Football | 8/9/2010 11:28:11 PM
WACO, Texas – West Liberty University's defending West Virginia Conference champions will kick off the 2010 football season as the No. 8 team in the nation.
Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers filled the eighth spot in the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) annual NCAA Division II preseason poll, which was released on Monday by the national organization.
The No. 8 ranking is the highest ever for a West Liberty football team. The Hilltoppers were ranked No. 9 in the AFCA's final 2009 poll.
Nevertheless, Waialae doesn't think the glare of the national spotlight will put any added pressure on his veteran squad as it heads into one of the most anticipated football seasons in school history.
“We're certainly pleased to see that so many coaches across the country like what we're doing here,” said Waialae, who led West Liberty to an 11-2 record and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs a year ago.
“A Top 10 national ranking creates a lot of positive publicity for our program and our university but those high expectations won't affect us. Nobody has higher expectations than the players and coaches who will be coming back to campus this week.”
The Hilltoppers return 15 starters and more than 20 seniors from a team that led the nation in scoring and total offense last fall.
Among the senior returnees are a quartet of Preseason All-Americans in quarterback Zach Amedro, tight end Ryan Travis, tailback Kevon Calhoun and linebacker Clay Beeler.
Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State received 22 of the 26 first-place votes to rank No. 1 in this year's preseason poll with 645 points while Grand Valley State – which lost to NMSU in the 2009 national championship game – received three first-place votes and 621 points to emerge as the clear-cut No. 2.
North Alabama received the other first-place vote and is No. 3 with 580 points. Minnesota-Duluth is No. 4 with 549 points with Central Washington rounding out the top five at 499.
California (Pa.) – which defeated the Hilltoppers in last season's Super Region One championship game – was sixth at 489 with Abilene Christian (435), West Liberty (420), Carson-Newman (400) and Washburn (339) closing out the Top 10.
West Virginia Conference members Charleston (11) and Shepherd (9) were among the teams receiving votes, along with Edinboro, Pa. (3), which opens the season on Sept. 4 at West Liberty.
| Pos. |
School (1st place votes) |
Pts. |
'09 W-L |
| 1. |
Northwest Missouri State (22) |
645 |
14-1 |
| 2. |
Grand Valley State (3) |
621 |
13-2 |
| 3. |
North Alabama (1) |
580 |
11-2 |
| 4. |
Minnesota-Duluth |
549 |
11-2 |
| 5. |
Central Washington |
499 |
12-1 |
| 6. |
California (PA) |
489 |
11-4 |
| 7. |
Abilene Christian (TX) |
435 |
9-4 |
8.
|
West Liberty (WV) |
420
|
11-2 |
| 9. |
Carson-Newman (TN) |
400 |
11-3 |
| 10. |
Washburn (KS) |
339 |
8-3 |
| 11. |
West Texas A&M |
337 |
7-5 |
| 12. |
West Alabama |
313 |
8-5 |
| 13. |
Nebraska-Kearney |
296 |
11-2 |
| 14. |
Saginaw Valley State (MI) |
235 |
9-3 |
| 15. |
Nebraska-Omaha |
232 |
7-5 |
| 16. |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
216 |
9-3 |
| 17. |
Tuskegee (AL) |
210 |
10-2 |
| 18. |
Hillsdale (MI) |
188 |
10-3 |
| 19. |
Midwestern State (TX) |
163 |
9-3 |
| 20. |
Missouri Western |
160 |
9-3 |
| 21. |
Minnesota State-Mankato |
127 |
10-2 |
| 22. |
West Chester (PA) |
122 |
7-4 |
| 23. |
North Carolina-Pembroke |
115 |
9-2 |
| 24. |
Delta State (MS) |
93 |
5-5 |
| 25. |
East Stroudsburg (PA) |
74 |
8-3 |
Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Commerce, 73; Valdosta St. (Ga.), 59; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 56; Wingate (N.C.), 49; Bloomsburg (Pa.), 34; Tarleton St. (Texas), 32; Albany St. (Ga.), 30; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 28; Colorado School of Mines, 27; St. Cloud State (Minn.), 17; Benedict (S.C.), 16; Morehouse (Ga.), 15; Indiana (Pa.), 14; Shaw (N.C.), 14; Augustana (S.D.), 13; Findlay (Ohio), 13; Winona St. (Minn.), 13; Central Missouri, 11; Charleston (W.Va.), 11; Shippensburg (Pa.), 11; Angelo St. (Texas), 9; Shepherd (W.Va.), 9; Bentley (Mass.), 8; Chadron St. (Neb.), 6; Southern Connecticut St., 6; Arkansas Tech, 4; Southeastern Oklahoma St., 4; Edinboro (Pa.), 3; C.W. Post (N.Y.), 2; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 1; Henderson St. (Ark.), 1; Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 1; Wayne St. (Neb.), 1; Western Oregon, 1.
