LEBANON, Ill. – For the fifth 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 fifth-annual GLVC Football Kickoff in Lebanon, Illinois.
The Greyhounds enter their fifth campaign as a football-playing member in the GLVC with a near undefeated 30-1 Conference mark. UIndy, which finished the 2015 season 10-2 overall and 8-0 in league play, received 64 points and eight of the nine first-place votes, as Conference bylaws do not permit a school to vote for itself. Indianapolis returns 18 starters this season, including seven on offense, eight on defense, and three special teams. Reigning GLVC Coach of the Year, Bob Bartolomeo, is back for his seventh year on the sidelines, having guided UIndy to a 52-18 (.742) record during his tenure.
The Hounds saw 2015 GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year and unanimous All-GLVC First Team selection Reece Horne graduate, but 2013 GLVC Freshman of the Year and 2015 All-GLVC First Team member Derrick Bryant – along with six other first-team honorees from a year ago – return to lead a strong contingent on both sides of the ball. Bryant and the defense are joined by Rob Dury, who is a two-time All-GLVC First Team and First Team All-Region selection. And despite the loss of Horne, four of the seven offensive starters returning were All-GLVC performers in 2015.
McKendree University finished second this past season, having tallied a 6-2 Conference record. The Bearcats garnered 56 points in the poll to finish second in the preseason, while picking up the other first-place vote. McKendree head coach Mike Babcock returns for his fourth season in Lebanon, Illinois, fielding 20 returning starters led by A.J. Wentland and five other All-GLVC defensemen.
Missouri S&T garnered the third spot in the preseason poll with 44 points after going 5-5 overall and 5-3 in the GLVC and finishing third in the standings, improving upon its 2015 preseason selection in sixth.
Earning 43 points in the poll to lock down the No. 4 position is Truman State University. Following a 5-6 season in his sixth year in Kirksville, Missouri, Gregg Nesbitt returns to the sidelines looking to build on the Bulldogs’ 4-4 GLVC record from last year.
After being chosen last in the 2015 preseason poll and finishing with a 3-5 league mark to tie for sixth at the end of last season, Southwest Baptist has earned 39 points to be selected fifth this preseason.
Saint Joseph’s and Quincy are found in the next two positions in the poll as just one point separated the two at 26 and 25, respectively. Closing out the poll in the No. 8 position is William Jewell, which garnered 19 points overall ahead of ninth-place Lincoln with eight points.
The 2016 season begins on Thursday, Sept. 1, with two schools hosting non-conference opponents. McKendree will welcome Angelo State and Southwest Baptist will play Eastern New Mexico. The seven other GLVC teams (Indianapolis, Lincoln, Missouri S&T, Quincy, Saint Joseph’s, Truman State, and William Jewell) open on Sept. 3 with three of them on the road, including Quincy at Division I Drake University.
| 2016 |
GLVC Preseason Poll |
Points (1st) |
| 1. |
Indianapolis |
64 (8)* |
| 2. |
McKendree |
56 (1) |
| 3. |
Missouri S&T |
44 |
| 4. |
Truman State |
43 |
| 5. |
Southwest Baptist |
39 |
| 6. |
Quincy |
26 |
| 7. |
Saint Joseph’s |
25 |
| 8. |
William Jewell |
19 |
| 9. |
Lincoln |
8 |
|
*Conference bylaws prohibit a school to vote for itself |
|