LEBANON, Ill. – For the third consecutive season, the Great Lakes Valley Conference football coaches have unanimously picked the University of Indianapolis to win the GLVC Championship this fall, it was announced Friday at the third-annual GLVC Football Kickoff in Lebanon, Illinois.
The Greyhounds enter their third campaign as a football-playing member in the GLVC with an undefeated 15-0 conference mark. UIndy finished the 2013 season 10-2 overall and earned its second consecutive NCAA Divison II Playoff appearance. The Hounds received eight of the nine first-place votes only because conference bylaws do not permit a school to vote for itself. Indianapolis, which finished the 2013 campaign ranked 18
th in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll, returns 18 starters this season, including nine on offense, six on defense, and three special teams. Bob Bartolomeo is back for his fifth year on the sidelines, having guided UIndy to a 33-14 (.702) record during his tenure.
The Hounds saw 2013 GLVC Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year Klay Fiechter and 2012 first-team All-GLVC quarterback Chris Mills graduate, but Connor Barthel, who replaced an injured Mills at midseason, is back as the reigning first-team All-Conference signal caller. His primary targets Reece Horn and Greg Johnson also return after first-team All-GLVC seasons a year ago. Defensively, the Greyhounds ranked first in Division II last season in scoring defense (13.1 ppg), second in passing defense (157.7 ypg) and fifth in total defense (282.5 ypg). Back to anchor the unit is unanimous first-team All-Conference pick John Strickland at defensive back, as well as first-team defensive back Andre Smith, and lineman Lee Campbell in the trenches. Linebacker Derrick Bryant returns as the reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year. Scott Miller, the 2012 GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year, is back after earning first-team kicking and second-team punting honors last season.
Truman State came within the final minute of the regular season of earning a share of the GLVC Championship with Indianapolis last year, and has been tabbed as the unanimous pick to finish second in the league with 56 points. The Bulldogs completed their first year as a GLVC member with a 7-4 overall record, including a 5-2 mark in conference play that was good for a tie for second. Truman head coach Gregg Nesbitt returns for his fifth season in Kirksville, Missouri, fielding 16 returning players, led by a trio of first-team All-Conference seniors in running back Garrett White, lineman Nic Abbate and linebacker Matthew Bell.
Saint Joseph’s College garnered the third spot in the preseason poll with 50 points while picking up the other first-place vote. Cory Sanders is in his third year in
Rensselaer, Indiana and welcomes back a Pumas squad that is coming off an 8-3 campaign that included a 5-2 record in league action, good for second place. First-team All-GLVC honorees Braxton Shelton (RB), Tyler Callaghan (HB), Jake Styla (OL) and Gary Yeoman (LB) return for the Pumas.
Earning 38 points in the poll to lock down the No. 4 position is Missouri S&T. Following a 6-5 season in his inaugural year in Rolla, Missouri, Tyler Fenwick returns to the sidelines looking to build on the Miners’ 5-2 league record from last year.
Also returning with the whistle in his second season on campus is McKendree University’s Mike Babcock, who went 4-6 in his rookie year in Lebanon. The Bearcats turned in a 3-4 mark in GLVC action for fifth in the league standings, and now return in 2014 as the conference coaches’ fifth choice with 32 points.
Two newcomers are found in the next two positions in the poll as GLVC associate member Southwest Baptist University and Lincoln University registered 28 and 27 points, respectively, to rank sixth and seventh in the poll. The two squads move to the GLVC after several years in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Southwest Baptist recorded a 1-10 record (1-9 MIAA) in 2013, while Lincoln was 3-8 (2-8).
Closing out the poll in the No. 8 position is Quincy (2-9, 1-6), which garnered 15 points overall – one marker better than No. 9 William Jewell (3-8, 2-5).
The 2014 season begins on Thursday, Sept. 4, with a GLVC game right out of the gate as William Jewell hosts Southwest Baptist. McKendree also plays host to Ferris State on Thursday, while Quincy hits the road to Lindenwood-Belleville. The five other GLVC teams open on the road Saturday, Sept. 6.
|
2014 |
GLVC Preseason Poll |
Points (1sT) |
|
1. |
Indianapolis |
64 (8)* |
|
2. |
Truman State |
56 |
|
3. |
Saint Joseph’s |
50 (1) |
|
4. |
Missouri S&T |
38 |
|
5. |
McKendree |
32 |
|
6. |
Southwest Baptist |
28 |
|
7. |
Lincoln |
27 |
|
8. |
Quincy |
15 |
|
9. |
William Jewell |
14 |
|
|
*Conference bylaws do not permit a school to vote for itself |
|