It’s late May, and college football is still being played, a moment made possible thanks to COVID-19.
While the FBS season happened last fall — even with the pandemic causing countless scheduling changes — all other NCAA divisions moved their seasons to the spring, though they’ve wrapped up play by now.
Not the NJCAA, though, and because of it, Snow College will be the last Utah college to wrap up its season. The Badgers will be playing for a national title, too.
On Monday, the NJCAA announced that Snow — ranked No. 2 in the final NJCAA football rankings — will play top-ranked Hutchinson Community College in the junior college’s national championship, set for June 5 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“I am thrilled and excited for our team and for the entire Snow College community,” first-year head Snow coach Zac Erekson said in a statement. “It is a privilege to accept the invitation to play for the NJCAA Football National Championship in Little Rock, Arkansas. These young men have worked extremely hard to get through a global pandemic, and have stayed the course that our staff had set out for them.”
What’s at stake for Snow College
- The Badgers went undefeated during the spring 2021 season, their first undefeated season since 2008. Now, Snow will be trying to earn its second national championship, after winning the junior college title in 1985.
- Snow College helped its cause by defeating two teams that finished ranked in the final top 10 — handing No. 4 Iowa Western its only loss of the year (31-30) in an early season game, while the Badgers beat No. 10 Iowa Central handily, 48-18. Both wins came on the road.
- The Badgers won five games by 40 or more points this season, and their average margin of victory was 37.63 points.
Meet the opponent: Hutchinson
- No. 1 Hutchinson went 7-0 during the regular season, its third unbeaten season in school history. The Blue Dragons will be trying to win their first-ever national championship.
- “We will be matched up against an extremely good football team in Hutchinson Community College,” Erekson said. “They are very well coached and have a ton of talent on their roster.”
How to watch or attend
- What: NJCAA football national championship
- When: June 5, 3 p.m. MDT
- Where: War Memorial Stadium (Little Rock, Arkansas)
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- For tickets: Click here for more information on how to buy tickets.