After earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Muhlenberg football team was selected to play its first-round game at Scotty Wood Stadium.

The Mules (8-2) will host Union (8-2) on Saturday, November 22. The winner will advance to the second round to face 13-time national champion Mount Union the following Saturday.

Muhlenberg was one of three Centennial Conference teams to earn a spot in the field of 40, expanded from 32 for the 2025 tournament. The Mules' only two losses were to the teams ranked seventh (Johns Hopkins) and ninth (Franklin & Marshall) in the final NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings. Muhlenberg was 27th in the NPI rankings, earning the 10th of 13 at-large berths.

The bid to the NCAA Tournament is the 11th for Muhlenberg, all since 2002. The Mules are 9-10 all-time (6-3 at home) in their NCAA appearances, including a 7-3 record between 2018 and 2021, when they advanced to at least the quarterfinals in three straight seasons. The 2019 team made it all the way to the "Final Four."

Including bowl games, the Mules have earned 21 postseason berths in the last 25 seasons. Prior to 2000, they had not played in a postseason game since 1946.  Muhlenberg has won at least one postseason game in each of the last seven seasons. 

Union, 42nd in the NPI rankings, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the champion of the Liberty League. After dropping their first two games of the season to two other NCAA Tournament teams, Susquehanna and Cortland, the Garnet Chargers reeled off eight straight wins to earn their 14th all-time NCAA Tournament berth - a remarkable turnaround for a team that went 3-7 last season.

In its most recent NCAA appearance, in 2023, Union defeated Delaware Valley in the first round before getting eliminated by Johns Hopkins. The Garnet Chargers are 11-13 in their NCAA appearances, reaching the championship game in 1983 and 1989.

Muhlenberg holds a 6-4 all-time series lead against Union, with all 10 meetings taking place between 1994 and 2009.