Three Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) teams are ranked in the preseason NAIA Football Top 25 to open the 2017 season.
Defending GPAC champion Morningside is picked 4th after a 10-2 season in which they won the league title with an 8-0 record. Doane is tabbed at #11 in the preseason after a 9-2 season (7-1 GPAC). Both Morningside and Doane advanced to the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS). The Mustangs lost in the second round to eventual National Champion Saint Francis (Ind.) who is the number one pick to open the new season. The Tigers lost in the first round of the FCS to Eastern Oregon. Dakota Wesleyan is also in the Top-25 at #17 after an 8-3 season last fall (7-2 GPAC).
Saint Francis (Ind.) retained the No. 1 slot in the poll after having claimed their first title in 2016. The Cougars claimed all of the first-place votes and earned 366 total points to remain in the top spot.