MACCC champion and No. 4 EMCC Lions to meet No. 1 Hutchinson in NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs
Riding a seven-game winning streak and fresh off claiming a second straight MACCC championship, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College have earned a No. 4 national ranking and will take on top-ranked and unbeaten Hutchinson Community College in the 2023 NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Gowans Stadium.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Riding a seven-game winning streak and fresh off claiming a second straight MACCC championship, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College have earned a No. 4 national ranking and will take on top-ranked and unbeaten Hutchinson Community College in the 2023 NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Gowans Stadium.
In the other NJCAA football semifinal matchup to also kick off at 2 p.m. CT, reigning national champion and second-ranked Iowa Western will play host to No. 3 Kilgore College (TX) on Sunday, Dec. 3, at Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both semifinals will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Tickets to each semifinal game will be available to purchase for $15 general admission plus taxes and fees in advance. Tickets at the gate will be $18 for general admission. To purchase tickets, visit njcaa.org/tickets.
The winners of the semifinal contests will advance to the 2023 NJCAA Division I Football Championship, presented by Zurich Insurance, set to take place in Little Rock, Arkansas, at War Memorial Stadium. The championship will be televised nationally by ESPNU on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. CT.
Having captured their ninth conference championship in the past 15 years under head coach Buddy Stephens with MACCC playoff wins at home over top-10 foes Mississippi Gulf Coast (33-21 in the semifinals) and Copiah-Lincoln (27-20 in the championship), the 9-2 EMCC Lions will be making their initial NJCAA Division I Football Playoff appearance since the NJCAA went to the playoff system in 2021. Prior to that, East Mississippi earned five NJCAA football championships during an eight-year span (2011, '13-14 & '17-18) when the top two ranked teams in the final regular-season poll squared off for the national championship. EMCC is bidding to match six-time NJCAA champions Butler (KS) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for the most all-time football team championships in NJCAA history.