WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Winston-Salem State's financial problems are one reason the Rams are playing for the Division II national championship this weekend.

Budget woes led officials at the historically black university to abort a pending move to Division I Football Championship Subdivision a few years ago.

So, the Rams returned to Division II and made themselves at home. They're 14-0, preparing to face Valdosta State on Saturday in Florence, Ala., with a chance to win their first national title.

Coach Connell Maynor won't say the Rams' perfect-so-far season justifies the decision to drop back down a level.

But he said Tuesday that ``if you win, that will make the people that wanted us to stay I-AA kind of forget about that and say, `You know what, this is all right.'''