LEBANON, Ill. – For the fourth consecutive season, the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) football coaches have unanimously picked the University of Indianapolis to win the GLVC Championship this fall, it was announced Friday at the fourth-annual GLVC Football Kickoff in Lebanon, Illinois.
The Greyhounds enter their fourth campaign as a football-playing member in the GLVC with a near undefeated 22-1 conference mark. UIndy, which finished the 2014 season 9-2 overall and 7-1 in league play, received eight of the nine first-place votes only because conference bylaws do not permit a school to vote for itself. Indianapolis returns 19 starters this season, including nine on offense, seven on defense, and three special teams. Bob Bartolomeo is back for his sixth year on the sidelines, having guided UIndy to a 42-16 (.724) record during his tenure.
The Hounds saw 2014 GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year and All-GLVC First Team selection Scott Miller graduate, but 2014 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year Reece Horn and two-time All-GLVC quarterback Connor Barthel both return to a potent offense full of All-GLVC honorees in their final seasons. The defense returns after finishing a year ago ranked third in passing yards allowed (139.5/game) while 11th in total defense (291.5 yds/game). Anchoring that defensive unit are senior defensive lineman Lee Campbell and junior linebacker Rob Dury, both first-team All-GLVC selections last year.
Truman State was one of four teams to finish in a tie for second place this past season – the second time in as many years – having tallied a 5-3 conference record. The Bulldogs garnered 52 points in the poll to finish second in the preseason. As a first-year member in 2013, TSU went 7-4 and 5-2 in the GLVC while nearly matching those marks with a 6-4 overall and 5-3 league mark just one year ago. Truman head coach Gregg Nesbitt returns for his sixth season in Kirksville, Missouri, fielding 16 returning players, led by a quartet of first-team All-Conference honorees in offensive lineman Brad Wellman, defensive lineman Nick Reichert, defensive back Austin Zoda and kick returner Derek Hammann.
Saint Joseph’s College garnered the third spot in the preseason poll with 47 points while picking up the other first-place vote. Daniel Day takes over the helm in Rensselaer, Indiana, and inherits a Pumas squad that is coming off an 8-3 campaign that included a 5-3 record in league action, good for a tie of second place. first-team All-GLVC honorees Braxton Shelton (RB), Jakob Styla (OL), Sheldon Martin (HB), Joel Wimbley (LB), Drew Byrd (DB) and Gary Yeoman (LB) return.
Earning 46 points in the poll to lock down the No. 4 position is McKendree University. Following a 5-6 season in his fourth year in Lebanon, Illinois, Mike Babcock returns to the sidelines looking to build on the Bearcats’ 5-3 league record from last year.
Also returning with the whistle in his fourth season on campus is Quincy University’s Tom Pajic, who went 6-5 overall and turned in a 4-4 mark in league play to finish sixth in standings at season’s end. The Hawks return in 2015 as the conference coaches’ fifth choice with 34 points.
Missouri S&T and William Jewell are found in the next two positions in the poll as the each registered 32 and 26 points, respectively, to rank sixth and seventh. The Miners recorded a 4-7 record and 3-5 in the GLVC in 2014, while the Cardinals tied for second among three other schools with a 5-3 league mark and tallied a 5-6 overall record.
Closing out the poll in the No. 8 position is Lincoln (2-9, 1-7), which garnered 12 points overall – one marker better than No. 9 Southwest Baptist (4-7, 1-7).
The 2015 season begins on Thursday, Sept. 3, with two schools hosting non-conference opponents and two others on the road against non-conference foes. UIndy will welcome Saginaw Valley State and Missouri S&T hosts Chadron State, while Saint Joseph’s will be at Edinboro and Southwest Baptist will travel to Grand Valley State. Four other GLVC teams (William Jewell, Truman State, Quincy and McKendree) open on Sept. 5, as three of them are on the road; while Quincy will have an additional week to prepare as it doesn’t begin until Sept. 12 on the road at Northern Michigan.
|
2015 |
GLVC Preseason Poll |
Points (1sT) |
|
1. |
Indianapolis |
64 (8)* |
|
2. |
Truman State |
52 |
|
3. |
Saint Joseph’s |
47 (1) |
|
4. |
McKendree |
46 |
|
5. |
Quincy |
34 |
|
6. |
Missouri S&T |
32 |
|
7. |
William Jewell |
26 |
|
8. |
Lincoln |
12 |
|
9. |
Southwest Baptist |
11 |
|
|
*Conference bylaws do not permit a school to vote for itself |
|