WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football is the top team among
the receiving votes section of the AFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, released on
Monday (Aug. 16). The Tigers received 90 votes in the poll, just five votes shy
of cracking the Top 25. Fort Hays State is among six teams from the MIAA
referenced in the poll, two of which are among the Top 25.
Northwest Missouri State (No. 4) and Central Missouri (No. 13) are the two
teams representing the MIAA in the Top 25 to open the season. The pair tied for
the MIAA regular season crown back in 2019, both finishing at 10-1 in
conference play. Fort Hays State tied Central Missouri in the MIAA Preseason
Coaches Poll, which forecasted a second-place finish for either team, while
Central Missouri was picked second alone in the Media Poll with FHSU close
behind in voting for third.
Joining the Tigers from the MIAA among teams receiving votes are Pittsburg
State, Nebraska-Kearney, and Missouri Western. PSU, UNK, and MWSU combined for
13 votes in the poll.
Week one will feature a premier matchup when No. 4 ranked Northwest Missouri
State comes to Hays for the season opener on September 2. It will be the
second-straight trip for the Bearcats to Hays after they escaped with a 36-33
double-overtime win in 2019. Prior to that, FHSU claimed a pair of one-point
victories on Northwest Missouri’s home turf in 2017 and 2018 on the way to
claiming MIAA regular season titles.
Below is the AFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll for 2021.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Rank* |
| 1 | West Florida (26) | 13-2 | 698 | 1 |
| 2 | Minnesota State (2) | 14-1 | 673 | 2 |
| 3 | Ferris State (Mich.) | 12-1 | 630 | 3 |
| 4 | Northwest Missouri State (1) | 12-2 | 575 | 7 |
| 5 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 13-1 | 544 | 6 |
| 6t. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 13-1 | 540 | 4 |
| 6t. | Valdosta State (Ga.) | 10-1 | 540 | 5 |
| 8 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 10-3 | 520 | 11 |
| 9 | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 12-2 | 501 | 10 |
| 10 | Colorado School of Mines | 12-1 | 423 | 8 |
| 11 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 11-1 | 387 | 14 |
| 12 | Colorado State-Pueblo | 11-2 | 327 | 12 |
| 13 | Central Missouri | 11-2 | 323 | 13 |
| 14 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 9-2 | 261 | 17 |
| 15 | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 10-3 | 256 | 22 |
| 16 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 8-3 | 231 | NR |
| 17 | Indiana (Pa.) | 10-2 | 220 | 21 |
| 18 | Bowie State (Md.) | 11-1 | 210 | 18 |
| 19 | Tiffin (Ohio) | 9-2 | 188 | 23 |
| 20 | Kutztown (Pa.) | 11-2 | 144 | 16 |
| 21 | Lindenwood (Mo.) | 9-4 | 134 | 25 |
| 22 | Harding (Ark.) | 10-2 | 120 | 15 |
| 23 | Minnesota-Duluth | 8-3 | 100 | NR |
| 24t. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | 9-3 | 95 | 20 |
| 24t. | Wingate (N.C.) | 10-2 | 95 | 16 |
Others Receiving Votes:Fort Hays State, 90; Tusculum (Tenn.), 52; Angelo St. (Texas), 49; Augustana (S.D.), 42; Ashland (Ohio), 38; West Chester (Pa.), 38; Delta St. (Miss.), 35; West Texas A&M, 26; Midwestern St. (Texas), 25; Bentley (Mass.), 24; Henderson St. (Ark.), 24; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 23; UT-Permian Basin (Texas), 23; Ohio Dominican, 20; Findlay (Ohio), 18; West Alabama, 18; California (Pa.), 17; Charleston (W.Va.), 16; Central Washington, 15; Miles (Ala.), 15; Truman St. (Mo.), 15; Oklahoma Baptist, 14; Assumption (Mass.), 9; Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 8; Wayne St. (Mich.), 8; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 6; Virginia Union, 6; Chadron St. (Neb.), 4; Nebraska-Kearney, 4; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 2; West Georgia, 2; Hillsdale (Mich.), 1; Missouri Western, 1; Virginia St., 1; Western Oregon, 1.