The Aurora University football team is headed to the NCAA Division III Football Championship for the sixth time in program history and second consecutive season the NCAA has held a playoff. The Spartans received a Pool A berth as they finished the regular season with an 8-2 overall record and went a perfect 7-0 to win the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Championship.
 
The Spartans will travel to the Wheaton College (9-1, 8-1 CCIW) in Wheaton, Illinois on Saturday, November 20. Game time has been set for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff at McCully Stadium.  This will be the 16th meeting all-time between the two football programs and seventh since 1990. AU is 4-11 all-time and 2-4 in the 1990's meetings. The last time the Spartans and Thunder shared the gridiron, AU was victorious 32-25 in 1997.

View the complete 2021 NCAA Division III Football Championship bracket - click here.

AU football, under the direction of Head Coach Don Beebe and in his third season at the helm, makes a trip to the NCAA Division III Football Championship appearance for the second consecutive season.

AU is led by a high powered offense that ranks eighth in total offense (501.8 yards per game), sixth in first downs offense (230), 10th in scoring offense (47.2 points per game), 14th in passing efficiency (171.46) and 21st in rushing offense (240.2).  Defensively and special teams, the Spartans rank ninth in kick return defense (12.92) and 13th in punt returns (16.53). 

Individually, the Spartans are led by Gavin Zimbelman who has thrown for 2,638 yards on 188-of-312 passing, 41 touchdowns and five interceptions. he has completed 60.3-percent of his passes for 263.8 per game and a 170.8 efficiency. He is second nationally in passing touchdowns, second in points responsible for (236), fourth in points responsible for per game (26.2), 12th in passing efficiency, 21st in passing yards, 23rd in passing yards per completion, 26th in passing yards per game and 27th in yards per pass attempt.

Tyran Bailey has carried the ball 164 times for 1,198 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 7.3 per carry and 119.8 per game. Additionally, he has caught 19 passes for 138 yards. He is ranked nationally, fifth in rushing yards per carry, eighth in rushing yards, 11th in rushing yards per game, 23rd in rushing touchdowns and 29th in all-purpose yards.

Fellow running back Jhequay Chretin has 100 carries for 653 yards with six touchdowns and a 6.5 yards per carry average. He is ranked 22nd nationally in yards per carry.

Trey Madsen leads AU with 55 catches for 654 yards and nine touchdowns while Cameron Moore has 36 catches for 804 yards and 13 touchdowns. Moore is ranked nationally, seventh in receiving touchdowns and eighth in yards per reception, 

James Mautino is the primary punt returner and ranked 10th nationally with 17.2 yards per return.

Defensively, AU is allowing 388.3 yards per game and 25.5 points per game. AU is led by Marcellus Romious (52 tackles, one sack and one interception), Ernesto Ramirez (46 tackles, one sack and one interception), Blake Martz (44 tackles and one interception), Christian Bower (43 tackles and three sacks) and Sean Reyna who ranks nationally, third in passes defended per game (1.7) and sixth in interceptions per game (0.7) while having returned one for a touchdown.

NCAA PLAYOFF TICKET INFORMATION
Admission for Saturday's game is $8 for adults, $4 for students; and children under three are admitted for free. As a NCAA Championship event no free passes will be accepted. Tickets will be available at the gate on Saturday (Cash Only).