Two of North Carolina’s top Division II football programs made the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) preseason top 25 rankings.
Wingate football (11-3 last season) comes in at No. 21, while Lenoir-Rhyne football (8-3) was tabbed 25th. The AFCA released its poll Monday.
Defending Division II champion Ferris State (Mich.) begins the year atop the rankings, followed by Colorado School of Mines, Grand Valley State (Mich.), Pittsburg State (Kan.) and Angelo State (Texas).
Fayetteville State, the defending CIAA champion, was the top vote-getter among North Carolina schools receiving votes. The Broncos finished 37th in the balloting. Also receiving votes from North Carolina were Mars Hill and Winston-Salem State.
Wingate parlayed a D2 playoff berth into a national quarterfinals appearance a year ago. Coach Joe Reich’s team rode a stingy defense to post-season wins over Virginia Union 32-7 and Benedict 23-6 before falling to West Florida.
Both Benedict (17th) and Virginia Union (18th) are ranked ahead of Wingate in the preseason coaches poll. Wingate will open the season at home Aug. 31 against Albany State.
Lenoir-Rhyne returns most of its starting lineup from a year ago. Coach Mike Jacobs’ squad kicks its season off on Sept. 2 against St. Augustine’s.
Newberry (ranked 24th), Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne have been picked the finish 1-2-3 in the South Atlantic Conference this season.
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AFCA Division II Preseason Top 25
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2022 Rec. | Pts. | 2022 Rank | Season Opener | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferris St. (Mich.) (29) | 14-1 | …725 | 1 | Aug. 31 vs. Mercyhurst (Pa.) | Tony Annese | |
| 2 | Colorado School of Mines | 13-3 | 642 | 2 | Aug. 31 vs. No. 3 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | Pete Sterbick | |
| 3 | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 12-1 | 641 | 3 | Aug. 31 at No. 2 Colorado School of Mines | Scott Wooster | |
| 4 | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 12-1 | 633 | 5 | Aug. 31 vs. Washburn (Kan.) | Brian Wright | |
| 5 | Angelo St. (Tex.) | 12-1 | 590 | 7 | Aug. 31 at West Alabama | Jeff Girsch | |
| 6 | Northwest Missouri St. | 10-3 | 560 | 8 | Aug. 31 at Missouri Southern | Rich Wright | |
| 7 | West Florida | 12-2 | 482 | 4 | Sept. 1 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan | Kaleb Nobles | |
| 8 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 11-1 | 455 | 10 | Aug. 31 at Southwestern Oklahoma St. | Todd Knight | |
| 9 | Minnesota St. | 10-3 | 450 | 14 | Aug. 31 at Sioux Falls (S.D.) | Todd Hoffner | |
| 10 | Delta St. (Miss.) | 11-2 | 438 | 9 | Aug. 31 at Missouri S&T | Todd Cooley | |
| 11 | Bemidji St. (Minn.) | 10-3 | 420 | 24 | Aug. 31 vs. Northern St. (S.D.) | Brent Bolte | |
| 12 | Ashland (Ohio) | 10-2 | 387 | 13 | Aug. 31 at No. 16 Indiana (Pa.) | Doug Geiser | |
| 13 | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 13-2 | 359 | 6 | Sept. 2 vs. Southern Connecticut St. | Ernie McCook | |
| 14 | Harding (Ark.) | 9-2 | 305 | 22 | Aug. 31 at Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | Paul Simmons | |
| 15 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 10-3 | 304 | 16 | Sept. 2 vs. Wayne St. (Mich.) | Shawn Lutz | |
| 16 | Indiana (Pa.) | 10-2 | 300 | 11 | Aug. 31 vs. No. 12 Ashland (Ohio) | Paul Tortorella | |
| 17 | Benedict (S.C.) (1) | 11-1 | 232 | 12 | Sept. 2 vs. Shaw (N.C.) | Chennis Berry | |
| 18 | Virginia Union | 9-2 | 200 | 18 | Sept. 3 vs. Morehouse (Ga.) | Alvin Parker | |
| 19 | Emporia St. (Kan.) | 9-3 | 187 | NR | Aug. 31 vs. Lincoln (Mo.) | Garin Higgins | |
| 20 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 9-2 | 149 | 17 | Sept. 2 vs. Hillsdale (Mich.) | Chris Keevers | |
| 21 | Wingate (N.C.) | 11-3 | 147 | 15 | Aug. 31 vs. Albany St. (Ga.) | Joe Reich | |
| 22 | West Georgia | 8-2 | 146 | 19 | Aug. 31 vs. Limestone (S.C.) | David Dean | |
| 23 | Assumption (Mass.) | 8-3 | 132 | NR | Sept. 2 vs. Kutztown (Pa.) | Andy McKenzie | |
| 24 | Newberry (S.C.) | 9-2 | 131 | 21 | Sept. 2 at Shippensburg (Pa.) | Todd Knight | |
| 25 | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 8-3 | 129 | NR | Sept. 2 vs. St. Augustine’s (N.C.) | Mike Jacobs |
Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame (Ohio), 99; Davenport (Mich.), 69; Colorado St.-Pueblo, 56; Bowie St. (Md.), 53; Truman St. (Mo.), 31; Central Washington, 30; Limestone (S.C.), 30; Winona St. (Minn.), 23; Wayne St. (Neb.), 18; Henderson St. (Ark.), 17; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 16; Tuskegee (Ala.), 16; Morehouse (Ga.), 13; Findlay (Ohio), 12; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 11; Ohio Dominican, 10; Tiffin (Ohio), 10; California (Pa.), 9; Washburn (Kan.), 9; Charleston (W.Va.), 8; Millersville (Pa.), 8; Mars Hill (N.C.), 6; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 6; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 6; Western Colorado, 6; Kutztown (Pa.), 5; Wayne St. (Mich.), 5; Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 5; Gannon (Pa.), 4; Central Oklahoma, 3; Central St. (Ohio), 2; New Haven (Conn.), 2; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 2; Southern Arkansas, 2; Bluefield St. (W.Va.), 1; Minnesota-Duluth, 1; Nebraska-Kearney, 1; West Alabama, 1.
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