AFCA CONTACT: Vince Thompson, Director of Media Relations, 254-754-9900
NORTH CENTRAL NO. 1 IN AFCA PRESEASON POLL, PRESENTED BY HUDL
WACO, TEX.– Last season’s national runner-up is the preseason favorite to win it all in Division III. North Central (Ill.) received 26 first-place votes and is the No. 1 team in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. The Cardinals went 14-1 in 2023, falling in the national championship game to the No. 2 team in the preseason poll, Cortland (N.Y.). The Red Dragons, who received 24 first-place votes, took home their first national title in 2023 and will begin defense of their championship on September 7 against Hilbert (N.Y.).
Wisconsin-Whitewater is the No. 3 team. The Warhawks lost in the quarterfinals of last year’s playoffs to Wartburg (Iowa), who is ranked No. 4. UW-Whitewater also has one of three top 25 matchups in the first week of action. The Warhawks will host No. 20 John Carroll (Ohio) on September 7. The other top 25 matchups have No. 7 Alma (Mich.) playing host to No. 17 Wisconsin-River Falls and No. 8 Johns Hopkins (Md.) traveling to No. 19 Ithaca (N.Y.).
2024 AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll, presented by Hudl – August 26, 2024
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2023 Rec. | Pts. | 2023 Rank* | Season Opener | Head Coach |
| 1 | North Central (Ill.) (26) | 14-1 | 1225 | 2 | Sept. 14 at No. 15 Aurora (Ill.) | Brad Spencer |
| 2 | Cortland (N.Y.) (24) | 14-1 | 1195 | 1 | Sept. 7 at Hilbert (N.Y.) | Curt Fitzpatrick |
| 3 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 11-2 | 1102 | 5 | Sept. 7 vs. No. 20 John Carroll (Ohio) | Jace Rindahl |
| 4 | Wartburg (Iowa) | 13-1 | 1057 | 3 | Sept. 7 at Monmouth (Ill.) | Chris Winter |
| 5 | Mount Union (Ohio) | 11-1 | 1042 | 9 | Sept. 7 at Ferrum (Va.) | Geoff Dartt |
| 6 | Wisconsin-La Crosse | 11-2 | 1008 | 4 | Sept. 5 at Rensselaer (N.Y.) | Matt Janus |
| 7 | Alma (Mich.) | 12-1 | 934 | 7 | Sept. 7 vs. No. 17 Wisconsin-River Falls | Jason Couch |
| 8 | Johns Hopkins (Md.) | 12-1 | 836 | 8 | Sept. 7 at No. 19 Ithaca (N.Y.) | Dan Wodicka |
| 9 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 10-2 | 779 | 13 | Sept. 7 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh | Jesse Scott |
| 10 | Randolph-Macon (Va.) | 13-1 | 738 | 6 | Sept. 6 at Dickinson (Pa.) | Pedro Arruza |
| 11 | Grove City (Pa.) | 11-1 | 697 | 10 | Sept. 7 vs. Geneva (Pa.) | Andrew DiDonato |
| 12 | Susquehanna (Pa.) | 10-1 | 604 | 14 | Sept. 6 vs. Bridgewater (Va.) | Tom Perkovich |
| 13 | Trinity (Tex.) | 10-2 | 600 | 11 | Sept. 7 vs. Texas Lutheran | Jerheme Urban |
| 14 | St. John’s (Minn.) | 8-2 | 577 | 22 | Sept. 7 vs. Carthage (Wis.) | Gary Fasching |
| 15 | Aurora (Ill.) | 11-1 | 529 | 12 | Sept. 6 at Dubuque (Iowa) | Don Beebe |
| 16 | Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) | 9-2 | 517 | 17 | Sept. 7 at Howard Payne (Tex.) | Jesse Burleson |
| 17 | Wisconsin-River Falls | 7-3 | 427 | NR | Sept. 7 at No. 7 Alma (Mich.) | Matt Walker |
| 18 | Endicott (Mass.) | 9-2 | 356 | 15 | Sept. 7 at St. Lawrence (N.Y.) | Paul McGonagle |
| 19 | Ithaca (N.Y.) | 9-3 | 294 | 18 | Sept. 7 vs. No. 8 Johns Hopkins (Md.) | Michael Toerper |
| 20 | John Carroll (Ohio) | 8-2 | 287 | 25 | Sept. 7 at No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater | Jeff Behrman |
| 21 | Muhlenberg (Pa.) | 10-1 | 248 | 19 | Sept. 7 at Moravian (Pa.) | Nate Milne |
| 22 | Linfield (Ore.) | 8-1 | 228 | 24 | Sept. 7 vs. Denison (Ohio) | Joseph Smith |
| 23 | Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) | 10-1 | 190 | NR | Sept. 7 at Thiel (Pa.) | Ryan Larsen |
| 24 | Berry (Ga.) | 9-1 | 177 | 23 | Sept. 7 at Huntingdon (Ala.) | Tony Kunczewski |
| 25 | Whitworth (Wash.) | 10-1 | 155 | 16 | Sept. 7 at Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) | Rod Sandberg |
*– Ranking in final AFCA Division III Poll of 2023
Others Receiving Votes: Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.), 111; Bethel (Minn.), 56; Wisconsin-Platteville, 52; Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 39; DePauw (Ind.), 37; Union (N.Y.), 35; Delaware Valley (Pa.), 23; Wabash (Ind.), 22; Coe (Iowa), 20; Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), 14; Illinois College, 10; Mount St. Joseph (Ohio), 7; Christopher Newport (Va.), 5; Washington (Mo.), 5; Belhaven (Miss.), 3; Rensselaer (N.Y.), 3; Huntingdon (Ala.), 2; Springfield (Mass.), 2; Central (Iowa), 1; Wisconsin-Stout, 1.
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