Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
D3football.com Preseason Top 25 Poll
Aug. 19, 2021 - The North Central College football team will enter the 2021 season as the No. 3-ranked NCAA Division III program in the nation, according to the annual Preseason Top 25 Poll released Wednesday by D3football.com.
The Cardinals' preseason ranking is its highest ever, surpassing No. 4 national rankings in 2009 and 2011. North Central won its first Division III national championship on Dec. 20, 2019, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 41-14, in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Shenandoah, Texas and finishing with an overall record of 14-1. The Cardinals have made the postseason in 12 of the past 15 seasons. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cardinals received 566 points and four first-place votes in the preseason voting. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) occupies the No. 1 spot with 10 of 25 first-place votes, followed by the University of Mount Union (Ohio) at No. 2. North Central defeated Mount Union, 59-52, on the Purple Raiders' home field in the second round of the 2019 postseason.
Ranked No. 4 behind North Central is Wisconsin-Whitewater, while College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Wheaton College is ranked fifth. Rounding out the top 10 are St. John's University (Minnesota), Hardin-Simmons University (Texas), Salisbury University (Maryland), the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Linfield University (Oregon).
North Central was also ranked third in the Lindy's Sports Annuals College Football Preview, which hit newsstands nationwide in June, and was picked to finish second behind Wheaton in the CCIW this season in the conference's annual Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Cardinals open the 2021 season on Sept. 11, hosting No. 23-ranked Aurora University, before traveling to Wheaton Sept. 18 for the annual Battle for the Little Brass Bell. Click HERE for the full 2021 schedule.
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