Sunday afternoon the NCAA Division III Selection Committee awarded St. John’s University one of four #1 seeds in the 2009 football tournament. Having completed their first undefeated season since 2005 with an entertaining 41 – 14 victory over the Carleton Knights, the 2009 playoffs begin with a distint home field advantage in Collegeville.
The Johnnies also retained their number four ranking in the AFCA and D3Football.com polls. Poll positions first ascended to with their win over St. Olaf during week eight of the regular season.
Representing the west region, St. John’s carries the tradition of it’s legendary coach John Gagliardi and decades of success and championship seasons as one of the unofficial criteria elevating it’s self ahead of other equally potent football programs also in the west region.
With a slightly better Strength of Schedule than other west region teams Central College and Linfield, St. John’s was designated as the number one seeded team and third ranked team overall of the four top teams selected.Â
As in years past Mount Union College finished #1 in the small college polls and received the overall #1 seed. The University of Wisconsin Whitewater followed close by all season and received the #2 seed, ranked fourth nationally in the polls St. John’s received the #3 seed sliding past #4 seed Wesley College of Dover, Delaware which was third ranked throughout the regular season polls.
Unbelievably,  of the eight teams selected for the west region bracket six are top ten ranked teams. The University of Mary Hardin Baylor was shifted from the south region, was ranked #7 nationally and seeded # 7 in the west.
Also unbelievable was former Johnnie quarterback Tom Linnemann who had no idea who the Johnnies’ first round opponent was when asked by Star Tribune columnist and KSTP radio host Patrick Reusse during Linnemann’s regular Monday morning appearance.  As in an originally printed Reusse column, Linnemann was still hoping for a first round match-up with The Tommies. Unlike Linnemann, Reusse at least knew now it wouldn’t be St. Thomas.Â
St. John’s begins tournament play this coming Saturday at noon in Collegeville hosting The Coe College Kohawks of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The complete Division III football playoff bracket can be viewed here.
