LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team will make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament this Saturday with a home game at 12 p.m. noon against Eastern. The Diplomats earned a bye after defeating then-No. 3 Johns Hopkins in a thrilling 29-28 overtime victory to claim the outright Centennial Conference Championship and the No. 9 ranking in the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
Follow Along
Saturday's game – along will the other games around the country – will be broadcast on ESPN+. With the NCAA media agreement, fans wishing to watch Saturday's game must have an ESPN Select or Unlimited account, or have it as part of bundle package with Disney+ and Hulu. FAQs about ESPN Select, ESPN Unlimited, and bundle packages are available here. Live stats for the game will be available free of charge through the link above.
History of NCAA Tournament
The Diplomats are making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in their 137th season as a varsity program. They are one of three teams making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2025, as F&M joins opponent Eastern and Crown in that category. Eastern is making its NCAA Tournament debut during just its third season as a varsity program. Franklin & Marshall has played in 1,239 games all-time and did decline a bid to the 1972 Knute Rackne Bowl which served as the East Region Championship from 1969 through 1972 prior to the inception of the Division III Tournament.
Three-Bid Centennial
The Centennial Conference had three teams advance to the NCAA Championship. In addition to F&M serving as the league's automatic qualifier, Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg both received at-large bids. Johns Hopkins earned a bye and Muhlenberg won its first round game, giving the conference three of the final 32 teams competing for the national championship.
The Diplomats
Franklin & Marshall's Centennial Conference Championship was its 15th conference title in program history (eight in Centennial and seven in Middle Atlantic Conference). The Diplomats' went undefeated in Centennial Conference play for just the second time in program history (1987). F&M's current eight-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in program history and is the most consecutive victories the team has had since winning nine straight between the 2017-18 seasons. Franklin & Marshall is led by Michael Phelan as he and his staff were named the Centennial Conference Coaching Staff of the Year during his first season as head coach.
Offense (All-Conference)
Quarterback Ty Tremba and Gary Lewis are four-year starters for the team who have broken multiple school records during their time in Lancaster. Tremba has thrown 36 touchdown passes to Gary Lewis - the most among active DIII QB-WR tandems. Only MSU Moorhead's tandem of Jack Strand and Brady Perryman (38; Div. II) have more among active tandems across the entire NCAA. Tremba owns the school record for career passing yards (8,958), passing efficiency (150.7), total offensive yards (9,775), and touchdowns responsible for (92). He is also second all-time in passing touchdowns (82), needing five more to tie the record of John Harrison '12. With 2,241 passing yards this season, Tremba owns three of the top eight single-season passing totals in school history.
Lewis has caught 38 touchdowns in his career, breaking the record of 35 that was previously held by Dale Amos '90. Lewis has 16 touchdown receptions this season which is second only to his school record 17 during the 2023 season. His 17 total touchdowns rank 18th among all Division III players and is one shy of tying the school record. Four different players have multiple touchdown receptions this season, with Jack Harrison and Hudson Zawadzkas both having at least 30 receptions. Paris has emerged as the lead back during the second half of the season and had back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing games against both Ursinus and McDaniel. He is averaging 4.1 yards per carry and has 447 rushing yards entering the postseason during his rookie campaign.
Defense (All-Conference)
With seven all-conference performers on this side of the ball -and at least two at every level of the defense - it truly has been a team defensive effort. Connor Hille (68), Kyle Checchio (64), and Sam Keenan (62) are the team leaders in the tackles from the linebacker corps. The team has made 57 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, averaging nearly five stops in the backfield per game. Checchio has accounted for 12.5 of those tackles for loss, while each of the starters among the defensive line have made at least five tackles in the backfield. That includes Owen Banghart's team-leading 3.5 sacks.
Oscar Marx has picked off three passes and broken up 13 more to rank among the Division III leaders in passes defended. Rafe Carner has come away with two picks for a defense that has eight total interceptions. In addition to making big plays on defense, LT Kelley has blocked two kicks on special teams this season – including the potential game-winning field goal as time expired in regulation against Johns Hopkins. Kyle Evancho also had a blocked punt on special teams.
Special Teams (All-Conference)
Michael Fleming has converted nine of his 12 field goal attempts this season, including a long of 42 yards. He has also come through in the clutch, most notably kicking the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the Diplomats' 23-20 win at Dickinson to retain The Conestoga Wagon. Fleming has also converted 32 of his 33 PATs. Ivan Harlamov handles the punting and kickoff duties and has been a field changer as 18 of his 42 punts have forced the opposition to start inside their own 20. Harlamov has unleashed five kicks of at least 50 yards. He is averaging 54.0 yards on kickoff attempts with 10 touchbacks on 53 attempts.
Scouting Eastern
The Eagles have the Middle Atlantic Coaching Staff of the Year as head coach Billy Crocker has gotten Eastern to the NCAA Tournament in just its third season as a varsity program after winning the Middle Atlantic Conferece Championship. That is tied for the second-quickest varsity status to NCAA Tournament performance in Division III history as LaGrange started football in 2006 and made its first tournament appearance in 2008. Only Christopher Newport has made the NCAA Tournament in its first varsity season (2021). Eastern's only loss on the season came to Lebanon Valley, which is also the only common opponent the teams share. F&M defeated LVC during week one.
MAC Offensive Player of the Year Brett Nabb is the focus of Eastern's offense as he is one of three quarterbacks at all NCAA levels this season with 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Nabb has thrown the ball 138 times for 1,237 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has run the ball 181 times for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns. Running back Jeremiah Avrillen is less than 30 yards away from hitting the 1,000 yard milestone and has 15 touchdowns on the ground and another one through the air to rank 23rd in the NCAA in total touchdowns. Justin Nikolopoulos is leading Eastern with 404 receiving yards as both he and Eddie Swinton have four touchdown receptions to lead the Eagles.
Eastern is allowing just 15 points per game and 240.4 total yards of offense on average to opposing teams (89.1 rushing and 151.3 passing). Jason Bateman was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year and ranks second on the team in tackles (72) only to Gashawn Moody, Sr. (73). Eastern has made 62 tackles behind the line of scrimmage in 10 games, with Salif Nikiema;s 11 tackles for loss and six sacks leading the team in both categories. Bateman has totaled 10 TFLs and four sacks while also intercepting a pass. Tahjere Alston-Jackson is one of the Eagles' leaders in the secondary with a team-best 11 pass break-ups.
On special teams, John Nolek is 8-for-14 in field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards while going 33-for-35 on PATs. Nolek also handles kick off duties where he is averaging 55.7 yards per kick and has five touchbacks. John Westfield handles the punting and has pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line during 10 of his 33 punt attempts. He has six punts of at least 50 yards, featuring a long of 67 yards.
Up Next
The winner of Saturday's NCAA Second Round game will advance to the third round where 16 teams will still be in pursuit of the Stagg Bowl (national championship). The third round of the NCAA Tournament is set for Saturday, December 6 with a 12 p.m. kickoff at campus host sites. The winner of Saturday's Susquehanna at Christopher Newport game will advance to face the winner of F&M and Eastern. The site of the NCAA third round game will be announced by the NCAA later this weekend after all games have completed action.
