By Mike McFeely
FARGO (KFGO) -- North Dakota State received the No. 2 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, the NCAA selection committee announced Sunday.
The Bison (11-1 overall, 7-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) will receive a first-round bye and play the winner of the South Dakota State-Montana State game. That Bison vs. SDSU/Montana State game will be Dec. 6 at the Fargodome.
The Bison defeated the rival Jackrabbits 37-17 at the Fargodome earlier this season.
"They are a great program, a great team. We kind of figured with regionalization of the bracket that we would probably potentially end up playing South Dakota State again," NDSU coach Chris Klieman said on the selection show broadcast on ESPNU.
New Hampshire of the Colonial Athletic Association received the top seed.
Receiving the second seed means NDSU will host playoff games at the Fargodome through the semifinals.
"Bison Nation loves to play in the Fargodome and cheer for the Bison at a home game," Klieman said. "It's an electric atmosphere, it's hard for the quarterback to hear, our fans are right on top of the oppponent. It's a tough place."
Tickets will go on sale at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Jacksonville State received the No. 3 seed and Eastern Washington was seeded fourth.
Illinois State, the MVFC co-champ with the Bison, received the fifth seed. Villanova was sixth, Coastal Carolina was seventh, Chattanooga was eighth. The top eight seeds receive first-round byes.
Indiana State and Northern Iowa from the MVFC also made the playoff field.
"I'm so happy the Missouri Valley was rewarded with five conference teams," Klieman said. "We have a great league and we were rewarded with five teams getting in."
The Bison and New Hampshire are not playoff strangers. They met in the semifinals last season at the Fargodome, won by NDSU 52-14.