INDIANAPOLIS – Reigning league champion Hillsdale was revealed as the coaches’ top choice in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour.
The Chargers, undefeated in the 2018 conference standings at 8-0, paced the pack with six first-place votes and a total of 47 points. Hillsdale is looking to become the first program to repeat as conference championship winners.
The memorable 2018 run for the Chargers included a first-round playoff victory in the NCAA Championship on the road at Kutztown. Hillsdale boasted the league’s best scoring defense, giving up just under 20 points per game.
The Great Midwest is gearing up for its fourth season as a championship-sponsored sport after Alderson Broaddus (2016) and Ohio Dominican (2017) have staked claim to title runs.
After bunching up in a three-way tie for second last season, the same trio of Ohio Dominican, Findlay and Tiffin, were picked by the coaches to finish 2019 in similar fashion.
ODU was the preseason coaches poll runner-up with 40 points in the balloting; the Panthers figure to be contenders with gunslinger Evan Ernst behind center as the 2018 Great Midwest Freshman of the Year.
Earning the two other first-place votes was Findlay as the Oilers were polled third with 37 points. UF was tops in the conference in total offense, total defense and scoring offense, putting up over 41 points per game.
Tiffin, embarking on its second year as a conference member, came in fourth. QB Nick Watson and RB Kyle Brunson are a dangerous offensive combo with each finishing second in passing and rushing.
Walsh was voted to finish fifth while Alderson Broaddus was polled in sixth. New coaching eras are underway in Owensboro and Painesville with Kentucky Wesleyan and Lake Erie rounding out this year’s poll, respectively.
This season, eight teams will be in contention for the Great Midwest Championship trophy. As a member of Super Region 1 with the Mountain East Conference (MEC), Northeast 10 Conference (NE-10) and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the league will also look to showcase qualifiers in the national championship bracket once again.
Also at stake for G-MAC programs is a bid to the inaugural America’s Crossroads Bowl game against a Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent on Dec. 7 in Hobart, Ind. It is just the fifth bowl game currently played at the Division II level.
New faces will be roaming the sidelines with Cris Reisert, Craig Yeast and Reilly Murphy, going into their first year as head coach at Tiffin, Kentucky Wesleyan and Lake Erie, respectively.
A wave of some of the league’s most talented alumni have also moved on, including the following graduated players receiving invites to NFL training camps: Ashton Dulin (Malone), Trey Brock (Hillsdale), Cory Contini (Ohio Dominican), Charles Holland (Tiffin).
After playing three seasons as a league member, Malone announced it would discontinue its program back in February.
Week 1 of the regular season officially kicks off on Thursday, September 5, and the first conference contests are slated in Week 3 on Saturday the 21st.
Great Midwest Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Hillsdale (6 first-place votes) |
47 |
| 2. Ohio Dominican |
40 |
| 3. Findlay (2 first-place votes) |
37 |
| 4. Tiffin |
34 |
| 5. Walsh |
25 |
| 6. Alderson Broaddus |
21 |
| 7. Kentucky Wesleyan |
12 |
| 8. Lake Erie |
8 |