For the better part of two decades, they put on a recruiting blitz that would have made any college football coach proud.

They made presentations, took administrators to lunch and dinner, wrote letters, e-mailed, and when none of that didn't work, sometimes begged.

The point people for the Presidents' Athletic Conference had to handle a lifetime's worth of rejection while trying to expand the conference in order to qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

The maddening part was that the PAC was being turned down by area colleges that preferred to compete in conferences that provided no natural rivals, an incredible amount of travel for away games, and little chance of making a playoff appearance.

It all changed over the past few years when, at various points, Geneva, Westminster, St. Vincent and Thomas More agreed to become members of the PAC.

The automatic playoff berth was awarded in the conference for the first time this season and, not surprisingly, went to Washington & Jefferson.

The Presidents went into the final week of the season with a 9-0 record, the conference title already clinched and a spot in the playoffs assured. The Presidents play North Carolina in Saturday's first round at Cameron Stadium.

But a funny thing occurred in that final game against Bethany. W&J found that, automatic bid or not, this was a game it desperately needed to win.

Not much had really changed from the previous years, when it seemed the automatic bid might make the final week of the season irrelevant and allow playing time for some backups.

Thanks to the automatic bid, W&J's football season would be extended at least one more week. But a win over Bethany would provide so much more: a No. 1 seed in the region and valuable home games.

A loss to Bethany could have ruined that.

How important is it for W&J to have home games in the playoffs?

Consider this:

In this century, the Presidents have made six playoff appearances, played 11 games and compiled a 5-6 record. They are 4-2 at Cameron Stadium and 1-4 on the road.

This year's playoff bracket has two Texas teams in W&J's side of the bracket. The Presidents do not win games against Texas teams very often. Since 1999, they have lost four straight by a combined score of 178-56.

If W&J wins its first-round game against North Carolina Wesleyan, it would get either Trinity, located in San Antonio, or Belton-based Mary Hardin-Baylor, in the second round.

It would be better to have one of those teams make the trip to Washington, where the weather can be a factor, than to go against a speed-based offense in the Texas heat.

The conference's automatic bid is a welcome addition, the result of a long but successful campaign to expand the PAC. As W&J found out last week, it didn't make the final week of the regular season less important.

Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

Home