INDIANAPOLIS – Nine programs were competitively stacked up in the 2018 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour as announced on Wednesday morning.
All voting for the annual preseason poll was conducted by the nine head coaches in the Great Midwest and four different schools received at least one first-place vote.
Opening day around the Great Midwest kicks off on Thursday, August 30, with eight teams in action for Week 1.
With five first-place votes and 59 total points in the balloting, defending conference champion Ohio Dominican will enter training camp with the coveted No. 1 preseason ranking. The Panthers won seven straight games to end 2017, including a 25-point margin of victory over Findlay, in the regular-season finale.
Reigning Great Midwest Offensive Back of the Year Cory Contini is No. 2 in the record books in single-season conference history in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He also holds the single-game league record for receiving touchdowns with four.
His assault on the conference records will continue without Great Midwest Player of the Year and graduated star quarterback Grant Russell. Russell passed for almost 3,200 yards and connected for 30 TD’s with a 72.5 completion percentage in his lone season with the league.
The Panthers finished their first year in the Great Midwest at 7-3 but were left on the outside looking in at the end of the NCAA selection show as the championship field unfolded. ODU will enter the fall with a chip on its shoulder looking to leave no doubt in the committee’s mind with its in-season resume.
Eight schools will be in hot pursuit of Ohio Dominican looking to make their own mark, including preseason runner-up Findlay. The Oilers passed their NCAA Championship test as the No. 7 seed with a stunning playoff victory over No. 2 Shepherd before falling to Assumption in the second round.
Findlay collected two first-place votes for a total of 54 points. The Oilers orchestrated the league’s top offense (515.5 yards per game) and put up the most points in the league (578). All three of UF’s conference award winners (Aaron Ivory – Defensive Back of the Year; Johnny Hopkins – Defensive Lineman of the Year; Andrew Alten – Offensive Lineman of the Year) leave huge shoes to fill at their respective positions.
Selected third with one first-place vote is a Hillsdale program that went 7-4 overall last season. The Chargers have already received recognition in Lindy’s national preseason rankings and return a triumvirate of offensive firepower with quarterback Chance Stewart, first-team all-conference wide receiver Trey Brock and 1,000-yard tailback David Graham.
The Great Midwest added Tiffin to the mix for the upcoming season as a full-member institution and the ninth football-playing school. The Dragons were polled in fourth by the league’s coaches (with one first-place vote and 48 points) after going 6-5 in their final year with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
With a new coach directing the program, John Fankhauser leads Walsh after the Cavaliers posted a 4-3 conference record in their first year with the conference. Walsh ended the year on a high note with back-to-back wins and were polled fifth with 34 points.
Coaches foresee significant improvement from Malone after finishing 2017 at 1-6 in the league; the Pioneers are slotted sixth in this year’s preseason poll following a breakout season from track star/speedy deep threat Ashton Dulin.
Alderson Broaddus and Lake Erie are each looking for improvement upon last year’s win total after both programs recorded a pair of league victories. The Battlers and Storm were picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively. Kentucky Wesleyan was selected ninth in the preseason poll as Taurean Smith gets ready for his first year as head coach following the offseason exit of Brent Holsclaw.
The Great Midwest remains a member of NCAA Super Region 1 along with the Mountain East Conference (MEC), Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
The seven teams from Super Region 1 to make the NCAA Championship field last year included Findlay (G-MAC), Indiana (Pa.) (PSAC), Shepherd (then MEC – now PSAC), Assumption (NE-10), Shippensburg (PSAC), West Chester (PSAC) and California (Pa.) (PSAC).
2018 Great Midwest Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Ohio Dominican (5 first-place votes) |
59 |
| 2. Findlay (2 first-place votes) |
54 |
| 3. Hillsdale (1 first-place vote) |
51 |
| 4. Tiffin (1 first-place vote) |
48 |
| 5. Walsh |
34 |
| 6. Malone |
27 |
| 7. Alderson Broaddus |
23 |
| 8. Lake Erie |
15 |
| 9. Kentucky Wesleyan |
13 |