After making a great run to the national championship game last year, Minnesota State opens up 2015 as the preseason favorite to win it all.
This is the first time since the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches’ Poll started in 2000 that the Mavericks begin the season ranked No. 1.
Defending national champion Colorado State-Pueblo comes in at No. 2, receiving 16 first-place votes, the most of any team. They are followed by Minnesota Duluth, West Georgia and Northwest Missouri State, who round out the Top 5. The University of Sioux Falls ranks 17th in the preseason poll and St. Cloud State received votes.
There are only two Top 25 matchups in the first week of action, but we start the 2015 season off big as No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato plays host to No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth, with bragging rights for the top spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference on the line. The second Top 25 matchup has No. 10 Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) traveling to No. 23 West Chester (Pa.).
2015 American Football Coaches Association Preseason Division II Coaches’ Poll – August 17, 2015
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2014 Rec. | Pts. | 2014 Rank* | Season Opener |
| 1. | Minnesota State (9) | 14-1 | 751 | 2 | Sept. 3 vs. No. 3 Minnesota Duluth |
| 2. | Colorado St.-Pueblo (16) | 14-1 | 747 | 1 | Sept. 5 vs. Central Washington |
| 3. | Minnesota Duluth (3) | 13-1 | 648 | 3 | Sept. 3 at No. 1 Minnesota State |
| 4. | West Georgia (3) | 12-3 | 632 | 6 | Sept. 5 at Catawba (N.C.) |
| 5. | Northwest Missouri St. (1) | 10-2 | 623 | 14 | Sept. 3 at Nebraska-Kearney |
| 6. | Ferris St. (Mich.) | 11-1 | 601 | 11 | Sept. 12 vs. Northwood (Mich.) |
| 7. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 11-2 | 557 | 7 | Sept. 3 at Northeastern St. (Okla.) |
| 8. | Ohio Dominican | 11-2 | 526 | 4 | Sept. 3 at Malone (Ohio) |
| 9. | Concord (W.Va.) | 13-1 | 477 | 5 | Sept. 5 at West Liberty (W.Va.) |
| 10. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 11-1 | 431 | 8 | Sept. 3 at No. 23 West Chester (Pa.) |
| 11. | Bloomsburg (Pa.) | 11-2 | 422 | 12 | Sept. 5 vs. Stonehill (Mass.) |
| 12. | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 10-1 | 381 | 9 | Sept. 3 at East Central (Okla.) |
| 13. | Angelo St. (Texas) | 9-3 | 376 | 20 | Sept. 3 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle St. |
| 14. | Delta St. (Miss.) | 9-2 | 369 | 13 | Sept. 3 vs. Fort Valley St. (Ga.) |
| 15. | North Alabama | 9-2 | 358 | 16 | Sept. 6 vs. Miles (Ala.) |
| 16. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 10-3 | 286 | 10 | Sept. 5 at Albany St. (Ga.) |
| 17. | Sioux Falls (S.D.) | 11-1 | 277 | 18 | Sept. 5 vs. Mary (N.D.) |
| 18. | Colorado School of Mines | 10-2 | 189 | 19 | Sept. 5 vs. South Dakota School of Mines |
| 19. | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 10-1 | 175 | 23 | Sept. 3 at West Texas A&M |
| 20. | Winston-Salem St. (N.C.) | 9-2 | 142 | 24 | Sept. 3 at North Carolina-Pembroke |
| 21. | Harding (Ark.) | 9-2 | 129 | 17 | Sept. 5 at Oklahoma Baptist |
| 22. | Texas A&M-Commerce | 9-3 | 127 | NR | Sept. 3 vs. Adams St. (Colo.) |
| 23. | West Chester (Pa.) | 11-2 | 125 | 15 | Sept. 3 vs. No. 10 Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) |
| 24. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 6-5 | 119 | NR | Sept. 3 vs. Southwest Baptist (Mo.) |
| 25. | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 9-3 | 111 | NR | Sept. 5 at New Haven (Conn.) |
*– Ranking in final AFCA Division II Poll of 2014
Others Receiving Votes: Indianapolis (Ind.), 109; Tuskegee (Ala.), 101; Michigan Tech, 64; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 63; Ashland (Ohio), 56; Gannon (Pa.), 46; Shepherd (W.Va.), 46; West Texas A&M, 44; Virginia St., 41; Midwestern St. (Texas), 39; Albany St. (Ga.), 37; Central Missouri, 37; Henderson St. (Ark.), 28; American International (Mass.), 24; North Carolina-Pembroke, 12; Wayne St. (Mich.), 12; Central Washington, 11; Tarleton St. (Texas), 11; California (Pa.), 7; Charleston (W.Va.), 6; Truman St. (Mo.), 6; Central Oklahoma, 5; St. Cloud State (Minn.), 4; Humboldt St. (Calif.), 3; LIU-Post (N.Y.), 3; East Central (Okla.), 2; Newberry (S.C.), 2; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 1; Southeastern Oklahoma St., 1.
