COMMERCE - The No. 8 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions' football team will take on the second-year program from the University of West Florida on Saturday for a shot at the Lions' first-ever NCAA Division II Football Championship in front of a nationally televised audience.

WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce vs. University of West Florida
WHERE: Kansas City, Kan. | Children's Mercy Park
WHEN: 5 p.m. CST on Saturday, December 16
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 13-1 overall. West Florida is 11-3.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. West Florida is unranked in either poll, but is receiving votes in the AFCA poll.
SEEDINGS: A&M-Commerce is the second seed of the remaining four teams after winning Super Region Four with road wins over No. 12 Winona State, No. 7 Central Washington, and No. 1 Minnesota State. Harding is the third seed of the remaining four teams after winning Super Region Three with road wins over No. 6 Indianapolis, No. 9 Ashland, and No. 10 Ferris State.

LIONS ADVANCE TO FIRST-EVER NCAA TITLE GAME
• The Lions hosted Harding for the NCAA Division II Football Championship National Semifinal in front of a national television audience and won 31-17.
• The game was played 45 years to the day that the Lions defeated Carson-Newman for the 1972 NAIA National Championship.
• That game was also played in Commerce at Memorial Stadium. The coach of that team was Ernest Hawkins, whose name is now on the field at Memorial Stadium.
• This is the first time the Lions have played four games in a single postseason.
 
LIONS MAKING ATHLETICS PROGRAM HISTORY
• The Lion football team's National Championship Game appearance is unprecedented in A&M-Commerce's tenure in NCAA Division II, which began in 1981.
• Lion Athletics has made 25 total NCAA Tournament appearances in team sports.
• This is led by the women's soccer program's eight NCAA appearances.
• Football and men's basketball are tied with six appearances each. 
• Volleyball moved its count to three appearances with their first NCAA trip in 29 years in November. Women's basketball and softball have each been to the NCAAs once.
• Prior to this season, no Lion team had advanced past the round of eight, though six teams had previously advanced to that national quarterfinal round:
            • 1987 Volleyball
            • 1990 Football
            • 1991 Football
            • 1997 Men's Basketball
            • 2007 Women's Basketball
            • 2008 Soccer
 
STILL PUSHING #ToTheTop
• The Lions ended the regular season at No. 8 in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 38 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll. 
• This is A&M-Commerce's 44th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
• The Lions have played five nationally-ranked teams this season, all inside the top 12.
• A&M-Commerce is the sixth nationally-ranked team the Argonauts have faced and the second consecutive top 10 team.
 
CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 47 wins.
• However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 47 wins are still 18 behind J.V. Sikes' 63 wins in fourth place.
 

1	Ernest Hawkins	1964-85	132-92-6
2	Eddie Vowell	1986-98	74-71-1
3	Bob Berry	1935-41, 46-50	72-34-8
4	J.V. Sikes	1954-63	63-34-4
5	Colby Carthel	2013-pres.	47-15
6	M.A. Smith	1951-53	30-2-1

 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
• A&M-Commerce now has the longest active winning streak in Division II football, having won nine consecutive contests since the early October loss to Midwestern State.
• The Lions and Argos snapped the two longest previous active streaks in Division II last week. Indiana (Pa.) had won 13 consecutive games and Harding had won 11 straight entering the semifinals.
• The Lions last had a 10-game winning streak in 1958-59 (split 7 in 1958, 3 in 1959).
• East Texas had a 31-game unbeaten streak from 1951-53, going 29-0-2 over two-plus seasons.
 
AGAINST THE ARGONAUTS  
• Not surprisingly, as this is UWF's second year of football, this is the first meeting between the two programs.
• The only meeting in any sport between the two schools came on September 14, 2014, when the unranked A&M-Commerce women's soccer team upset No. 2 West Florida with a 2-0 shutout in Pensacola. That Lion team would advance to the regional final in the NCAA Tournament.
 
TOUGH ROAD TO CHILDREN'S MERCY PARK
• These two teams each won four games in the playoffs to reach Kansas City, breaking a long trend of top seeds advancing to the national finals.
• The winner will be the first team to ever win five games in the playoffs for a national title since the bracket expanded to five rounds in 2004. (From 2004-14, the Nos. 1 & 2 seed in each of the four regions received a first round bye. Only the No. 1 seed has received a first round bye since 2015.)
• West Florida became the third team in this 13-year span to qualify for the National Championship Game with four wins on Saturday afternoon. A&M-Commerce was the fourth such team later that evening.
            • The previous two were Northwest Missouri State in 2005 and Wayne State (Mich.) in 2011.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
• Prior to their home game for the National Semifinals, the Lions won three straight road games, going through the toughest road to a regional title since the NCAA Division II playoff field expanded to five rounds in 2004.
• The Lions defeated three opponents with a combined record of 34-1.
- Winona State (10-1)
- Central Washington (11-0)
- Minnesota State (13-0)
• Only two other teams won a regional championship by defeating three teams with 33 combined wins in a single playoff - Grand Valley State in 2015 (33-1) and Harding this season (33-2).
 
• 18 teams have won three games to advance to the National Semifinals in the 13 years since the field expanded to five rounds.
• Prior to this season, six teams advanced to the semifinals with no home games in the first three rounds.
            • This year, A&M-Commerce, West Florida, and Harding all advanced to the semifinals without the benefit of a home playoff game, pushing that count to nine.
 
•  Of the 18 teams to advance to the semifinals with three wins, only the 2017 A&M-Commerce Lions and the 2016 Shepherd Rams hosted their semifinal matchup. That Shepherd team was also undefeated until the semifinal loss to North Alabama.
 
SENIORS BREAK SCHOOL RECORD
• With the win at Tarleton, the senior class broke the school record for wins in a four-year period. The previous record stood since the Tangerine Bowl runs of the early 1950s. 
• That record extended with the National Semifinal victory to 41 games won in a four year span.

Years	Record
2014-17	41-10
1951-54	36-5-2
2013-16	35-14
1957-60	34-7
1972-75	32-13-1
1936-39	31-8
1990-93	31-16-1

 
STRONG SUPPORT FROM THE LION FAITHFUL
• The Lions set a Memorial Stadium attendance record on December 9 with 10,120 fans at the National Semifinal win over Harding.
• With that turnout, the Lions moved up to fifth in Division II in attendance average in 2017.
 

1	Tuskegee	14,998
2	Grand Valley State	13,432
3	Morehouse	10,100
4	Fort Valley State	9,572
5	A&M-Commerce	8,580

 
• The crowd of 10,120 was the largest in a Division II playoff game this season by a significant margin. Only three other games in the previous 26 playoff games drew more than 5,000 fans.
 

1	Harding at A&M-Commerce	Semifinals	10,120
2	Sioux Falls at Midwestern State	First Round	7,502
3	Ferris State at Fort Hays State	Second Round	7,348
4	West Florida at West Alabama	Regional Final	6,105

 
• The home crowd of 10,120 was also larger than the Lions' previous three playoff games combined.
 

Rd 1	at Winona State	1,624	-
Rd 2	at Central Washington	4,226	5,850
Rd 3	at Minnesota State	2,803	8,653
Semi	HARDING	10,120	+1,467 margin

 
PEREZ' OUTSTANDING SEASON AND CAREER LEAD TO HARLON HILL TROPHY
• Lion quarterback Luis Perez became the Lions' first-ever Harlon Hill Trophy winner Thursday and has been constantly adding to a long list of accolades as the postseason has progressed.
• Perez received 198 total points and held a commanding 63-point margin over Gannon junior running back Marc Jones at 135. Slippery Rock senior defensive lineman Marcus Martin finished third at 96. 
• Perez is the first quarterback at A&M-Commerce since 1980 (Wade Wilson) to be named a First Team All-American and the first to receive multiple First Team All-America awards in the same season since Sam McCord in 1958.
• Perez is the Lone Star Conference's fifth all-time winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy. A&M-Kingsville running back Johnny Bailey won three consecutive Hill Trophies from 1987-89 and Abilene Christian running back Bernard Scott won the Trophy in 2008.
• On Wednesday, he was named the Ron Lenz National Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-American quarterback by the Division II Conference Commissioners' Association. The D2CCA had previously named him the Super Region Four Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Region quarterback.
• He is the first Lion to earn National Player of the Year honors from the SID voting group in any sport.
• He also earned first team All-American by the Associated Press.
• He was also named a second team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association prior to the semifinals.
• He was won the Lone Star Conference J.W. Rollins Award as Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned First Team All-Lone Star Conference honors for the second consecutive season.
• A Lion quarterback has earned first team all-LSC honors a total of 17 times since the league's formation in 1931.
• He became the Lions' fourth quarterback to repeat as a first team all-LSC selection, joining Bobby Bounds (1990-91), LSC Hall of Honor member Wade Wilson (1979-80), and R.A. Hitt (1933-34), who was the second-ever all-LSC quarterback.
• Perez' passing average has vaulted him to the top of the Division II ranks. He is one of nine passers in Division II averaging over 300 yards passing per game.
• At 4,676 yards entering the National Championship Game, Perez has the ninth-most passing yards in a season in Division II history. Four of the eight quarterbacks ahead of him played at West Texas A&M.
• With 325 yards or more today, Perez would become the fourth passer in Division II history with 5,000 yards or more in a season.
• This season alone would rank in the top six in school history for a career.
• A 200-yard plus game in the National Championship Game would tie him with West Texas A&M's Dustin Vaughan (2012 & 2013) for the most 200-yard passing games in a season in Lone Star Conference history at 14.
• He did not play high school football, and was a competitive bowler, with 12 perfect 300 games to his name.
• He now has 15 games of 300-plus passing yards in his career, including 10 straight games during the season.
• He went 267 passing attempts without an interception over the course of 6-plus games.
• 449:46 of game time elapsed between Perez interceptions.
• Perez also became the school's single season passing yardage leader.
• He ranks second in all NCAA Divisions in passing yards this season behind Sam Houston State's Jeremiah Briscoe (4,714 yards) and ahead of Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph (4,553 yards) and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma (4,340 yards).
• Perez is also the Lion career leader in three major passing categories.
• He ranks first in Division II and ninth in all of the NCAA in career passing yards per game.
 
BLUBAUGH WINS ELITE 90
• Garrett Blubaugh, a redshirt sophomore at Texas A&M University-Commerce, is the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship.
• Blubaugh, majoring in biological sciences, currently carries a 3.96 GPA. Blubaugh was presented with the award during the banquet on Thursday evening at Children's Mercy Park. Blubaugh was previously named All-Academic by the Lone Star Conference. He is also the second-leading tackler with 80 tackles entering Saturday's National Championship Game. 
• Blubaugh is the first student-athlete from A&M-Commerce to win this prestigious award.
• The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
 
FIRSTS OF TOP WINNERS
• This is the first time since the Elite 90 Award was instituted in 2009 that the Elite 90 Award winner and Harlon Hill Trophy winner came from the same school.
 
KICKIN' IT WITH KRISTOV
• Kicker Kristov Martinez was named the Lone Star Conference's first team All-Conference kicker. He was also named second team All-Super Region Four by the D2CCA.
• He hit his 50th career field goal at Minnesota State to become the school leader in that category. The 50th field goal was a career-long 48-yarder.
• He hit field goals of 38 yards in each of the two overtime periods of the 34-31 win at Central Washington
• He became the all-time leading scorer with an LSC Player of the Week effort in the regular season finale at Tarleton. 
• He scored 15 points in that game and has scored 10 points or more in seven games this season. The four field goals at Tarleton tied a school single game record.
• He has scored 124 points this season. The late Saul Martinez scored 134 points in 2014 to set the school single season record.
•Martinez was also an LSC All-Academic selection for the second consecutive season. He is majoring in management.
 
FIREWORKS AFTER A SCORE
• The Lions have excelled on kickoffs, both when kicking the ball away, and when receiving the kickoff.
• The Lions rank 1st nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing 11.30 yards per return. That average dropped after each of the last three playoff games.
• In the playoffs, the Lions have allowed only 9.1 yards per kickoff return. Martinez had seven touchbacks on 23 kickoffs and opponents average staring at their own 25.
• A&M-Commerce is 12th in the nation in kickoff return average at 25.06 yards per return.
• West Florida ranks 132nd of 168 Division II teams in kickoff return defense, allowing 22.48 yards per return.
 
MACHORRO NAMED ALL-AMERICAN, O-LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
• Tackle Jared Machorro was named a first team All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association and the Associated Press on Wednesday.
• He now has seven career All-America honors and three All-America honors this season.
• He was the top vote-getter in the D2CCA national voting process.
• Last week he was named a first team All-American by the American Football Coaches' Association. This is his second consecutive season as an AFCA All-American after earning second team honors in 2016.
• He was also named D2CCA First Team All-Region and the Lone Star Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year.
• The senior was named first team all-LSC after leading the offensive line to a dominant season that saw the Lions qualify for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the third consecutive season. 
• This is the second consective season he has earned first team all-LSC honors. 
• Machorro is the sixth Lion to win Offensive Lineman of the Year honors since the award was instituted in 1985, and the first A&M-Commerce player to do in a single-division LSC.
• He also ranks 11th in the LSC in average punt yardage at 35.5 yards per  punt.
• That's just awesome.
• Actual punter Tristan Perry ranks fourth in the conference with a 39.6 yard punting average.  He was named all-LSC honorable mention.
 
HOBBS EARNS TOP HONORS
• Tight end (or A in the Lions' system) Vincent Hobbs has had four touchdown receptions in the Lions' playoff victories this season.
• His catch and crash through the fencing at Memorial Stadium was featured on multiple ESPN programs on Monday.
• He was named first team all-Lone Star Conference when the league honors were released.
• He is the first Lion tight end to be named first team all-conference since Corey Goodall in 2006. 
• The short list of Lion tight ends named first team all-conference include Gary Compton (1988 & 1990), Javier Cardenas (1983 & 1984), Dudley Slice (1972), and Tom Black (1967).
 
VERSATILE STERLING-LOWE
• Cornerback Yusef Sterling-Lowe was named a second team All-American by the AFCA after earning first team all-Lone Star Conference honors for a a highly successful season in both run and pass defense.
• On Wednesday, he was announced as a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award, which is awarded to the top small college  (Division II, Division III, and NAIA) defensive playerin the nation. The winner of this award will be announced on December 23.
• He was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week with two interceptions at A&M-Kingsville. 
• He had 27 regular season tackles as a cornerback with a season-best eight stops against Eastern New Mexico.
•At Winona, he had a key pass breakup.
• At CWU, he had four tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
• He was monstrous in the National Semifinal win over Harding, with five solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and an interception. 
• Against Harding, the Lions had two sacks and seven tackles for loss. It tied season highs allowed by the Bisons in both categories.
 
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS FOR TOP STOPPER
• Middle linebacker Brucks Saathoff earned first team all-Lone Star Conference honors after he led the Lions in the regular season with 59 stops including three tackles for loss and two sacks. He forced a fumble, had a pass breakup, and five quarterback hurries. 
• On Wednesday, he was announced as a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award, which is awarded to the top small college  (Division II, Division III, and NAIA) defensive playerin the nation. The winner of this award will be announced on December 23.
• He had a season-high 12 tackles in the win at West Texas A&M, winning LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• After earning all-Conference honors, Saathoff was the defensive leader for the Lions at Winona State with a key goal line interception, as well as eight tackles and a tackle for loss.
• He had 11 tackles with a sack to lead the Lion defense at Central Washington.
• He led the Lion defense with 14 tackles and a forced fumble in the semifinal victory over Harding.
 
LIONS ALL-TIME IN THE POSTSEASON

Jan 1, 1953	vs. Tennessee Tech	W 33-0	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Jan 1, 1954	vs. Arkansas State	T 7-7	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Jan 1, 1958	vs. Mississippi Southern	W 10-9	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Dec 31, 1958	vs. Missouri Valley	W 26-7	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Nov 25, 1972	Central State (Okla.)	W 54-0	NAIA Semifinal	Commerce
Dec 9, 1972	Carson-Newman	W 21-18	NAIA Champion Bowl	Commerce
Dec 6, 1980	at Central Arkansas	W 27-21	NAIA Quarterfinal	Conway, Ark.
Dec 13, 1980	Elon	L 6-14	NAIA Semifinal	Commerce
Nov 17, 1990	at Grand Valley State	W 20-14	DII First Rd	Allendale, Mich.
Nov 24, 1990	at Pittsburg State	L 28-60	DII Quarterfinal	Pittsburg, Kan.
Nov 23, 1991	Grand Valley State	W 36-15	DII First Rd	Commerce
Nov 30, 1991	at Pittsburg State	L 28-38	DII Quarterfinal	Pittsburg, Kan.
Nov 18, 1995	at Portland State	L 35-56	DII First Rd	Portland, Ore.
Dec 13, 2013	vs. Harding	L 3-44	Live United Bowl	Texarkana, Ark.
Dec 6, 2014	vs. East Central	W 72-21	Heart of Texas Bowl	Copperas Cove
Nov 21, 2015	at Ferris State	L 30-48	DII Regional Qtr	Big Rapids, Mich.
Nov 19, 2016	Colorado Mesa	W 34-23	DII Regional Qtr	Commerce
Nov 26, 2016	at Grand Valley State	L 32-55	DII Regional Semi	Allendale, Mich.
Nov 18, 2017	at Winona State	W 20-6	DII Regional Qtr	Winona, Minn.
Nov 25, 2017	at Central Washington	W 34-31 (2OT)	DII Regional Semi	Ellensburg, Wash.
Dec 2, 2017	at Minnesota State	W 31-21	DII Quarterfinal	Mankato, Minn.
Dec 9, 2017	Harding	W 31-17	DII Semifinal	Commerce

 
BIG MIKE MAKES BIG PLAYS
• Defensive end Michael Onuoha caught eyes all season as a disruptive force in the Lion front.
• He had 35 tackles with six tackles for loss and two sacks, along with five quarterback hurries. He had a season-high seven tackles at Midwestern State. That included an important tackle for loss to force a turnover on downs in a comeback effort.
• At Winona State, Onuoha was constantly putting pressure on Warrior quarterback Derek Beenken and came away with a strip sack, and two tackles for loss in a four tackle effort while WSU only ran 61 plays.
• He had three tackles and a tackle for loss at Central Washington.
• Onuoha had six tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the National Semifinal victory over Harding.
 
ALSO ON THE HONORS LIST
• Other players earning all-LSC honors were wide receivers Darrion Landry and Buck Wilson, center Jon Aguilar, guard Poet Thomas, defensive tackle D.D. Fletcher, outside linebacker Kieston Carter, safeties Chris Smith and Alex Shillow, and long snapper Austin Jordan on the second team.
• Earning all-LSC honorable mention were wide receiver D'Arthur Cowan, running back Carandal Hale, return specialist Shawn Hooks, defensive tackle Peyton Searcy, inside linebacker Neema Behbahani, outside linebacker Travon Blanchard, cornerback Darent White, and punter Tristan Perry.
• Garrett Blubaugh joined Martinez on the LSC All-Academic team.
 
FREE FOOTBALL
• The epic comeback against Central Washington ended in a 34-31 double overtime victory for the Lions.
• That marked the seventh overtime game in program history.
• The Lions are 4-3 in overtime.
 

Date	Score/Matchup	OTs
10/1/2005	A&M-Commerce 35, at East Central 28	1
9/29/2007	Central Oklahoma 21, at A&M-Commerce 20	1
10/6/2007	A&M-Commerce 41, at Southeastern Oklahoma State 39	3
9/12/2009	Abilene Christian 20, A&M-Commerce 14 (at Cotton Bowl)	1
9/29/2012	at A&M-Commerce 21, Texas A&M-Kingsville 14	1
10/25/2014	at Midwestern State 40, A&M-Commerce 37	1
11/25/2017	A&M-Commerce 34, at Central Washington 31	2

 
• In the Division II postseason, there have been 29 overtime games dating back to 1985.
 

Date	Rd	Score/Matchup	OTs
11/30/1985	First	at South Dakota 13, Central St. 10	2
11/28/1987	First	Northern Michigan 23, at Angelo St. 20	1
11/18/1989	First	at Portland St. 56, West Chester 50	3
11/28/1992	Qtr	at Pittsburg St. 38, North Dakota St. 37	1
11/19/1994	First	North Dakota St. 18, at Pittsburg St. 12	3
11/26/1994	Qtr	at North Alabama 27, Valdosta St. 24	2
12/2/1995	Semi	Pittsburg St. 28, at Texas A&M-Kingsville 25	1
11/28/1998	Qtr	at Carson-Newman 38, Delta St. 31	1
11/28/1998	Qtr	Texas A&M-Kingsville 24, Central Oklahoma 21	1
11/20/1999	First	at Northeastern St. 27, Western Washington 24	1
11/20/1999	First	at Northwest Missouri St. 20, North Dakota 13	1
11/20/1999	First	Indiana (Pa.) 27, at Slippery Rock 20	1
12/11/1999	Champ	Northwest Missouri St. 58, Carson-Newman 52	4
12/1/2001	Qtr	Catawba 37, at Valdosta St. 34	1
11/30/2002	Qtr	at Texas A&M-Kingsville 28, UC Davis 20	1
11/26/2005	Qtr	at North Alabama 41, Central Arkansas 38	1
11/24/2007	Second	at Chadron St. 76, Abilene Christian 73	3
11/29/2008	Qtr	Minnesota-Duluth 19, at Grand Valley St. 13	2
11/14/2009	First	Hillsdale 27, at Minnesota St.-Mankato 24	1
11/14/2009	First	Tarleton St. 57, at Texas A&M-Kingsville 56	2
11/27/2010	Second	at Minnesota-Duluth 20, St. Cloud St. 17	1
11/19/2011	First	at Minnesota-Duluth 30, Saginaw Valley St. 27	1
11/26/2011	Second	Northwest Missouri St. 38, at Midwestern St. 31	1
11/17/2012	First	at Missouri Western St. 57, Minnesota-Duluth 55	3
11/29/2014	Second	Minnesota-Duluth 48, Ouachita Baptist 45	1
11/29/2014	Second	at Minnesota St.-Mankato 24, Pittsburg St. 21	1
11/26/2016	Second	Harding 27, at Sioux Falls 24	1
11/18/2017	First	at Minnesota St.-Mankato 16, Colorado St.-Pueblo 13	1
11/25/2017	Second	A&M-Commerce 34, at Central Washington 31	2

 
ROAD WARRIORS
• The Lions traveled 8,938 round trip miles for their three playoff victories leading into the National Semifinals.
- Winona State - 2,136 miles round trip
- Central Washington - 4,610 miles round trip
- Minnesota State - 2,192 miles round trip
 
THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE IN THE NATIONAL FINALS
• The Lions are making the Lone Star Conference's fourth appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.
• A win would make the Lions the first team in LSC history to win five playoff games in the same season.
• Southwest Texas State in 1981 & 1982 was the only LSC school to win the NCAA Division II Championship. 
• Those SWT teams were coached by the legendary Jim Wacker, whose twin granddaughters - Jaryn and Jaslyn - are on the Lion volleyball team, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Jaslyn was named a CoSIDA Academic All-America earlier this week.
• Texas A&M-Kingsville also advanced to the National Championship Game in 1994, losing to North Alabama.
• Including the NAIA, the LSC has 14 national championships in football. The league won every NAIA title from East Texas State's 1972 championship through Texas A&I's title in 1979. From 1968 through 1979, the LSC only missed the NAIA title game in 1971.
 
A&M-COMMERCE vs the GULF SOUTH
• This is the 32nd time the Lions have played against a Gulf South opponent since the GSC was founded in 1970.
• A&M-Commerce currently sports a .516 record against those teams with 16 wins and 15 losses.
• The Lions are 2-0 against the GSC on a neutral field.
 
A&M-COMMERCE IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• This is the 26th game in the record books noted as a neutral site game for the Lions.
• The Lions are 16-8-1 in neutral site games.
• The Cotton Bowl/Dallas Fair Park is the most common neutral site, as the Lions have played seven games there with a 4-3 record.
• A&M-Commerce has a 2-2 record at AT&T Stadium and a 3-1 record at the Citrus/Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. 
• This is only the second time the Lions have gone north for a neutral site game. The other was the 2013 Live United Texarkana Bowl, which was delayed by a week for a winter storm. The Lions lost to Harding 44-3.
 
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD - THE LIONS IN KANSAS
• This is the Lions' eighth overall game in Kansas and third NCAA playoff game in the Sunflower State.
• The Lions have wins over Washburn in 1977 and Fort Hays State in 2006, but have not fared well against Pittsburg State. The Gorillas are not playing in this game, but it gave us an excuse to say Gorillas.
 

Sept 24, 1977	at Washburn	W	36-35
Nov 24, 1990	at Pittsburg State	L	28-60	D-II 2nd Rd
Nov 30, 1991	at Pittsburg State	L	28-38	D-II 2nd Rd
Sept 13, 1992	at Pittsburg State	L	13-27
Sept 11, 1999	at Pittsburg State	L	3-51
Sept 2, 2006	at Fort Hays State	W	17-15
Aug 25, 2007	at Pittsburg State	L	14-28

 
LIONS AND ARGOS ALSO NATIONALLY RANKED IN HOOPS
• The men's basketball teams from both schools are undefeated entering play Friday.
• The Lions are 9-0 under first year head coach Jaret von Rosenberg and are ranked No. 22 in the NABC poll and No. 23 in the D2SIDA poll.
• The Argonauts are also 9-0 and are ranked No. 21 in the NABC poll and No. 13 in the D2SIDA poll.
 
LIONS AND ARGOS EACH HONORING ROBERT GRAYS - #24Strong
• The A&M-Commerce & West Florida football programs have worn helmet decals to honor the memory of Midwestern State's Robert Grays since September.
• The Lions played the Mustangs as part of their regular Lone Star Conference schedule. West Florida was scheduled to play Midwestern State in Week Two before the game was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma.
• Grays, a sophomore general business major and football player at Midwestern State died Sept. 19 afternoon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in his hometown of Houston. He was 19.
• Grays suffered a severe neck injury while making a tackle with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of MSU's 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
LIONS TO BE AWARDED DEGREES IN KANSAS CITY
• Texas A&M University-Commerce's fall commencement ceremonies will be taking place on Saturday in the Field House on campus.
• The Lion football program will award degrees to those involved with the program during the trip to Kansas City.
• Lion Football players and staff members who will be awarded their degrees are:
C No. 56 Jon Aguilar, WR assistant Steven Baker, DB assistant Collin Gholston, A/LS No. 81 Austin Jordan, DL No. 97 Devonta Leary, WR No. 11 Justice "Chochy" Luce, K No. 89 Kristov Martinez, DL No. 99 Michael Onuoha, and QB No. 12 Luis Perez.