D-III seniors could have shot at national team
Division III players are expected to get a chance to participate on a new national team. USA Football, a non-profit organization leading the development and growth of youth and amateur football, will select a U.S. national team to participate in the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championships next July in Japan.
USA Football will name a head coach shortly. The coach will likely be a former NCAA Division I or II head coach. Once a head coach is in place, a coaching staff will be named and the player evaluation process will begin and continue throughout this upcoming season.
The 45-man United States roster will be comprised of college football players who complete their eligibility in 2006. Player selection will begin late in the 2006 college football season when head coaches at all NCAA and NAIA schools will be asked by USA Football to nominate up to two seniors from their teams for consideration.
The USA will be one of six countries competing in the world championships. Japan, the host country and two-time defending champion, and Sweden, the current European champion, have already qualified for the event along with the United States. Three more countries will qualify for the championship through play-in tournaments in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific later this year.
IFAF is the international governing body of American Football associations outside of the United States. At the most recent IFAF global meeting in Boston in late July, USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck was named to the IFAF Executive Committee and will serve as treasurer. Hallenbeck will also lead the newly created technical committee, which will help grow and develop American Football internationally.
“Chairing the IFAF technical committee affords USA Football a direct pathway to share its emerging online and offline football resources and establish a consistent approach to developing American Football internationally,” Hallenbeck said.