CANTON, Ga. (November 18, 2018) – For the first time in conference history, three teams from the Southern Athletic Association earned spots in the NCAA Division III Football Playoff bracket. Co-champions Berry, Centre, and Trinity each advanced to the postseason after finishing with identical 8-2 overall records and 6-1 marks in the league.
 
The SAA and the President’s Athletic Conference are the only two leagues in the nation to boast three teams in the postseason. The SAA had multiple teams just once in its history when in 2018 Berry and Centre shared the title; the Vikings won the tiebreaker and Colonels received an at-large bid.
 
This season, Berry won the SAA tiebreaker and received the SAA’s automatic qualifier into the tournament. The Vikings drew an intriguing first round match-up with future SAA rival Maryville (8-1) at home on Saturday, November 23. The Scots won the USA South Conference, running the table in league play, with their only loss on the season coming to Centre by three. Maryville will join the SAA in football for the 2025 season and as a full member in 2026. Berry’s last trip to the NCAA postseason came in 2019 where they fell to Huntingdon 27-24 in the opening round.
 
Centre doesn’t have a first round game and will travel to PAC champion Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, November 30. The Tartans went 9-1 on the season with its lone loss to fellow postseason participant Grove City. The Colonels are back in the bracket for the first time since 2019 where they downed 14^th-ranked Washington & Jefferson in the first round 54-13 before falling to eventual national runner-up Mount Union 51-35 in the second round.
 
Trinity is making a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA postseason, but first as an SAA at-large team. The Tigers beat 15^th-ranked Hardin-Simmons in the opening round a year ago before getting bounced from the bracket by top-ranked North Central in the second round. This season Trinity will host Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round, Saturday, November 23. The Cru won the American Southwest Conference and went 6-3 in the regular season.
 
Fans can follow the SAA’s run through the NCAA postseason at NCAA.com