Kutztown University provides further comment on football team's postseason game at Slippery Rock
Nov. 29—Third-seeded Kutztown University will take on fourth-seeded Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II football playoffs on Saturday at noon.
While the Golden Bears are the higher seed, Slippery Rock will host the game — which is the Super Region One final — as a result of a "misjudgment" on behalf of Kutztown University.
Kutztown did not submit a bid to the NCAA to host a quarterfinal game and Slippery Rock did, giving The Rock the home game. On Sunday, the university released a statement regarding the game.
"We are, as a university, regretful that we didn't submit the bid," said Matt Santos, Kutztown University vice president of university relations and athletics in an interview with the Reading Eagle. "We apologize to our fans and especially our student-athletes."
Bids to host NCAA Division II playoff games must be submitted in October. While the host institutions must meet a list of requirements, the bids do not cost the schools any money and must be submitted for each round of the postseason for each sport.
The Kutztown athletics department submitted a bid prior to the NCAA's deadline to host in the opening round of the football postseason. The Golden Bears ultimately defeated Virginia Union at Andre Reed Stadium on Nov. 18.
According to Santos, after the Golden Bears defeated Slippery Rock in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Game on Nov. 11, Kutztown tried to submit bids to host more postseason games, but the request was denied by the NCAA because it was after the October deadline.
"We did make an effort to try to rectify it once we realized what was happening," Santos said.
Kutztown did not submit a bid to host a quarterfinal or a semifinal. With a win on Saturday, the Golden Bears will advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
"This is just a very unusual circumstance and a clear misjudgment on behalf of the university," Santos said.
Saturday's game marks the second time in program history that Kutztown will play in a national quarterfinal. The Golden Bears lost 30-28 to Shepherd in a 2021 quarterfinal at Andre Reed Stadium.
"For our fans to not be able to see them here this weekend is certainly a disappointment for all of us," Santos said. "We feel the worst for the student-athletes and their parents."
For people interested in attending Saturday's game at Slippery Rock, Kutztown has organized fan buses to and from the game. Further information and a registration link for the fan bus can be found on the Kutztown athletics website (kubears.com).
In addition, the KU Foundation is hosting a watch party beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Nancy Jean Stump Seiger '54 Multipurpose Room in the McFarland Student Union building. Snacks and refreshments will be served, and registration information can be found on the Kutztown athletics website.
"We're going to rally around them and get as many people as we can out to Slippery Rock," Santos said.
Kuztown, which beat Slippery Rock 31-7 in the PSAC title game on Nov. 11, has won 11 straight games after an 0-2 start. The Golden Bears' 11 wins ties a program record.
They beat Charleston (W.Va.) 32-31 in the second round of the NCAA playoffs. Slippery Rock beat top-seeded Tiffin 45-35 to set up the rematch with KU.
"Our football team has had an incredible season," Santos said. "What they did is nothing short of incredible."
