Wednesday, August 10, 2005

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - After finishing at No. 2 in last season's final Mid-Major poll, the Drake Bulldogs begin the 2005 season as the No. 1 team in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10. Drake, which comes off a 10-2 season where it won the Pioneer Football league, is a preseason Mid-Major No. 1 for the first time in school history, and in fact claims the No. 1 ranking for the first time. The Bulldogs began the 2004 season at No. 10, but were in every poll during the season and sat at No. 2 for the last four weeks. Drake received seven of a possible 17 first-place votes and 148 points to earn its first No. 1 nod.

The Monmouth Hawks, last season's recipient of The Sports Network Cup emblematic of the nation's top mid-major program, begin the 2005 season at No. 2 in the country. Monmouth's eight-first place votes led all teams in the poll, but the Hawks placed a close second to Drake with 140 points.

Monmouth's No. 2 preseason ranking is its highest in school history. The Hawks, defending champions of the Northeast Conference, were ranked in the top five throughout the 2004 season, including the last four weeks at No. 1.

Rounding out the top five are No. 3 Dayton, No. 4 Duquesne and No. 5 Robert Morris. Dayton spent six weeks at No. 1 in 2004, while Duquesne was the preseason pick for the top spot a year ago and has won the last six Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles. Robert Morris was ranked as high as No. 2 a year ago.

Closing out the Top 10 is No. 6 Central Connecticut State, No. 7 San Diego, No. 8 Morehead State, No. 9 Wagner and No. 10 Albany.

The Northeast Conference placed five teams in the poll, while the Pioneer Football League had four. Duquesne was the lone representative from the MAAC.

The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10 poll includes the 22 programs of the MAAC, NEC, and Pioneer Leagues, which play at a non-scholarship or limited scholarship level. An updated poll, which is based on the votes of selected media members and I-AA mid-major Sports Information Directors, will be announced each Monday during the regular season. The team voted first in the final I-AA mid-major poll will be the recipient of the Sports Network Cup.

The first Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10 poll of the regular season will be announced Monday, September 5th.

                                2004       2004
        Team (1sts)           Record   Pts Rank
   1.   Drake (7)               10-2   148    2
   2.   Monmouth (8)            10-1   140    1
   3.   Dayton                   7-3   114    6
   4.   Duquesne                 7-3   107    5
   5.   Robert Morris            6-5    90    8
   6.   Central Conn. St. (1)    8-2    89    3
   7.   San Diego (1)            7-4    80    4
   8.   Morehead State           6-6    41    9
   9.   Wagner                   6-5    34   10
  10.   Albany                   4-7    33   NR