RELEASED:  Saturday, November 15, 2008

Game Stories: Stevens Point/La Crosse : Whitewater/Platteville

UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater Share Football Crown

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater claimed victories in games played Nov. 15 to earn a share of the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football championship.

The Pointers captured a 21-7 triumph over UW-La Crosse at Community Stadium at Goerke Park, while the Warhawks secured a 52-13 win over UW-Platteville at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. 

UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater completed the conference slate with 6-1 records, but the Pointers will receive the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship due to its 17-16 victory over the Warhawks earlier this season.

This marks the first time since 2001 that the league crown has been split.  The Pointers and UW-Eau Claire shared the title that year.

UW-Stevens Point’s WIAC title is the 14th in program history, while UW-Whitewater earned its fourth consecutive first-place trophy and 29th in school archives.   The Warhawks are the first team since UW-River Falls (1984-87) to claim four consecutive WIAC championships.  UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse are the only other programs to win at least four straight titles with the Pioneers claiming four (1968-71) and the Eagles securing four (1939-42) and six (1949-54).