INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The West Virginia State University men's basketball team qualified for the NCAA DIvision II Championship for the first time since 2010 when selections were announced on Sunday night. This will be the sixth time that West Virginia State has made the dance since joining the Division II ranks in 1997. WVSU will be the No. 7 seed out of the Atlantic Region and are matched up with No. 2-seeded West Liberty in the opening round.

Like March Madness on the Division I level, there are 64 teams that enter the DII men's basketball tournament. Of those 64 teams, 23 enter the bracket as automatic qualifiers from winning their respective conference tournaments. Those 23 conferences are split up into eight regions.

WVSU comes out of the Atlantic Region which includes teams from the Mountain East Conference, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The regional tournaments are hosted by the eight No. 1 seeds and will take place on March 12, 13 and 15. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) will host the Atlantic Region tournament at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

The championship bracket is set up like the traditional 64-team bracket we have become accustomed to thanks to March Madness. Two regions are placed in four separate quadrants. Play begins in eight single-elimination regional tournaments. The eight regional champions emerge as the DII Men's Elite Eight and head to a final site for the remainder of the three rounds of play. The Elite Eight will take place on March 22, 24 and 26 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

The Yellow Jackets qualified for the NCAA DII Championship in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. They've been seeded as high as No. 2 in their region and advanced to the Round of 32 on four occasions. Only once did they not make it past the first round after qualifying in 2009. Advancing to the Sweet 16 would be unprecedented territory for West Virginia State.