TAG | playoffs
ESPN is televising the Division III football semifinals as it did last year, but those expecting to simply click on a link and watch video feeds like we do most of the season might run into trouble on Saturday. The best advice I can give is to test out whichever method you plan to watch the game well in advance of kickoffs, as there are several hoops to jump through.
ESPN3 is showing the live feed of both games. The network’s online channel also archives the games, so in case you miss it, you’ll be able to pull it up later. This is also good if you’re interested in both games, since they run concurrently.
Here’s the link for Mary Hardin-Baylor at Mount Union. That kicks off at 2 p.m. EST, not noon local time, which is standard for D-III playoff games.
It also airs on ESPNU on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. ET.
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Here’s the link for UW-Oshkosh at St. Thomas, which kicks off at 3.
It also airs on ESPNU on Friday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. ET
Our D3football.com scoreboard page is still the best place for live updates during the games, and links to live stats, audio and the video.
ESPN3 is not necessarily available to everyone, though. You need to subscribe to certain cable or internet providers to get access. The game is not being televised live on any channel. It’s online, and you need to figure out which ESPN3 rules apply to you. Here’s their FAQ. (There’s a distinction between ESPN3 and WatchESPN explained there too, but I’m not sure it’s terribly important for our purposes).
Me, for example, I wouldn’t get access through my television provider because I use DirecTV, which is not on the list. However, I get internet through Verizon and I have an XBox Live account, so that gives me two options. I’ve also downloaded and tested the Watch ESPN iPhone app.
I would advise you to read through all these rules and test out your system during a non-D-III live event on Friday night or early Saturday morning. It might be easy for you. It might be a hassle. But the last thing you want is to wait until kickoff to find out.
Failing those options, here’s a link I found on how to set up a free ESPN3 account when your ISP provider doesn’t give you access. I haven’t tested it out, but if you’re this far down the list of options, anything is worth a shot.
The games will be replayed on ESPNU, as noted above, but next Thursday and Friday, at 1 p.m., meaning it’s probably only useful to rewatch the teams who advanced as they get ready for Friday’s 7 p.m. Stagg Bowl. The national championship will be televised live on both ESPNU and ESPN3.
If you’re anywhere near St. Paul or Alliance, Ohio on Saturday, your best bet is to just be there in the stands.
Mary Hardin-Baylor · Mount Union · playoffs · semifinals · St. Thomas · UW-Oshkosh
11
ATN Podcast: Guest Brad Bankston, committee chair
23 Comments · Posted by Pat Coleman in Around the Nation, General, NCAA, Playoffs
 How exactly did Bridgewater State get into the field? We get as much info for you as we can. Bridgewater State file photo |
Subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes. |
We know you have plenty of questions about how teams were chosen for the Division III playoffs and why. While we’re always glad to answer them to the best of our knowledge, it’s good to hear something a little more authoritative, so we’re glad to be joined by Brad Bankston, the chair of the NCAA Division III football championships committee.
Bankston and Pat Coleman talk about everything from those invisible final regional rankings, the at-large decision-making process, and as much detail as possible about how Bridgewater State got in and how Concordia-Moorhead (and others) didn’t. Will the trend of two-loss teams getting at-large bids continue? Why don’t all four regions rank their teams the same way? How has the committee’s conference call changed technologically, and how might that affect the actual decision-making process?
It’s a good conversation, and Bankston is about as frank as any national committee chair has been in the past decade. This is not just the party line. Listen in.
Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your phone or portable device.
You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast
Although Keith McMillan participated in putting the questions together, he was unable to take part in the interview because of scheduling. However, there will also be a full Around the Nation Podcast with Pat and Keith for Monday morning.
Bridgewater State · Linfield · Mary Hardin-Baylor · Mount Union · NCAA · playoffs · St. Thomas · Stagg Bowl · UW-Platteville
3
Game Day: Just four games
31 Comments · Posted by Pat Coleman in Game day live, General, NCAA, Playoffs
 Mike Asiedu and the Wesley defense face a potent UMHB offense. Wesley athletics photo |
We have two interesting cross-region quarterfinals, where two East teams can give the region some long-awaited credibility with games against West Region opponents. We also have a 2002 quarterfinal rematch and a multiple-time rematch in the South. You’ve already seen our picks, and thanks to those who have weighed in there as well.
We’ll be following along all day with our live chat below, and you can join in the chat window or by using the #d3fb hashtag on Twitter. Just one noon game and three 1 p.m. games, so Mount Union-Wabash gets center stage to start off.
Not that you can watch it.
Mary Hardin-Baylor · Mount Union · playoffs · Salisbury · St. John Fisher · St. Thomas · UW-Whitewater · Wabash · Wesley
19
Game Day: The best two hours of the year
10 Comments · Posted by Pat Coleman in Game day live, General
 Josh Chatman is one of 10 players to catch a TD pass and one of 20 McMurry players to catch a pass this season. McMurry athletics photo by Gerald Ewing |
Around 2:00 p.m. ET, it will get really crazy. With nine noon games, six 1 p.m. games and a 3 p.m. game, things get really intense, and they do every year.
Some of the noon games come down to the wire. Some will be upsets. Some will have last-minute victories. The dust we’ll settle, we’ll move names forward in the brackets, and then the 1 p.m. games will come down as well. Follow it all here, with our live chat, on the scoreboard, and all the rest.
Follow with the live chat below, and use the #d3fb hashtag to join the conversation as well.
 Can Bethel make the leap past Mount Union and into the Stagg Bowl? Photo by Scott Pierson, d3photography.com |
Well, the day many have been dreading will be dawning here in a few hours. Unless you’re a UW-Whitewater or Mount Union fan, in which case it’s more like wild anticipation. It’s the last chance for anyone to derail a purple-on-purple matchup for the sixth year in a row in the Stagg Bowl.
Bethel and Wesley stand in the way. It’s a great day because it’s the one day a year there’s live video of a Mount Union home football game, and there is live video at Wesley for the second consecutive week.
The folks on the call will be familiar to longtime D3football.com followers. Frank Rossi of D3football.com and Brandon Stewart will call the action from Alliance, Ohio, while D3football’s Gordon Mann and Keith McMillan will have the call from Dover, Del., on NCAA.com.
I’ll be at home buried under a foot of snow again in Minneapolis. However, this week it was planned. And it allows me to set up on both screens and watch both games. Plus I’ll be DVR-ing the Mount Union/Bethel game on DirecTV’s SportsTime Ohio feed.
Opening the floor, and it will be kept up with this week. Sorry about last week, between the traveling and calling the game.
Bethel · Mount Union · NCAA · playoffs · Road to Salem · semifinals · UW-Whitewater · Wesley
