Sacred Heart Football to Face Delaware in NCAA FCS Tournament
4/18/2021 12:00:00 AM | Football
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After winning the Northeast Conference championship last week, the Sacred Heart University football team learned its first round opponent in the NCAA Football Championship Series Tournament on Sunday. The Pioneers (3-1) will travel to Delaware for a 7 p.m. contest on April 24 contest. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
This will be the second meeting against the Blue Hens. Sacred Heart defeated #24 Delaware, 10-7, on October 4, 2014. Delaware (5-0) earned the Colonial Athletic Association's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Sacred Heart is 0-2 in its previous two trips to the FCS Playoffs. The Pioneers lost 44-22 to Fordham in 2014 after a 37-27 defeat to the Rams the year before.
The Pioneers are led by Walter Payton Award candidate Julius Chestnut. The junior running back leads the country in rushing yards (179.2 per game) and all-purpose yards (222.0 yards) while ranking second in total rushing yards (717) and scoring (17.0 per game).
NEC Coach of the Year Mark Nofri is in his ninth season at the helm of the SHU football team. He's led the Pioneers to four conference titles and has a 54-42 career record.
