone, North Carolina (ESPNU/ESPNUHD at Noon ET)
South Carolina St. (10-1) at Appalachian St. (9-2)

November 28 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Holy Cross (9-2) at No. 2 Villanova (10-1)

November 28 at Lake Charles, Louisiana
New Hampshire (9-2) at McNeese St. (9-2)

November 28 at Carbondale, Illinois
Eastern Ill. (8-3) at No. 2 Southern Ill. (10-1)

November 28 at Williamsburg, Virginia
Weber St. (7-4) at William & Mary (9-2)

The 2009 championship field consists of eight automatic qualifiers and eight at-large qualifiers.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (8)
Montana Big Sky Conference

Villanova Colonial Athletic Association

South Carolina State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Southern Illinois Missouri Valley Football Conference
Eastern Illinois Ohio Valley Conference
Holy Cross Patriot League
Appalachian State Southern Conference
McNeese State Southland Conference
AT-LARGE QUALIFERS (8)
Eastern Washington Big Sky Conference
Weber State Big Sky Conference
New Hampshire Colonial Athletic Association
Richmond Colonial Athletic Association
William and Mary Colonial Athletic Association
South Dakota State Missouri Valley Football Conference
Elon Southern Conference
McNeese State Southland Conference