CHENEY -- The Eastern Washington University football team had a mountain to climb to make it to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, and they've arguably made it to the top.
The Eagles found out on Sunday afternoon that they are one of 16 teams that will participate in the postseason. Eastern opens its run for a national championship on Saturday against Stephen F. Austin (9-2) in Nacogdoches, Texas.
It's the EWU's fourth trip to the playoffs in the last six years, but this season their were a number of road blocks that EWU had to get through to make the postseason.
First, thanks to rules violations that happened during the 2003-2006 seasons, the Eagles were banned from the postseason in 2009. The university appealed the ruling, and the NCAA overturned the ban a few weeks ago.
Even though the ban was lifted, Eastern Washington had to play their way into postseason contention. The Eagles started the year 4-3 and had to win its final four games to even be considered. EWU then rattled of wins against Montana State, Portland State, Southern Utah, and Northern Arizona, finishing the season 8-3.
The last time the Eagles made the playoffs was in 2007 when they lost to Appalachian State in the quarterfinals.
Other Big Sky Conference teams that made the playoffs include No.3 Montana (hosting South Dakota St.) and No. 15 Weber State (traveling to William and Mary).
We are meeting the EWU football team at the airport when they return from Flagstaff (they were flying home when the brackets were released).
We'll have much more on the playoff berth tonight on KREM 2 News at 5pm, 6pm, 10pm, and 11pm.
