Division II Football Championship

Dates and sites: All preliminary-round games are on campus sites. First-round games are November 13, second-round games are November 20, quarterfinals are November 27 and semifinals are December 4. The championship game is December 11 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

Field: Twenty-four teams, six from each of four regions.

Selection date: November 7.

2003 champion: Grand Valley State.

Top contenders: Pittsburg State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Northwest Missouri State, Albany State and Valdosta State were the top five teams in the October 26 American Football Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: This is the first year for an expanded bracket in the Division II championship. The number of teams has increased from 16 to 24, with six teams from each of four re-aligned regions invited to first-round games. The top two teams in each region will receive a bye in the first round ... The top four teams in the AFCA poll remained undefeated through October 26, with Pittsburg State topping the poll for two weeks in a row, the first time the team has been ranked first since the AFCA poll started 20 years ago ... Of the five top teams, only Northwest Missouri State has won a championship in the last five years. The Bearcats' last win was in 1999 ... The regular-season-ending battle November 6 between unbeaten Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State is the first time two 10-0 teams have met in the season finale.

Division II Men's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: First-round (November 11-12), second-round (November 13-14) and quarterfinal (December 2-4) games will be at campus sites. The semifinals and final will be December 3 and 5 at Midwestern State.

Field: Twenty-four teams, three from each of eight regions.

Selection date: November 8.

2003 champion: Lynn.

Top contenders: Seattle, Southern Connecticut State, Carson-Newman, North Carolina-Pembroke and Dowling topped the October 26 National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Championship notes: Seattle's October 30 victory over crosstown rival Seattle Pacific was for the second annual Caffe D'Arte Coffee Cup. The coffee-cup-shaped trophy is given by an espresso shop that donates $1,000 to each team's athletics scholarship fund. Each player in the match also receives a coffee cup and saucer for participating. Seattle's 2-1 overtime win clinched the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title. Seattle beat the Falcons, 2-0, earlier in October. The 17-0-1 Redhawks are led by Bobby McAlister with 18 goals and four assists ... Southern Connecticut State is 15-0-3 after a first-round win in the Northeast-10 Conference postseason tournament. Senior midfielder Usiel Vazquez has 14 goals this season ... Carson-Newman finished the regular season 15-0-1 and won its second straight South Atlantic Conference championship.

Division II Women's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: All preliminary-round games are at campus sites. The first and second rounds are November 12-14 and the quarterfinals are November 20-21. The semifinals and final are December 2 and 4 at Midwestern State.

Field: Thirty-two teams, four from each of eight regions.

Selection date: November 8.

2003 champion: Kennesaw State.

Top contenders: Seattle Pacific, Metropolitan State, Truman, Franklin Pierce and Southampton topped the October 26 National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Championship notes: Seattle Pacific, looking for its first NCAA tournament appearance, is 16-0-1 after a 2-0 win over Western Oregon. Heidi Jacobson scored a goal just 79 seconds into the game to give the Falcons their 10th straight win ... Franklin Pierce has won this event more than any other school (five times) but has not earned a title since 1999. The Ravens lost in last year's championship game to Kennesaw State. This year's team is 16-1 after a win over Massachusetts-Lowell in the first round of the Northeast-10 postseason tournament ... Metropolitan State completed a 19-1 regular season behind Kylee Hanavan, who is among Division II scoring leaders with 24 goals and 10 assists.

Division II Women's Volleyball Championship

Dates and sites: All matches will be played on campuses of participating institutions. Eight regionals will be conducted November 18-21, and the quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be played December 2-4.

Field: Sixty-four teams. Eight regional winners advance to the finals.

Selection date: November 14.

2003 champion: North Alabama.

Top contenders: Nebraska-Kearney, UC San Diego, Truman, Concordia-St. Paul.

Championship notes: Nebraska-Kearney's Erin Brosz is ranked third nationally in hitting percentage at .444. As of October 28, Nebraska-Kearney was 28-0 and tied the 1981 team for the second-longest win streak in school history. The only longer streak was 39 victories in a row during the 1990s ... UC San Diego's Teresa Ohta averages 13.01 assists per match, which helps her team rank seventh nationally in that category ... Truman's strength is balance. No player ranks nationally in the top 30 in any individual category, but Truman is 28-0 as of October 28 ... Concordia-St. Paul ranks second in blocks per match at 3.47, and was the national runner-up in 2003.