South Atlantic Conference Crew to Officiate 2015 NCAA Division II Football Championship

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – A crew from the South Atlantic Conference will officiate the 2015 NCAA Division II Football National Championship, the NCAA announced recently.  The contest will mark the first time in League history that a crew from the South Atlantic Conference has been chosen to call the game.

The crew will be Referee Edwin Lee, Umpire Scott Ray, Head Linesman Lynn Bostic, Line Judge Jeff Pruitt, Side Judge Terry Troutt, Field Judge Scotty Setser, Back Judge Nathan Umberger, and Alternate Jerry Welmaker.

"I am extremely pleased that our South Atlantic Conference playoff crew has been assigned to the 2015 D-II National Championship Game," said South Atlantic Conference Coordinator of Football Officials Jack Childress.  "The crew has done an outstanding job in the three previous playoff games assigned to them and I am sure they will carry the same professionalism and execution through the Championship game."

The game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4:00pm in Kansas City, Mo.  The game features 2013 National Champion Northwest Missouri State vs. traditional Division II power Shepherd.  The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and the Watch ESPN App.

"What pleases me most about the selection of the South Atlantic Conference crew to the Championship game is that the selection was based solely on merit," Childress added.  "Each crew on each playoff game was rated by a selection screening committee and chosen to move forward throughout the playoffs based on performance.  The selection of our playoff crew to the National Championship game is not only a credit to the crew, but also a validation of our conference officiating staff as a whole."

"I have felt for many years we have some of the best football officials in the nation and this crew receiving the honor of working the national championship game validates that," said South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz. "While only eight of our officials will be involved Saturday, this is a reflection of our entire staff and our coordinator, Jack Childress. I could not be more proud of all of them!"

Shepherd and Northwest Missouri State were the top seeds in their Regions and come into the contest with undefeated 13-0 records.