VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Gulf South Conference champion Valdosta State football team learned Sunday evening that it will play at top-seeded Albany State in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship Saturday, Nov. 22 in Albany, Ga.
 
The Blazers won their 12^th Gulf South Conference championship with a thrilling 47-44 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at No. 3 West Florida to earn the GSC's automatic qualifier to the postseason.  VSU finished the regular season 6-4.  
 
Albany State won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) championship and finished with a 10-1 record and has won eight-straight games.  Albany State is 3-14 all-time in the NCAA postseason.  The Golden Rams reached the quarterfinals in 1997, 2004 and 2010 and are making their first trip to the postseason since 2021.  ASU is 3-5 all-time in home games in the playoffs.
 
Wingate earned the No. 4-seed and will host Benedict in the top half of the bracket, while No. 2-seed West Florida will host inaugural Conference Carolinas champion North Greenville and No. 3-seed Newberry, champions of the Southern Athletic Conference, hosts Kentucky State of the SIAC in the bottom half of the bracket.
 
Click here for the interactive bracket.
 
The Blazers are making their 21^st appearance in the NCAA postseason and are 34-16 all-time in the playoffs with four national titles in 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2018.  VSU has finished runner-up three times in 2002, 2021 and last season in 2024.  The 21 appearances in the postseason is tied for the most all-time in GSC history with former member North Alabama and the fourth-most all-time in Division II.  
 
VSU is 22-2 all-time against Albany State and 3-0 in the playoffs.  The teams last met in the postseason in 2004 with VSU winning 38-24, in Albany on Nov. 27.  Overall, the Blazers have won four-straight in the series, including a 42-10 win to begin the 2024 season in Valdosta.
 
The 34 wins in the postseason by the Blazers sit them one victory behind UNA for most all-time in league history, while 34 marks third-most wins among active D2 institutions and fourth-most all-time.  VSU's seven national title appearances are third-most all-time in Division II.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for information on tickets, game time and more when it becomes available.