WACO, Texas - After claiming a program-first NCAA Division III playoff berth and winning a second consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs broke into the D3football.com Top 25 for the first time in program history and tied the university's highest placement in the AFCA Coaches' Poll with a ranking of 17th.
TLU (9-1, 3-0 SCAC) closed out the regular season with a No. 24 ranking in the D3football.com Top 25. The Bulldogs received 51 voting points in the new poll. The Bulldogs moved from one spot outside the D3football.com poll, essentially 26th, to the 24th position in the poll.
In the American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches' Poll, the Bulldogs jumped three spots to No. 17. The No. 17 position in the AFCA poll is TLU's highest national ranking in any poll since the team was ranked 16th in the NAIA Division I Football Top 20 on Nov. 7, 1984. The Bulldogs also were No. 17 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 of this season.
The top three spots in both of this week's polls went to defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2013 semi-finalist Mary Hardin-Baylor and 2013 national runner-up Mount Union (Ohio).
TLU travels to play No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-0, 5-0 American Southwest Conference) on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
Kickoff is set for noon at UMHB's Crusader Stadium in Belton, Texas. Tickets for the playoff game will go on sale to the general public Wednesday from 1-6 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Reserved tickets cost $10, and general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students (ages 3-college age).
Tickets will be sold at Crusader Stadium Gate One in Belton and by phone, at 
(254) 295-4455.
Online ticket sales will open at 1 p.m. Wednesday through the following link: http://www.umhb.edu/stadium/stadium-events.
