INDIANAPOLIS – Preparation for a six-game league schedule slated to kick off in mid-March is fully underway as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Spring Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour was released on Thursday morning.
Seven teams are in the mix for a spring conference championship trophy, which is determined by the final regular season standings. The originally scheduled fall season of 2020 was delayed and pushed back to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That being said, it will be an unconventional playing season with no NCAA Championship and no bid into what would have been the second edition of the America’s Crossroads Bowl hosted by Hobart, Ind., against a Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent.
Great Midwest football programs just recently celebrated their National Signing Day classes and on top of that, are figuring out how to prepare their student-athletes for the 2021 fall season as everyone strives for normalcy in their playing seasons.
Ashland University is also transitioning from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) into the Great Midwest for the 2021 season as the league’s eighth playing member institution.
Coaches are also still sorting out who or may not be on the gridiron for Week 1 with student-athletes having the opportunity to opt out and retain their year of eligibility if they choose to do so. Others may also be pursuing professional opportunities that former conference standouts Keelan Cole (Kentucky Wesleyan), Ashton Dulin (Malone), Jason Moore (Findlay) and others have latched on to with NFL rosters.
Tiffin went out of the 2019 season under head coach Cris Reisert on top of the conference standings and still retains that title of defending league champion. The Dragons earned their place in the NCAA Championship bracket and figure to carry over a number of explosive offensive weapons back in the fold.
Tiffin was picked by the coaches to finish on top, though the margin was close. The Dragons earned 34 total points in the balloting along with four first-place votes.
Two other programs received first-place votes including Findlay (2) and Ohio Dominican (1). ODU, coached by Kelly Cummings, was the Great Midwest representative in the 2019 America’s Crossroads Bowl against Truman State as LB Camren Moore was named Defensive Player of the Game.
The Oilers are guided by head coach Rob Keys and were the official preseason coaches poll runner-up with 28 total points. Ohio Dominican was close behind with 26. Hillsdale was picked fourth with 25 points and the Chargers have consistently found themselves in the upper tier chasing a championship.
Walsh is slotted in fifth with 15 points while Lake Erie comes in sixth with 10 points and Kentucky Wesleyan rounds things out with 9 points, respectively.
The first game of the 2021 spring will be a non-conference contest between Hillsdale and Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, March 6. Week 1 of the conference schedule debuts on Thursday, March 11, between Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie. Saturday’s Week 1 games include Tiffin at Walsh and Findlay at Hillsdale.
Great Midwest Spring Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Tiffin (4 first-place votes) |
34 |
| 2. Findlay (2 first-place votes) |
28 |
| 3. Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) |
26 |
| 4. Hillsdale |
24 |
| 5. Walsh |
15 |
| 6. Lake Erie |
10 |
| 7. Kentucky Wesleyan |
9 |