In Naia, Ot Can Be Put To A Vote It’s Always Been Up To The Coaches Whether To Change Current System

If the NAIA football coaches want overtime in the future to settle their championship games, they can vote it in, an NAIA official says.

NAIA public relations director Kevin Henry, who is based in Tulsa, Okla., said coaches have had an opportunity to change the current system every year, but so far haven’t chosen to do it.

“It’s up to them,” Henry said.

There were 96 unhappy players and two unhappy coaching staffs on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome after Findlay of Ohio and Central Washington played to a 21-21 tie in the NAIA Division II title game.

With the bowls now decided by overtime, the small-college players and coaches have complained loudly about their fate. One Seattle sports columnist said the NAIA was the NA-tie-A.

“Both teams played their hearts out,” Findlay coach Dick Strahm said. “I think something needs to be corrected. We should have played longer.”

“We’ve never been the national champions,” Central Washington coach Jeff Zenisek said. “But when you look back, you’ll be disappointed. It’s tough.”

It was the third tie since the NAIA started the Division II playoffs in 1970. Four NAIA Division I title games have wound up in ties since playoffs were started in 1956.

Saturday’s game was as entertaining and competitive as college football can get. Jon Kitna, Central Washington’s record-setting quarterback, finished his college career with a flourish, completing 23 of 39 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

Findlay’s Troy Pearson was voted the offensive player of the game, though. Pearson rushed for 176 yards and two TDs.

The 5,628 fans who turned out saw a game that wasn’t decided until Central Washington’s Marty Greenlee missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt with six seconds left.

“We sure didn’t lose,” Strahm said.

It just felt like it to the Oilers, national champs in 1979 and 1992.

“They (Central Washington) didn’t expect to be here,” Pearson said. “We expected to be here since last August. Even bowl games have a tie-breaker here. I figured there would be one here.”

But the home-state Wildcats, in their first title game, said they were every bit as disappointed as Findlay.

“We knew the rule going into the game and we talked about it,” Zenisek said. “But, if we had a chance to win by going for 2 points instead of going for 1 point, we would have gone for 2 points. Our game is to win.”

CWU scored the final TD, on a 7-yard pass from Kitna to Todd Murray. But it came with only 1:23 gone in the fourth quarter. So Zenisek had Murray kick PAT instead of trying for a 2-point conversion.