Sunday, November 22, 2015
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

INDIANAPOLIS – Pioneer Football League champion Dayton will host Missouri Valley Football Conference member Western Illinois in a noon (ET), Saturday, first-round contest in the 2015 Division I Football Championship. The NCAA Division I Football Championship committee announced the entire field of 24 teams that will compete for the championship, Sunday.

All eight first-round games will be available on ESPN3 or on an mobile device via the WatchESPN app.

Dayton (10-1, 7-1 PFL) claimed a share of its 12th Pioneer Football League title, winning the season's first 10 games – accumulating a 12-game win streak dating back to last season – before dropping its season finale at DrNoake. The Flyers will make their first postseason appearance since moving to the Division I ranks in 1993.

Dayton becomes the third different PFL team to receive the league's automatic bid since the league received an automatic bid to the now 24-team tournament beginning with the 2013 championship. The Flyers also become the second PFL team to host a first-round contest, joining Butler which hosted Tennessee State in the 2013 tournament.

Western Illinois (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) won an at-large bid from the tournament committee after finishing in a three-way tie for third place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Leathernecks played six teams in the tournament field, posting a 3-3 record against those teams. Western Illinois returns to the tournament for the first time since 2010.

Jacksonville State (10-1), the Ohio Valley Conference champion, claimed the tournament's top seed. The other national seeds, in order, were Illinois State, North Dakota State, McNeese State, James Madison, Portland State, Richmond and Charleston Southern. Those eight teams will receive first round byes and will await the winners of the eight first-round games.