NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. ?“ The Niagara University Purple Eagles will make their third overall NCAA Tournament appearance, as it is set for the NCAA Opening Round game, as announced on Sunday evening.

The Purple Eagles (22-11) will face Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Opening Round game at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The Rattlers (21-13) won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title Saturday with a 58-56 victory over Delaware State. The NCAA berth is Florida A&M?™s third overall and second in the past four seasons.

The winner between Niagara and Florida A&M will face top seeded Kansas in a first-round matchup Friday at the United Center in Chicago. The Jayhawks are the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

The Purple Eagles are coming off their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship in the last three years.

Niagara has made two other NCAA appearances ?” 2005 and 1970 ?” and have a 1-3 record in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida A&M is making its second appearance in the Opening Round game. It defeated Lehigh, 72-57, in 2004. The Rattlers then lost their first-round game to Kentucky, 96-76. In 1999, Florida A&M lost to Duke in the first round, 99-58.

Niagara is 1-0 vs. Florida A&M with the teams meeting on Dec. 20, 1998, in the Capital City Classic in Tallahassee, Fla. Purple Eagle assistant coach Akbar Waheed and Luke Dobrich were both members of the Purple Eagle squad.

The Purple Eagles won the 2005 MAAC Championship as the No. 1 seed and earned a No 14 seed in the Austin Region. They lost 84-67 to No. 3 seed and 16th ranked Oklahoma in Tuscon, Ariz. Juan Mendez led the team with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

The Purple Eagles were an independent in 1970 and qualified as an at-large selection in the 25-team field. It played in the East Region in Princeton, N.J. Teams were not seeded until 1979. The 1969-70 team finished the season 22-7 after going 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

Behind All-American Calvin Murphy?™s 35 points, Niagara advanced to the East Region semifinals with a 79-69 victory over Pennsylvania in the first round on March 7, 1970. The Frank Layden-led team then suffered a 98-73 loss to Villanova in the semifinals on March 12. Niagara finished fourth in the region after dropping a 108-88 game to North Carolina State in the consolation game on March 13. Calvin Murphy was named to the East Region All-Region Team.

Including its 12 appearances in the NIT, Niagara is appearing in postseason play for the 15th time.