Three Southland Football Teams Ranked in Preseason Polls
FRISCO, Texas - Three Southland Conference football teams - Stephen F. Austin, McNeese
State and Central Arkansas - are ranked in both The Sports Network and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Coaches'
Poll.
The Lumberjacks are ranked 14th in the coaches'
poll, followed by McNeese State, which is ranked 20th and Central Arkansas,
which is ranked 22nd. In The Sports Network poll, Stephen F. Austin is ranked 17th,
followed by Central Arkansas (18th) and McNeese State (20th).
Stephen F. Austin won its second consecutive
Southland Conference championship in 2010 after going 6-1 in conference play.
The Lumberjacks finished 9-3 overall after a second-round home loss in the NCAA
Division I Championship to Villanova. SFA returns nine of 11 offensive
starters, including All-American receivers Gralyn Crawford and Cordell Roberson,
and all-conference linemen George Bias, John Steel and Corey Dickerson. In all,
20 starters and 47 lettermen return.
McNeese State finished second to the
Lumberjacks in last season's conference race with a 5-2 league record to go
with a 6-5 ledger. The Cowboys, which opened the season 2-4 with non-conference
losses to Missouri, LSU and Cal Poly before dropping the Southland opener to
Stephen F. Austin. McNeese, the preseason pick of the conference coaches, haven't
finished lower than second in the standings since coach Matt Viator took over
the program in 2006 and returns 10 starters and 48 lettermen.
Central Arkansas could be the dark-horse pick
in the conference this year with 19 starters and 49 lettermen returning to
Conway. The Bears tied for third in league play at 4-3 and posted a 7-4 overall
finish. Preseason first-team all-conference quarterback Nathan Dick, who threw
for 2,668 yards and 12 touchdowns, while adding 233 rushing yards and three
scores. UCA has 10 preseason all-conference selections, mostly on the offensive
side of the ball.
Sam Houston State and Northwestern State
received votes in each poll.
Eastern Washington, which defeated Delaware,
20-19, to win the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship at Pizza Hut Park
in Frisco, was tabbed as the favorite by both the coaches and The Sports
Network.
The same teams complete the top 10 in each
poll. The defending champions were followed by Appalachian State, Georgia
Southern, William & Mary, Delaware, Montana State, Northern Iowa, Wofford,
Jacksonville State and New Hampshire.
The 20-team playoff field will be announced
Sunday, Nov. 20. The championship game will again be played at Pizza Hut Park
in Frisco, Texas. This season's game will be played at noon (Central) on
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 and will be televised by ESPN2.
The FCS is comprised of the conferences and
institutions that compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship - Big
Sky, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri
Valley Football, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern and the
Southland. The Ivy League and Southwestern Athletic Conference are in the FCS
as well, but neither chooses to participate in the football championship.
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FCS Coaches Preseason Poll
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Release Aug.
22, 2011
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Rk.
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Team
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'10 Rec.
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Pts.
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Prv.
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1.
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Eastern Washington (23)
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13-2
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687
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1
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2.
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Appalachian State (1)
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10-3
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617
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4
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3.
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Georgia Southern (3)
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10-5
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615
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6
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4.
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William & Mary (1)
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8-4
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614
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8
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5.
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Delaware
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12-3
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559
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2
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6.
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Montana State
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9-3
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540
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11
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7.
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Northern Iowa
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7-5
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448
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18
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8.
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Wofford
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10-3
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431
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5
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9.
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Jacksonville State
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9-3
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425
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12
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10.
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New Hampshire
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8-5
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415
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7
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11.
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North Dakota State
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9-5
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392
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9
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12.
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Montana
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7-4
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318
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21
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13.
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Villanova
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9-5
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276
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3
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14.
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Stephen F. Austin
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9-3
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265
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10
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15.
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Lehigh
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10-3
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259
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14
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16.
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James Madison
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6-5
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226
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NR
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17.
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Southern Illinois
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5-6
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181
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NR
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18.
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Liberty
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8-3
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179
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19
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19.
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Richmond
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6-5
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177
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NR
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20.
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McNeese State
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6-5
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170
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NR
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21.
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South Carolina State
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9-3
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131
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17
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22.
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Central Arkansas
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7-4
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130
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NR
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23.
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Chattanooga
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6-5
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113
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NR
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T24.
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Bethune-Cookman
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10-2
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84
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15
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T24.
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Penn
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9-1
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84
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16
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Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Western Illinois
(72); Cal Poly (71); Southeast Missouri State (68); Southern Utah (67);
Sacramento State (66); Murray State (50); Jacksonville (46); Eastern Kentucky
(41); UC Davis (22); Colgate (21); Central Connecticut State (19); Stony
Brook (18); Indiana State (15); Harvard (14); Dayton (13); Jackson State
(13); Illinois State (11); South Dakota State (10); Florida A&M (9);
Coastal Carolina (9); Sam Houston State (9); Elon (8); Grambling State (8);
Northern Arizona (3); Weber State (3); Northwestern State (2).
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Sports Network Preseason Top 25 Poll
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Release Aug.
15, 2011
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Rk.
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Team
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'10 Rec.
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Pts.
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Prv.
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1.
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Eastern
Washington (90)
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13-2
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3,377
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1
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2.
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Appalachian
State (14)
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10-3
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3,142
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4
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3.
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William &
Mary (20)
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8-4
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3,110
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10
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4.
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Georgia
Southern (11)
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10-5
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3,095
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5
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5.
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Delaware (2)
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12-3
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2,806
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2
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6.
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Montana State
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9-3
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2,623
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11
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7.
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Northern Iowa
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7-5
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2,452
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19
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8.
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Wofford
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10-3
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2,357
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6
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9.
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Jacksonville
State
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9-3
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2,028
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12
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10.
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New Hampshire
(1)
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8-5
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2,025
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7
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11.
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North Dakota
State
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9-5
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1,720
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9
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12.
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Montana
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7-4
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1,668
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20
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13.
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Lehigh
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10-3
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1,351
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14
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14.
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Villanova (2)
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9-5
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1,262
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3
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15.
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James Madison
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6-5
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1,247
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NR
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16.
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Richmond
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6-5
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987
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NR
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17.
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Stephen F. Austin
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9-3
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969
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8
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18.
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Central
Arkansas
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7-4
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961
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NR
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19.
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Southern
Illinois
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5-6
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934
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NR
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20.
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McNeese State
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6-5
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701
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NR
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21.
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Chattanooga
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6-5
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672
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NR
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22.
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Liberty
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8-3
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630
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21
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23.
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South Carolina
State
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9-3
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628
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16
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24.
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Sacramento
State
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6-5
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587
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NR
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25.
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Massachusetts
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6-5
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519
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NR
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Others receiving votes: Penn 456, Bethune-Cookman 425,
Southeast Missouri State 341, Murray State 315, Western Illinois 247,
Southern Utah 240, Jacksonville 215, Cal Poly 168, Stony Brook 163, Grambling
State 146, Eastern Kentucky 139, Jackson State 76, Florida A&M 76,
Colgate 75, Sam Houston State 75, Harvard 54, Indiana State 51, UC Davis 48,
South Dakota State 40, Youngstown State 28, Central Connecticut State 26,
Coastal Carolina 25, Dayton 21, Northwestern State 20, Northern Arizona 18,
Elon 16, Yale 15, Weber State 13, Illinois State 12, Tennessee Tech 12, Rhode
Island 11, Maine 10, Albany 10, Texas Southern 10, Northern Colorado 10,
Furman 10, Brown 8, South Dakota 7, Old Dominion 5, Columbia 5, Missouri
State 2, Robert Morris 2, Hampton 1, Duquesne 1, UT Martin 1.
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