Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football 11th in Preseason FCS Coaches Poll
08/22/2008 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 22, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C.-Southern Illinois University is ranked No. 11 in the Preseason Football Championship Subdivision Coaches' Poll.
Three-time defending FCS national champion Appalachian State received more preseason praise as the Mountaineers were selected the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll. ASU received all 24 first-place votes in collecting 600 total points.
After a 10-1 record in its final season in the Great West Conference, North Dakota State, now in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, came in at No. 2. Rounding out the top 10 were James Madison, UNI, Massachusetts, Richmond, Montana, Delaware, Eastern Washington and McNeese State.
Three conferences dominated the polls as the newly renamed Missouri Valley Football Conference, formerly Gateway, and the Colonial Athletic Association each had six teams. The Southern Conference was close behind with five teams.
The MVFC teams ranked were North Dakota State (2), Northern Iowa (4), SIU (11), Youngstown State (12), South Dakota State (20) and Western Illinois (22).
The CAA had five teams in the top 10 with James Madison leading the way at No. 3 with Northern Iowa (4), Massachusetts (5), Richmond (6) and Delaware (8) also in the top 10. Villanova came in at No. 19.
The SoCon was led by Appalachian State at No. 1, with Wofford (13), Elon (15), Georgia Southern (17) and The Citadel (23) also ranked.
The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.
Top 25 FCS Coaches Poll
Rk. School Record Points
1. Appalachian State (24) 13-2 600
2. North Dakota State 10-1 527
3. James Madison 8-4 513
4. UNI 12-1 501
5. Massachusetts 10-3 488
6. Richmond 11-3 456
7. Montana 11-1 444
8. Delaware 11-4 419
9. Eastern Washington 9-4 393
10. McNeese State 11-1 366
11. Southern Illinois 12-2 329
12. Youngstown State 7-4 320
13. Wofford 9-4 316
14. Cal Poly 7-4 275
15. Elon 7-4 247
16. New Hampshire 7-5 231
17. Georgia Southern 7-4 185
18. Eastern Illinois 8-4 182
19. Villanova 7-4 148
20. South Dakota State 7-4 135
21. Eastern Kentucky 9-3 105
22. Western Illinois 6-5 67
23. The Citadel 7-4 60
24. Harvard 8-2 42
25. Central Arkansas 6-5 41
