2007 UMAC Dome Day Preview
Welcome to the eighth annual Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Dome Day Championships. This ten-team, five-game marathon has developed a reputation across the country as one of the more unique and exciting offerings in small-college athletics. Beginning with six teams and three games in the fall of 2000, Dome Day has grown into a fifteen-hour spectacle, capturing the eye of college football followers around the nation. Today is the last time that the UMAC will see five of its ten teams compete in Dome Day, as Blackburn, Principia, Maranatha Baptist, Westminster and Rockford will all be moving on to other conferences in 2008. Joining the UMAC for football next year will be St. Scholastica.

The order of today’s games will follow the pairings of each team’s finish in their respective UMAC division, starting with No. 5 seeds Trinity Bible and Principia in the 8 a.m. game. Trinity will look to avenge their 28-20 loss from two weeks ago, when they fell to Principia in Elsah, Ill.
Moving to the 11 a.m. contest, last year’s UMAC overall champion in Minnesota-Morris plays Maranatha Baptist in the battle of the No. 4 seeds. The two teams played each other on Oct.6, with the Cougars owning a 48-18 final advantage.
Third-seeded Crown College and their 4-2 record will take on south division foe Blackburn in the 2 p.m. matinee. Blackburn enters the game with a 2-4 conference mark and will seek to overturn a 33-40 loss against the Storm from Sept. 29.

The 5 p.m. game features a young but potentially high-powered No. 2 seed in Martin Luther, who faces off against Westminster. The Knights and Blue Jays have yet to play in 2007, making it the only Dome Day game with teams who have not met as of yet this year.

Wrapping up Dome Day 2007 will be Northwestern and Rockford, who will clash for the UMAC Championship. At 6-2 (6-0 UMAC), three-time UMAC Champion Northwestern, the North Division champion, has run the table in their conference schedule, which includes a dramatic 23-16 victory over South Division champion Rockford on Sept. 15. The Regents (6-2, 5-1 UMAC) have had their way in conference contests as well, owning a 273-76 point margin over UMAC opponents this fall.