INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis was voted atop the 2021 preseason Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) football coaches’ poll, the league office announced on Friday.
The preseason poll is selected by the league’s eight head coaches and are not permitted to vote for their own team.
UIndy received five of the possible eight first-place votes, while Lindenwood University collected 44 points and three first-place votes to finish second. Truman State University, Missouri S&T, and McKendree University round out the top five, while Southwest Baptist University, William Jewell College, and Quincy University close the 10th edition of the league preseason poll in the sport of football.
The Greyhounds won their Conference-best seventh GLVC football crown this past April, downing Truman in the inaugural league title game in the spring-shortened season. UIndy returns seventh-year quarterback Bryce Stancombe, who threw for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns in just three games, completing 75.3 percent of his passes. Head coach Chris Keevers enters his third season at the helm of the program, recording a 12-2 mark with a playoff appearance in 2019. Reigning GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year Daveon Bell has one year remaining for the Greyhounds, earning All-America honors in 2019 as a return specialist. Sophomores Michael Brown (18 tackles) and Kasyus Kurns (2 interceptions) also return to help lead a young defensive unit. In 2019, Al McKeller and Toriano Clinton combined to rush for 1,856 yards and 22 touchdowns. Both return in 2021.
Lindenwood claimed the 2019 GLVC football trophy in its lone season of competition, as it did not compete this past spring. Quarterback Cade Brister and linebacker Drew Seers return, coming off GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and GLVC Defensive Player of the Year campaigns, respectively, in 2019. Brister tossed for 39 touchdowns across 13 contests, averaging 290.7 yards per game for a total of 3,779 yards, while Seers recorded 175 tackles, three quarterback hits, and a pair of fumble recoveries. The Lions appeared in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2019.
After being voted GLVC Freshman of the Year this spring, Truman’s Nolan Hair returns for his sophomore campaign after throwing for 818 yards and nine touchdowns in four games. Cody Schrader (101.3 yards per game) and Ben Watson (18 tackles) also return to Kirksville for the 2021 fall season.
Like their respective preseason position, S&T (No. 4), McKendree (No. 5), and Quincy (No. 6) finished the 2019 season in the standings. William Jewell head coach Mike McGlinchey, who enters his first full season in Liberty, was picked to finish seventh.
The 2021 GLVC champion will be determined by the results of the round-robin league schedule. Co-Champions will be named in a result of a tie, such as in 2016 when Southwest Baptist and Truman
shared the crown.
The complete voting results can be found below.
2021 GLVC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Place |
School |
Points (first-place votes) |
| 1. |
Indianapolis |
47 (5) |
| 2. |
Lindenwood |
44 (3) |
| 3. |
Truman |
37 |
| 4. |
Missouri S&T |
32 |
| 5. |
McKendree |
24 |
| 6. |
Southwest Baptist |
19 |
| 7. |
William Jewell |
12 |
| 8. |
Quincy |
9 |