ST. LOUIS – The Drake University football team is picked third in the 2021 Pioneer Football League standings in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, the PFL office announced Tuesday, July 27.
Drake received 67 points for a third-place nod behind Davidson (97) and San Diego (93). Davidson, which snapped San Diego's streak of PFL regular-season titles at six this past spring, received eight first-place votes. The Toreros received the remaining three first-place votes and were tabbed second on the other seven ballots. Dayton rounds out the top four with 62 points. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
The upcoming 2021 season marks the 29th year for the PFL – the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The league will feature 11 teams each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.
Presbyterian, which will make its first run at the league title this season, got 59 points and a fifth-place nod from the league's head coaches. Valparaiso (55 points) and Morehead State (51) followed in sixth and seventh place. Newcomer St. Thomas was picked to finish eighth (36 points) in its first PFL season. Marist and Stetson followed in a tie for ninth place (35 points each) with Butler (15) rounding out the 11-team poll.
The 2021 season gets underway Thursday, Sept. 2 when Drake hosts West Virginia Wesleyan and the rest of the league gets underway Saturday, Sept. 4. The 2021 PFL slate begins in Week 4 (Sept. 14) with a full five-game slate of league contests.
The PFL will announce its 2021 Preseason All-PFL team on Wednesday.
Pioneer Football League
2021 Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Davidson (8) |
97 |
| 2. |
San Diego (3) |
93 |
| 3. |
Drake |
67 |
| 4. |
Dayton |
62 |
| 5. |
Presbyterian |
59 |
| 6. |
Valparaiso |
55 |
| 7. |
Morehead St. |
51 |
| 8. |
St. Thomas |
36 |
| 9. |
Marist |
35 |
| |
Stetson |
35 |
| 11. |
Butler |
15 |
