Click here for the NAIA National Championship game Web site.
Nearly a year’s worth of planning, preparation and anticipation is coming down to the final days for the 2008 Russell Athletics NAIA National Football Championship game.
And now Rome knows it will be welcoming the top two NAIA football teams in the country to play in Historic Barron Stadium.
Defeating their opponents in the semifinals of the Football Championship Series on Saturday, top-ranked Carroll College, out of Helena, Mont., and the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) will meet on Dec. 20 at the downtown sports complex.
On Sunday, the NAIA Championship Game host committee conducted a conference call with representatives from both schools and NAIA staff.
“The purpose was really to introduce ourselves to each school, congratulate them on their wins and welcome them to Rome,” committee co-chair Bob Berry said.
It marked a big step for the host committee as it was the first contact with the participating schools and allowed them to go over any logistics for next week’s schedule, such as transportation, lodging and ticket sales.
Both teams have quite a history with the NAIA title game.
Carroll has won five of the last six championship contests, including last year’s game against Sioux Falls in Savannah, Tenn.
Sioux Falls won the only title that Carroll didn’t when they defeated St. Francis (Ind.) for the championship in 2006.
“They know the process and they know what next week is going to be like very well,” Berry said. “We didn’t detect that we had missed anything that we need to be doing so that was a relief to us.”
And like the SEC Championship game in the Georgia Dome this past Saturday between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida, the NAIA National Football Championship game will see the top two ranked teams in the nation battle it out.
“That, to me, is the real story about this game,” Berry said.
“They’ve been through the regular season, they’ve proven themselves throughout the playoffs and now it is ending with the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in Rome, Ga., playing for the national championship.”
Berry said that the 1-2 combination should help generate even more excitement for the game and really help sell tickets.
Reserved seating tickets for the Dec. 20 game, which starts at noon, are $25 each while general admission tickets are $20 each.
Tickets may be purchased online at NAIANationalChampionship.com, the Shorter College Box Office or the Rome Visitor’s Center on Jackson Hill.
For details, call the Shorter College Box Office at 706-233-7288.
In addition, tickets are also available for the FCA Champions of Character Breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 8 a.m., and for the NAIA Banquet of Champions on Friday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m.
Both events will be at The Forum and tickets are $25 for an individual or $200 for a table of eight. Former Air Force head football coach Fisher DeBerry will speak at the FCA breakfast.
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