North Carolina Central will make its first-ever FCS postseason appearance when it travels to Richmond on Saturday.
But despite the Eagles’ 9-2 overall record, it will be the designated road team against the 8-3 Spiders.
While the two-hour trip to Richmond is not a burden, NC Central head coach Trei Oliver was asked why his team wasn’t hosting a playoff game at home.
“That’s a great question. I thought we were the higher seed,” said Oliver. “I didn’t get into all that stuff; I was just focused on coaching and getting my guys prepared for Delaware State.”
Programs in contention for a postseason spot submit bids to host when games feature two unseeded teams. And the NCAA takes 85% of the ticket revenue for all those games.
Richmond was designated the host because the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee mandates that schools wanting to host a first-round game provide a minimum guarantee of $40,000, which the school submitted. The committee also considers facility quality, attendance history and potential, and team performance.
Oliver explained that NC Central likely didn’t submit a bid in time because there wasn’t certainty the Eagles would be in the postseason.
“A lot of that stuff (bid) applications had to go in well before this week,” he said. “And it was things I didn’t want to discuss or get involved with. I strictly was worried about doing my job of getting my guys prepared to beat Delaware State.
“I would have looked real crazy if I was making reservations to get home-field advantage for the playoffs, and we messed around and lost to Delaware State with all that was at stake.”
