Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football picked second in MVFC preseason poll
07/20/2009 | 12:00:00 | Football
July 20, 2009
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Valley Football Conference defending co-champions UNI and Southern Illinois have been picked at the top of the league again in 2009. The Panthers received the top spot in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. The poll was announced in conjunction with the league's annual Media Day in St. Louis, Mo.
UNI (314 points and 26 first-place tallies) and Southern Illinois (281 points and nine first-place votes), both appear among the Top 10 in some pre-season national polls.
The Salukis had six players on the pre-season all-conference team including four on defense -- LB Brandin Jordan, LB Chauncey Mixon, S Marty Rodgers and CB Korey Lindsey. Punter Scott Ravanesi and G Shawn Smith also made the team.
"Last year, there was a lot of curiosity about what was going to happen," Saluki head coach Dale Lennon said at Media Day. "This season, we have high hopes for what we can achieve."
The Salukis return 18 starters, including quarterback Chris Dieker.
"We feel we can build upon our offensive package and do a little more with it," Lennon said. "Defensively, that's probably the strength of this team. We have 10 starters back and added a few things to our 3-4 package last spring."
MVFC All-Conference Team Release in PDF Format 
Team (First-Place Votes) Points
1. Northern Iowa (26) 314
2. Southern Illinois (9) 281
3. South Dakota State 231
4. North Dakota State (1) 206
5. Western Illinois 174
6. Youngstown State 171
7. Missouri State 111
8. Illinois State 90
9. Indiana State 42
The league's two newest members - South Dakota State and North Dakota State - are close in the voting for third place, as the Jackrabbits earned 231 points, while North Dakota State, which received one first-place vote, has 206 points for fourth.
Only three points separate Western Illinois (174) and Youngstown State (171) in the voting as those two teams rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the rankings.
The poll has Missouri State picked seventh (111 points), followed by Illinois State (90) and Indiana State (42).
