Wheaton, Ill.  (11/11) – The Wheaton College football team, co-champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), has earned one of seven at-large berths to the 32-team NCAA Division III Playoffs. Wheaton will host College of Mount St. Joseph of Cincinnati, Ohio in a first round game at noon on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Wheaton's McCully Stadium. The NCAA announced the playoff pairings on Sunday afternoon.

Wheaton is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs in five years, with a 5-4 all-time record in the postseason and perfect 4-0 record in the first round. The winner of next Saturday's Wheaton-Mt St. Joseph game will advance to face the winner of another first round game between top-seeded Mount Union and Hope College on November 25. 

Wheaton finished the regular season with a 9-1 overall record and a 6-1 record in CCIW play to tie North Central and Augustana for the CCIW Championship. The Thunder was ranked 19th in last week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches Poll.

The Lions of Mount St. Joseph enter the playoffs with a record of 9-1 this season and earned its trip to the NCAA Division III Playoffs by winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and the conference's automatic qualifier to the postseason.

As a NCAA Championship event no free passes are accepted to Saturday's game. The NCAA mandated admission for the game is $8 for adults, $4 for students, children under three-years-old will be admitted for free. The gates to McCully Field will open at 11 AM on Saturday morning.