Historic Division III Football Bowl Series Comes to Hall of Fame Village with Opendorse Support The Opendorse Bowl Series will feature top teams from Four DIII Conferences at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio 1/9/2024 9:00:00 AM CANTON, Ohio (pacathletics.org) – Four Division III conferences, all with a footprint in Ohio, today announced the inaugural Opendorse Bowl Series. The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Presidents' Athletic Conference will each be represented by their highest-ranked team to not make the NCAA tournament in a one-day, two-game series set to take place on November 23, 2024. With support from regional tourism arm VisitCanton, the series will be held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Hall of Fame Village. Opendorse, the leading NIL company and athlete marketplace, will sponsor the series while also providing year-round NIL services to the participating conferences. In addition to bringing together top teams from each conference in a celebration of Division III football excellence, all student-athletes from each conference will benefit from NIL opportunities and ongoing education. "I think I speak for all four conferences in expressing my excitement for this event," said Sarah Otey, OAC Commissioner. "The four leagues had been considering bowl options for several years, but wanted to make sure we were able to deliver a special student-athlete experience and do so in a way that invests in our local communities. The opportunity to host an event like this at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium – and provide Division III student-athletes a chance to play in such an incredible venue – will be great for our conferences, the sport, and all of Division III. This would not have been possible without the support of Opendorse. While student-athletes have been able to benefit from the use of their name, image, and likeness for several years, Division III student-athletes are underrepresented in the NIL marketplace. Opendorse's commitment to this bowl series and their support of these four conferences will help us begin to change that landscape. We are also grateful to Visit Canton for their continued partnership." Vic Gregovits, Executive Vice President of Global Sales went on to say, "This is exactly the type of event and opportunity that we are built for at the Village, our world-class stadium and campus are the perfect backdrop to celebrate and shine a light on these incredible student-athletes. We are looking forward to welcoming the conferences to our facility." This adds a third postseason opportunity for PAC football programs. In addition to the conference champion advancing to the NCAA Playoffs and the runner-up being eligible for the Opendorse Bowl Series, PAC teams can also compete in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) bowl games. Since 2018, PAC teams have posted a 9-4 record in ECAC Bowl games, including a 4-0 mark the last two seasons. That includes Carnegie Mellon University's 37-7 win over SUNY-Brockport in the Asa S. Bushnell Bowl and Washington & Jefferson College's 46-21 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the James Lynah Bowl in 2023. Counting those four wins, the PAC is 6-2 in the postseason in the last two years. In addition to the ECAC success, the PAC champions have won their first round games in the NCAA playoffs before dropping second-round games to the eventual national champions. In 2022, Carnegie Mellon bested DePauw University in the first round before falling to the eventual 2022 champion, North Central University. This past season, Grove City College knocked off Susquehanna University in the opening round before getting edged 25-24 in the second round at SUNY-Cortland, who went on to win the national title. Event Details Date: November 23, 2024 Location: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, Ohio Participants: The highest-ranked team to not make the NCAA tournament representing the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Presidents' Athletic Conference About Opendorse Opendorse is the leading athlete marketplace and NIL company, providing technology and services to the athlete endorsement industry. More than 100,000 athletes use Opendorse to build and monetize their name, image, and likeness with support from the world's top brands, colleges, NIL collectives, and partners including Team USA, NFLPA, PGA TOUR, and more.