TIGERVILLE, S.C. (BP)–For the first time, two Southern Baptist-affiliated schools will meet Saturday in the Victory Bowl, the yearly season-ending game of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).
The North Greenville Crusaders (8-3) will host the Campbellsville University Tigers (7-4) in the 14th Victory Bowl in what will be the first meeting between the schools since 2001. It will be North Greenville’s third Victory Bowl game — the Crusaders won in their most recent appearance in 2006 — but the Tigers’ first appearance in the bowl.
The series between the teams is tied at 4-4.
The 1 p.m. Eastern game will be video streamed live at http://ngu.nmtvsports.com. The Campbellsville radio broadcast will be available at www.KCountry1057.com.
Each team comes into the bowl with a win streak: North Greenville has won seven in a row, while Campbellsville has won three straight. It will be Campbellsville’s first postseason game since 2001.
“I am thrilled our team and coaches have brought us to this point,” Campbellsville University President Michael V. Carter said. “I think the opportunity for our students is one that they will remember for a lifetime. The NCCAA is a very fine organization, and we support their mission as we all work to create the best environment for sports possible. We look forward to playing in the NCCAA Victory Bowl and demonstrating that character and a Christian witness can come through intercollegiate sports.”
The NCCAA is not a conference but an association of Christian colleges who compete on various levels. Campbellsville University’s athletics program competes in the NAIA, while North Greenville is an NCAA Division II school. As part of the Christian focus of the Victory Bowl, each fan is asked to bring a can of food as part of a food drive. The two teams will participate in service projects in the Tigerville, S.C., area Friday.
Campbellsville finished the regular season with wins over Faulkner University (22-21), Virginia-Wise (45-42) and West Virginia Tech (56-35). North Greenville has had three shutouts in its seven-game winning streak — over Ohio State Newark, Wright State University and Edward Waters College — and ended the regular season with victories over Notre Dame College (21-14) and UNC Pembroke (27-10).
“Our team took care of business when they needed to in this game and it will give our seniors an opportunity to lace it up for North Greenville one more time this season,” North Greenville coach Jamey Chadwell said after the win over UNC Pembroke. “… This was a great win for our program. Pembroke beat us by 28 points last year and for us to beat them by 17, that’s a 45-point swing in only one year. They had outscored their opponents by over 80 points in the second half this season, and our defense really came on and finished them off. I’m extremely proud of these guys and happy we get to play one more game.”
The bowl game rotates between sites. Northwestern College beat Malone University in last year’s Victory Bowl, 49-44. It was held at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
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Compiled by Michael Foust, an assistant editor of Baptist Press, with reporting by the sports information offices of Campbellsville and North Greenville universities.
