National-Best Seven CAA Football Squads Ranked
RICHMOND, Va. (August 15, 2011) -- Seven of CAA Football's 11 squads appeared in the first Top 25 of the season as The Sports Network/Fathead.com debuted its 2011 poll Monday. CAA Football's total is three more than any other conference represented in the preseason poll, and one more than it began the 2010 season with in the same poll.
William and Mary, selected to win the league's championship by its head coaches earlier this preseason, logged 20 first-place votes and will begin the season at No. 3. The Tribe, and CAA Football's next highest ranked squad Delaware (No. 5), extended streaks to 13-consective weeks ranked among the poll's Top-10. The Blue Hens (2) were one of four CAA Football squads to receive first-place votes, including William and Mary, No. 10 New Hampshire (1) and No. 14 Villanova (2). James Madison (No. 15), Richmond (No. 16) and Massachusetts (No. 25) round out the league's seven ranked teams. The Spiders and Minutemen return to the poll for the first time since dropping out at the end of the 2010 regular season, while the Dukes were last part of the poll Nov. 1, 2010.
In addition to its seven among the Top 25, three more league squads logged votes in the polling process including Maine (10 points), Rhode Island (11 points) and Old Dominion (5 points).
CAA Football is poised for yet another run at the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2011. The league, which will welcome Old Dominion to its fold in in 2011, returns six All-Americans and 12 First Team All-CAA Football award winners from 2010. CAA Football has seen one of its league members advance to the Division I National Championship game seven of the last eight seasons and each of the last five years. Delaware and James Madison (2003-04) and Richmond and Villanova (2008-09) twice earned consecutive National Championships for the league in its championship appearance span dating back to 2003. CAA Football will again add to its full-time member roster in 2012 when Georgia State joins the fold.
You can share your CAA football thoughts, ideas and photos with us now at facebook.com/CAAFootball. CAA Football is blogging at caafootballblog.com...be sure to checkout the official blog of CAA Football to find all sorts of information that might not be at CAAFootball.com. CAA Football is also on Twitter...Fans from all 11 schools can get up-to-date information by following the league at twitter.com/The_CAAFootball. The league also encourages fans to visit us on YouTube: youtube.com/CAAFootball. Logon now and subscribe to see the latest video productions from CAA Football.
| Team
(First-place votes) |
Record |
Points |
Previous Rank |
| 1. Eastern Washington
(90) |
13-2 |
3,377 |
1 |
| 2. Appalachian State (14) |
10-3 |
3,142 |
4 |
| 3. William and Mary (20) |
8-4 |
3,110 |
10 |
| 4. Georgia Southern (11) |
10-5 |
3,095 |
5 |
| 5. Delaware Blue (2) |
12-3 |
2,806 |
20 |
| 6. Montana State |
9-3 |
2,623 |
11 |
| 7. Northern Iowa |
7-5 |
2,452 |
19 |
| 8. Wofford |
10-3 |
2,357 |
6 |
| 9. Jacksonville State |
9-3 |
2,028 |
12 |
| 10. New Hampshire (1) |
8-5 |
2,025 |
7 |
| 11. North Dakota State |
9-5 |
1,720 |
9 |
| 12. Montana |
7-4 |
1,668 |
20 |
| 13. Lehigh |
10-3 |
1,351 |
14 |
| 14. Villanova (2) |
9-5 |
1,262 |
3 |
| 15. James Madison |
6-5 |
1,247 |
NR |
| 16. Richmond |
6-5 |
987 |
NR |
| 17. Stephen F. Austin |
9-3 |
969 |
8 |
| 18. Central Arkansas |
7-4 |
961 |
NR |
| 19. Southern Illinois |
5-6 |
934 |
NR |
| 20. McNeese State |
6-5 |
701 |
NR |
| 21. Chattanooga |
6-5 |
672 |
NR |
| 22. Liberty |
8-3 |
630 |
21 |
| 23. South Carolina State |
9-3 |
628 |
16 |
| 24. Sacramento State |
6-5 |
587 |
NR |
| 25. Massachusetts |
6-5 |
519 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Penn 456, Bethune-Cookman 425, Southeast Missouri State 341, Murray State 315, Western Illinois 247, Southern Utah 240, Jacksonville 215, Cal Poly 168, Stony Brook 163, Grambling State 146, Eastern Kentucky 139, Jackson State 76, Florida A&M 76, Colgate 75, Sam Houston State 75, Harvard 54, Indiana State 51, UC Davis 48, South Dakota State 40, Youngstown State 28, Central Connecticut State 26, Coastal Carolina 25, Dayton 21, Northwestern State 20, Northern Arizona 18, Elon 16, Yale 15, Weber State 13, Illinois State 12, Tennessee Tech 12, Rhode Island 11, Maine 10, Albany 10, Texas Southern 10, Northern Colorado 10, Furman 10, Brown 8, South Dakota 7, Old Dominion 5, Columbia 5, Missouri State 2, Robert Morris 2, Hampton 1, Duquesne 1, UT Martin 1.