WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross football team will face No. 1 seed South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA football championship subdivision playoffs. The Crusaders will play the Jackrabbits on the road at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, S.D. The game will kick off at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, April 24.

Holy Cross will be playing in postseason for the fifth time in school history and the NCAA playoffs for the fourth time, while advancing to postseason play in consecutive years for the first time ever. The first postseason appearance for the Crusaders came in the 1946 Orange Bowl, when they lost 13-6 to Miami (Fla.). The previous NCAA appearances for Holy Cross came in 1983 (28-21 home loss to Western Carolina in the quarterfinals), 2009 (38-28 loss at Villanova in the first round) and 2019 (44-27 loss at Monmouth in the first round).

The Crusaders enter the playoffs with an overall record of 3-0, after winning the Patriot League title on Saturday with a 33-10 victory over Bucknell in the championship game. South Dakota State currently stands 5-1 overall.