Northwest Missouri State football received one first place vote and is ranked third in the nation after going 11-3 last season. Missouri Western will enter the season ranked #18 in the nation while Central Missouri also received votes in the preseason poll. All three of those teams will get underway on Aug. 30 as league play begins and will feature #18 Missouri Western hosting Central Missouri and #3 Northwest Missouri will host East Central in a non-conference match up.
Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Rank* Season Opener Head Coach
1. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) (21) 13-1 720 1 Aug. 30 at Northeastern St. (Okla.) Tim Beck
2. Minnesota-Duluth (5) 11-3 661 6 Aug. 30 at Southwest Minnesota St. Bob Nielson
3. Northwest Missouri St. (1) 11-3 613 5 Aug. 30 vs. East Central (Okla.) Adam Dorrel
4. Midwestern St. (Texas) (1) 10-1 582 7 Sept. 8 at Tarleton St. (Texas) Bill Maskill
5. Wayne St. (Mich.) (1) 12-4 502 2 Sept. 8 at Ashland (Ohio) Paul Winters
6. Colorado St.-Pueblo 11-1 481 9 Aug. 30 vs. No. 24 West Texas A&M John Wristen
7. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 8-3 473 NR Sept. 1 at Western Oregon Matt Mitchell
8. Valdosta St. (Ga.) 6-4 415 NR Sept. 1 at Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) David Dean
9. Winston-Salem St. (N.C.) (1) 13-1 386 3 Sept. 1 vs. North Carolina-Pembroke Connell Maynor
10. Abilene Christian (Texas) 8-3 367 16 Sept. 1 vs. McMurry (Texas) Ken Collums
11. California (Pa.) 10-3 347 15 Aug. 30 vs. No. 17 Hillsdale (Mich.) Mike Kellar
12. Kutztown (Pa.) 11-2 329 13 Aug. 30 vs. St. Anselm (N.H.) Raymond Monica
13. New Haven (Conn.) 11-2 322 8 Sept. 1 vs. Merrimack (Mass.) Peter Rossomando
14. Delta St. (Miss.) 11-3 290 4 Sept. 1 vs. Fort Valley St. (Ga.) Jamey Chadwell
15. West Alabama 8-4 274 23 Sept. 1 at Clark Atlanta (Ga.) Will Hall
16. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 9-3 266 17 Aug. 30 vs. Sioux Falls (S.D.) Scott Underwood
17. Hillsdale (Mich.) 8-3 228 NR Aug. 30 at No. 11 California (Pa.) Keith Otterbein
18. Missouri Western St. 9-3 218 18 Aug. 30 vs. Central Missouri Jerry Partridge
19. Shepherd (W.Va.) 9-2 199 22 Sept. 1 at Shippensburg (Pa.) Monte Cater
20. Washburn (Kan.) 10-3 187 11 Aug. 30 vs. Nebraska-Kearney Craig Schurig
21. Humboldt St. (Calif.) 9-1 183 20 Aug. 30 vs. Colorado Mesa Rob Smith
22. Albany St. (Ga.) 8-4 149 NR Sept. 1 vs. No. 23 North Greenville (S.C.) Mike White
23. North Greenville (S.C.) 11-3 139 12 Sept. 1 at No. 22 Albany St. (Ga.) Carroll McCray
24. West Texas A&M 8-3 132 25 Aug. 30 at No. 6 Colorado St.-Pueblo Don Carthel
25. Bloomsburg (Pa.) 9-2 129 21 Aug. 31 at Stonehill (Mass.) Danny Hale
*– Ranking in final AFCA Division II Poll of 2011
Others Receiving Votes: Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 128; North Alabama, 128; Nebraska-Kearney, 122; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 100; Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 96; Central Missouri, 72;