Hutchinson Football To Travel To Georgia Military College For NJCAA Division 1 Football Playoff Semifinals

CHARLOTTE, NC – The 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Football Playoff bracket is set with Hutchinson Community College earning the number three seed and a trip to Milledgeville, Georgia to take on Georgia Military College in the NJCAA Division 1 Football Playoffs Semifinal round at 3:30 PM (EST) on Sunday, December 8th.

Finishing the season with a 9-1 overall record and a share of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference regular season title, the Blue Dragons will make their fourth all-time appearance in the NJCAA Division 1 Football Playoffs and third-straight appearance in the postseason playoffs. Georgia Military edged Hutchinson in the final NJCAA Football poll of the season by a single voting point (106-105) to earn the right to host the semifinal matchup which will be the first meeting between teams in history. Hutchinson has only matched up with a school from Georgia on the gridiron one other time in program history, falling 42-37 to Middle Georgia College in the 1995 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

In the past two National semifinal appearances, Hutchinson has split their matchups with a 2022 win over Coffeyville (38-7) before dropping a 27-23 heartbreaker to East Mississippi Community College in 2023. All-time, this is the 28th bowl/national playoff appearance for the Blue Dragons which hold a 16-9-2 overall record in the postseason.

Georgia Military went 10-1 in the regular season with only four of their 10 wins coming against ranked foes and their lone loss coming to top-ranked and number-one seed Iowa Western at home on August 31st by a score of 42-41 in overtime. Ranked wins for the Bulldogs included a 31-24 overtime win at number five Snow College, a 35-10 road win at number eight Tyler Junior College as well as a pair of wins over number 11 ranked Lackawanna College as GMC outscored opponents 543-128.

In the other semifinal matchup, number one Iowa Western will host number four seed Northwest Mississippi Community College in a 7 PM matchup on Saturday, December 7th in Council Bluffs, with the winners of the two semifinal rounds advancing to the 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Football National Championship game on Wednesday, December 18th in Canyon, Texas.

Both semifinal games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with the National Championship game airing on ESPNU at 7:30 PM on the 18th.