Hampton, Va. – For the second year in a row the Hampton University Pirates will open the season ranked No. 13 in the Sports Network Preseason I-AA Poll which was released today. Last year’s national champion Appalachian State garnered the No. 1 ranking with 68 of a possible 94 first place votes, while New Hampshire and Montana rounded out the top three.

The back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Pirates posted an 11-0 regular season in 2005, climbing as high as No. 2 in the I-AA polls before suffering a loss to the University of Richmond in the first round of the playoffs. Led by the MEAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in Alonzo Coleman and Justin Durant, the Pirates were picked to finish first in the MEAC by the league’s coaches and media. Hampton returns 47 lettermen and 13 starters to a squad that has posted a mark of 21-3 over the last two seasons, earning two Sheridan Broadcasting Network (SBN) Black College National Championships along the way.


The Sports Network 2006 Preseason I-AA College Football Poll

Team (First-place votes)
1. Appalachian State (68)
2. New Hampshire (14)
3. Montana (5)
4. Northern Iowa (3)
5. Furman (1)
6. Cal Poly (3)
7. Youngstown State
8. James Madison
9. Illinois State
10. Massachusetts
11. McNeese State
12. Georgia Southern
13. Hampton
14. Eastern Illinois
15. Richmond
16. Delaware
17. Southern Illinois
18. Texas State
19. North Dakota State
20. Eastern Kentucky
21. UC Davis
22. Montana State
23. Grambling State
24. Nicholls State
25. Coastal Carolina

Others receiving votes (in order of points, minimum of five required): Eastern Washington 307, Colgate 292, Idaho State 244, South Carolina State 233, Lafayette 228, Western Kentucky 179, Brown 149, Lehigh 100, Harvard 96, Portland State 92, Hofstra 91, Northwestern State 68, Southeastern Louisiana 37, Weber State 29, Alabama A & M 27, William & Mary 25, Jacksonville State 24, Missouri State 18, Penn 17, Southern 14, Chattanooga 13, Stephen F. Austin 12, Mississippi Valley State 11, South Dakota State 10, Wofford 9, Jackson State 8, Western Illinois 8, Alcorn State 7, Western Carolina 7, Murray State 6, Maine 5.