The 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

and the

Sam Houston State Bearkats The Sam Houston State Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white and their sports teams' nickname is the Bearkats. Sam Ho ...

. It was played on January 7, 2012, at

Pizza Hut Park Toyota Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States. Built and owned by the city of Frisco, the 20,500-seat stadium opened in 2005. Its primary tenants are Major League Soccer club FC Dallas ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

. The culminating game of the

2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season The 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The season began ...

, it was won by North Dakota State, 17–6. With sponsorship by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. This was the final day that the name of the venue was officially Pizza Hut Park, although

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referred to it as FC Dallas Stadium during its broadcast.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2011 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 20-team bracket.

North Dakota State Bison

North Dakota State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference), including a win over

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

of the FBS. As the second-seed in the tournament, the Bison defeated

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

, Lehigh, and third-seed Georgia Southern to reach the final. This was North Dakota State's first appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA title game.

Sam Houston State Bearkats

Sam Houston State finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (7–0 in conference), including a win over

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

of the FBS. As the first-seed in the tournament, the Bearkats defeated Stony Brook, Montana State, and fourth-seed

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

to reach the final. This was also Sam Houston State's first appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

First-half scoring was limited to three field goals, with the Bearkats holding a 6–3 lead at halftime. The only second-half scoring was a pair of touchdowns by the Bison; the first setup by a

fake punt A fake punt is a trick play in gridiron football. It involves a running or passing play run out of a punt formation.Examples include: A fake punt can take a number of different forms. The punter may simply take the snap and look to throw a f ...

that gained 27 yards, and the second following a 63-yard interception return by the game's MVP,

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Travis Beck. The Bison won their first FCS championship via the 17–6 final score.

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

External links

Box score
at

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

College Football NCAA Division I, Final North Dakota State vs Sam Houston State 01 07 2012
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{{2011–12 NCAA Division I championships navbox

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games North Dakota State Bison football games Sam Houston Bearkats football games American football in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports in Frisco, Texas NCAA Division I Football Championship Game NCAA Division I Football Championship Game