KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion and national semifinalist Kutztown football team will once again be viewed as a top team in the country this fall as KU was ranked ninth in the preseason Division II national poll published in the annual Lindy's Sports College Football Preview magazine.

It will be hard for the Golden Bears to top the 2023 season, arguably their best season in program history. They finished the season with a 12-3 overall record, a program best for victories in a single season. They went on a program-record 12-game winning streak to claim their sixth PSAC Eastern Division title, third PSAC championship and first-ever Super Region 1 crown, advancing to the national semifinal round for the first time in program history. Kutztown was voted seventh in the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II National poll, a high for the program.

KU recorded wins against five nationally-ranked opponents in 2023, including four in-a-row in the postseason before falling to No. 1 Colorado School of Mines in the national semifinals.

Defending national champion Harding sits atop the Lindy's Sports poll, followed by Central Missouri, Pittsburg State, Ferris State and Valdosta State. Mines is sixth with Grand Valley State, Central Washington, Kutztown and Slippery Rock rounding out the top 10. KU and Rock are the lone teams ranked from the PSAC.

The Maroon and Gold look to win their third PSAC title in the last four seasons in 2024 and fourth divisional crown in the last five seasons. Along with PSAC East and Super Region I Coach of the Year in head coach Jim Clements, KU returns East Freshman of the Year Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central), along with PSAC First Teamers in Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) and Nate Millard (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone), along with Second Teamers Novak and Billy Everitt (Abington, Pa./Abington).