FRISCO, Texas – Defending Southland Champion SFA is the preseason favorite for the 2026 football season, the league announced Monday. The Lumberjacks received six first-place votes and 77 total points to take the spot.
SFA, who is celebrating its 100th season in 2026, won the 2025 Southland Conference title with a record of 11-3 overall and 8-0 in conference play. The eight conference wins mark the program's first eight-win conference season and first-ever perfect finish in league play. SFA advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2025 FCS Playoffs, which assisted in capping the most wins for the program since 1995.
Southeastern followed closely in second with three first-place votes and 75 points, while Lamar finished in third with one first-place vote and 67 points. Southeastern and Lamar round out the three teams who qualified for the 2025 FCS Playoffs, which matched the second-most of FCS conferences Nationally.
UTRGV, UIW, McNeese, Nicholls and East Texas A&M placed fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. HCU and Northwestern State filled in the final two spots.
The Southland Conference preseason poll is voted on by each institution's head coach and sports information director through one ballot. Each institution ranks their predicted order of regular season finish, not including their own team.
2026 Southland Conference Football Preseason Poll
| Pl |
Team (First-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
SFA |
77 (6) |
| 2. |
Southeastern |
75 (3) |
| 3. |
Lamar |
67 (1) |
| 4. |
UTRGV |
50 |
| 5. |
UIW |
48 |
| 6. |
McNeese |
46 |
| 7. |
Nicholls |
36 |
| 8. |
East Texas A&M |
25 |
| 9. |
HCU |
16 |
| 10. |
Northwestern State |
10 |