UIW earns No. 6 seed, first-round bye in FCS football championship bracket

SAN ANTONIO – One year after missing the playoffs, the University of the Incarnate Word is back in the postseason.

The 2024 Cardinals, the first undefeated Southland Conference champion in program history, earned the No. 6 seed on Sunday during the 2024 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff Selection Show.

UIW’s No. 6 seed means the Cardinals will have a first-round bye and host a second-round game on Dec. 7 in the 24-team FCS playoff format.

Sixteen FCS teams will face off in eight first-round playoff games on Nov. 30. The eight winners of those games will then advance to the second round.

The winner of the first-round game between Villanova and Eastern Kentucky will fly to San Antonio to face UIW at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. The kickoff time is set for 2 p.m. on Dec. 7.

UIW won its season opener against Northern Colorado before dropping back-to-back road games at South Dakota State (No. 3 seed in this year’s playoff bracket) and Southern Illinois. The Cardinals then rattled off nine wins in a row to cap their regular season.

The program is making its first playoff appearance since 2022 when the Cards dropped their 35-32 FCS Semifinal Game to North Dakota State.

2022 was the first and only season G.J. Kinne served as UIW’s head coach. Two weeks before the FCS Semifinal Game, Kinne was hired the be the next coach at Texas State.

The university said playoff tickets will be on sale at noon on Monday at this link.