KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carroll College and Montana Tech were among three Frontier Conference teams to appear in the preseason NAIA coaches top 25 poll for the 2023 season.
The poll, released Monday, has Carroll at No. 15 and Tech at No. 16. Leading the Frontier is preseason conference favorite College of Idaho at No. 12.
C of I, which finished 8-2 overfall last season, received 237 voting points. Carroll got 144 points while Tech received 130.
🏈| The reigning #NAIAFootball champs @nwcraiders
— NAIA (@NAIA) August 21, 2023
begin the 2023 season atop the Coaches' Top 25!
Where does your team rank? --> https://t.co/kgVmApgqca#collegefootball #NAIAPoll pic.twitter.com/hpU17SmMJh
Carroll went 8-3 overall last season and earned a share of the Frontier title with C of I, though the Saints earned the league's automatic bid to the postseason. Tech was 7-3 overall last year. The Saints and Orediggers open this season against one another on Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. in Butte. The game will not count toward the conference standings.
The preseason No. 1 is defending NAIA champion Northwestern (Iowa) with 17 first-place votes and 418 points.
Frontier teams to appear in the receiving-votes category are newcomer Arizona Christian and Montana Western. To see the full NAIA preseason poll, click here.
