(RMC Athletics release)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Rocky Mountain College football team will open the 2018 season with a No. 20 national ranking based on the 2018 NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 preseason poll, released on Monday by the national office.
Rocky – picked second in a poll of Frontier Conference coaches last week – received 75 points in the poll to break into the top 25 for the first time since being 25th in the poll on October 3, 2016. There have been 20 polls released since the Battlin’ Bears last appeared among the list of 25.
This No. 20 ranking is the highest by a Rocky team since they were ranked 13th in the poll on October 20, 2014. NAIA poll history dates back to the start of the 2000 season and this is just the fourth time Rocky has been ranked in the preseason poll. The team’s highest preseason ranking was No. 5 in the 2000 season.
The Battlin’ Bears are four days into fall camp as they prepare for their season opener against Carroll on August 23.
Southern Oregon is the only other ranked Frontier Conference team entering at No. 4.
2018 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (August 6, 2018)
| RANK | PREVIOUS | SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Saint Francis (Ind.) (16) | 14-0 | 366 |
| 2 | 2 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 12-1 | 349 |
| 3 | 3 | Morningside (Iowa) | 13-1 | 340 |
| 4 | 4 | Southern Oregon | 12-1 | 324 |
| 5 | 5 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 11-1 | 310 |
| 6 | 6 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 10-2 | 296 |
| 7 | 7 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 9-2 | 268 |
| 7 | 8 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 10-3 | 268 |
| 9 | 9 | Baker (Kan.) | 10-2 | 259 |
| 10 | 11 | Grand View (Iowa) | 9-3 | 231 |
| 11 | 10 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 8-2 | 227 |
| 12 | 12 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 9-3 | 197 |
| 13 | 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 9-2 | 178 |
| 14 | 13 | Langston (Okla.) | 10-1 | 177 |
| 15 | 18 | Marian (Ind.) | 7-3 | 167 |
| 16 | 15 | Concordia (Mich.) | 9-2 | 163 |
| 17 | 16 | Sterling (Kan.) | 9-3 | 159 |
| 18 | 17 | Tabor (Kan.) | 8-2 | 95 |
| 19 | 20 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 8-2 | 86 |
| 20 | NR | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 6-5 | 75 |
| 21 | 21 | Kansas Wesleyan | 8-3 | 67 |
| 22 | 19 | SAGU (Texas) | 8-3 | 51 |
| 22 | NR | Arizona Christian | 7-3 | 51 |
| 24 | 22 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 7-3 | 46 |
| 25 | 23 | Dakota State (S.D.) | 8-3 | 44 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Oklahoma Panhandle State, Evangel (Mo.)
Others Receiving Votes: Montana Tech (44), Evangel (Mo.) (17), Oklahoma Panhandle State (15), St. Francis (Ill.) (12), College of Idaho (10), William Penn (Iowa) (10), Missouri Valley (9), Midland (Neb.) (8), Bluefield (Va.) 3
