FCS Football Conference Preseason Polls: 2026
/Big Sky
Coaches Poll:
1. Montana State (143, 11 first-place votes)
2. Montana (130)
3. UC Davis (121, 2)
4. Northern Arizona (108)
5. Idaho State (99)
6. Southern Utah (82)
7. Idaho (77)
8. Eastern Washington (70)
9. Weber State (48)
10. Northern Colorado (47)
11. Cal Poly (46)
12. Portland State (24)
13. Utah Tech (19)
Media Poll:
1. Montana State (490, 35 first-place votes)
2. Montana (448, 1)
3. UC Davis (421, 2)
4. Idaho State (349)
5. Northern Arizona (339)
6. Idaho (283)
7. Southern Utah (273)
8. Eastern Washington (246)
9. Cal Poly (168)
10. Weber State (155)
11. Northern Colorado (153)
12. Portland State (68)
13. Utah Tech (65)
Preseason Offensive MVP: Eli Gillman (Montana, RB)
Preseason Defensive MVP: Caden Dowler (Montana State, S)
CAA
1. Rhode Island (144, 12 first-place votes)
2. Monmouth (119)
3. Elon (115)
4. New Hampshire (106)
5. Stony Brook (105, 1)
6. Towson (93)
7. Maine (88)
8. Campbell (56)
9. Bryant (50)
10. Sacred Heart (49)
11. UAlbany (35)
12. North Carolina A&T (28)
13. Hampton (26)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Devin Farrell (Rhode Island, QB)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Jaeden Jones (Monmouth, S)
Ivy League
1. Yale (127, 15 first-place votes)
2. Harvard (111, 1)
3. Dartmouth (94)
4. Penn (75)
T5. Cornell (46)
T5. Princeton (46)
7. Brown (45)
8. Columbia (32)
MEAC
1. South Carolina State (49, 5 first-place votes)
2. North Carolina Central (42, 1)
3. Delaware State (40, 2)
4. Morgan State (25)
5. Norfolk State (18, 1)
6. Howard (15)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Chance Peterson (North Carolina Central, WR)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Jordan Franklin (South Carolina State, LB)
MVFC
1. South Dakota State (312, 28 first-place votes)
2. Illinois State (256, 3)
3. Youngstown State (235)
4. North Dakota (211, 2)
5. South Dakota (196, 2)
6. Southern Illinois (186, 1)
7. Northern Iowa (99)
8. Indiana State (80)
9. Murray State (45)
NEC
1. Central Connecticut State (6 first-place votes)
2. Duquesne (2)
3. Long Island
4. Wagner
5. Mercyhurst
6. Robert Morris
7. Stonehill
8. New Haven
OVC
1. UT Martin (47, 6 first-place votes)
2. SEMO (38, 1)
3. Lindenwood (37, 1)
4. Gardner-Webb (30)
5. Charleston Southern (26)
6. Western Illinois (23)
7. Eastern Illinois (14)
8. Tennessee State (9)
Patriot League
1. Villanova (79, 7 first-place votes)
2. Lehigh (75, 3)
T3. Richmond (57)
T3. William & Mary (57)
5. Lafayette (55)
6. Holy Cross (38)
7. Colgate (36)
T8. Fordham (19)
T8. Georgetown (19)
10. Bucknell (15)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Luke Yoder (Lehigh, RB)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Camden Byrd (Richmond, DL)
Pioneer League
1. San Diego (90, 5 first-place votes)
2. Drake (88, 5)
3. St. Thomas (87, 1)
4. Dayton (69)
5. Butler (67)
6. Marist (52)
7. Presbyterian (47)
8. Morehead State (38)
9. Davidson (33)
10. Stetson (22)
11. Valparaiso (12)
SoCon
1. Mercer (76, 6 first-place votes)
2. Tennessee Tech (70, 3)
3. ETSU (61, 1)
4. Western Carolina (58)
5. Chattanooga (48)
6. Furman (46)
7. Wofford (36)
8. Samford (23)
9. The Citadel (22)
10. VMI (10)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Brayden Smith (Mercer, WR)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Joshua Stoneking (Furman, DL)
Southland
1. Stephen F. Austin (77, 6 first-place votes)
2. Southeastern Louisiana (75, 3)
3. Lamar (67, 1)
4. UTRGV (50)
5. Incarnate Wors (48)
6. McNeese (46)
7. Nicholls (36)
8. East Texas A&M (25)
9. Houston Christian (16)
10. Northwestern State (10)
SWAC
East:
1. Alabama State (131, 16 first-place votes)
2. Jackson State (122, 7)
3. Bethune-Cookman (71)
4. Florida A&M (70)
5. Alabama A&M (66, 1)
6. Mississippi Valley State (29)
West:
1. Prairie View A&M (130, 19 first-place votes)
2. Grambling State (93, 2)
3. Alcorn State (90, 1)
4. Texas Southern (79, 1)
5. Southern (65, 1)
6. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (32)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Andrew Body (Alabama State, QB)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kam Sallis (Jackson State, S)
UAC
T1. Abilene Christian (65, 3 first-place votes)
T1. Tarleton State (65, 3)
3. Austin Peay (62, 2)
4. Eastern Kentucky (48)
5. Central Arkansas (43)
6. West Georgia (39)
7. North Alabama (37)
8. West Florida (33)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Chris Parson (Austin Peay, QB)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kaden Smith (Eastern Kentucky, LB)