SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College's Director of Athletics Scott Swain announced on Thursday that the NDC football program will play a home-and-home series with Ashland University beginning in the fall of 2021. The Falcons and Eagles will match up in the season opener of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
 
"I am excited to be able to play Ashland, with their rich football tradition, in a home-and-home series," Swain said. "Both of our programs are some of the best in Division II and to open the season with them is a great opportunity to showcase both programs to our fans, alumni and communities."
 
The schedule has Notre Dame as the home team on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021 with a 1 p.m. kickoff on Mueller Field. Ashland will host on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, with a 7 p.m. start.
 
"We're really excited to face a great program in Ashland," said head coach Mickey Mental. "Coach Lee Owens has had a lot of success and we have the utmost respect for what him and his coaching staff have done with that program. I am excited to open up both the 2021 and 2022 seasons against Ashland. It will be good for both programs."
 
The matchup history between the two teams is brief with AU getting the best of NDC in their only matchup on Nov. 10, 2012. However, these two programs have had sustained success recently and since 2015, both teams have made the NCAA Division II Playoffs twice.
 
Notre Dame has put together a combined record of 25-3 over the past two seasons, including a 4-2 mark in the playoffs. After earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time in program history in 2018, the Falcons became the first Division II team from Ohio in over 30 years to reach the Final Four. That season, they defeated No. 23 Hillsdale College and Slippery Rock University in the playoffs. In the 2019 tournament, the Falcons took down No. 22 West Chester University and No. 17 Kutztown University, advancing to the Regional Finals. They also grabbed the Mountain East Conference Championship trophy in those two seasons.
 
NDC finished 2019 ranked 10th in the AFCA Coaches Poll and 11th in the D2Football.com Poll. Over the past two seasons, five of the Falcons' six top-25 matchups have come in the playoffs and Notre Dame has stepped up, posting a 4-2 record against ranked opponents since 2018.
 
Ashland has had their share of playoff experiences in the past decade as they advanced to the Regional Semifinals in 2012, the Regional Quarterfinals in 2015 and the Regional Semifinals in 2017. In all three of those seasons, they reached double-digit wins and were either champions or co-champions of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Over the past 10 years, the Eagles have totaled eight or more victories in six different seasons.
 
Ashland was receiving votes in the polls for much of the 2019 season and pulled off an exciting 20-17 upset win over No. 9 Grand Valley State on Oct. 5.