ST. JOSEPH – For the first time since 2012, Griffon Football will play in the postseason. Agent Barry Live United Bowl officials announced Wednesday that Missouri Western will play Southern Arkansas in the bowl game on December 1 in Texarkana, Arkansas.

“Missouri Western State University Football is ecstatic about our opportunity to play in the Agent Barry Live United Bowl,” head coach Matt Williamson said. “To be able to suit up one more time with these incredible men is a privilege beyond belief. Thank you, Allen Brown and the bowl committee for this opportunity. The Griffons will be ready to go!! We talk about change as a team all the time, this opportunity is a program changer.”

In his second season as head coach at Missouri Western, Williamson led Missouri Western to its first winning season (6-5) since 2015. The bowl appearance is the first postseason appearance for the program since reaching the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2012. It will be the first bowl appearance for Missouri Western since 2009 when the Griffons defeated Augustana (S.D.) 35-21 in the Mineral Water Bowl.

“We are excited to accept an invitation to play in the Agent Barry Live United Bowl and are appreciative of Allen Brown and the bowl committee for identifying the upward trajectory of our football program,” director of athletics Josh Looney said. “This postseason opportunity will play an important role in our program’s continued development.”

The Griffons will kickoff against Southern Arkansas in at noon on Dec. 1. The Muleriders finished third in the Great American Conference, going 8-3. Southern Arkansas entered the final week of the regular season ranked No. 7 in Super Region 3, but fell 20-17 at Arkansas-Monticello in the regular season finale.

The game will be played at Arkansas High School in Texarkana, Arkansas.

The Agent Barry Live United Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played between two of the top teams at the NCAA Division II level. It is one of only three NCAA Division II sanctioned bowl games. The game features the highest place finisher in the Great American Conference that does not qualify for the Division II playoffs. The at-large opponent is chosen from either the Lone Star Conference or the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

— MWSU Athletics —