KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University football team secured its second top 10 preseason national ranking this week, checking in 10th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Poll.

The Golden Bears are coming off a historic season in which they won a program-record 12 consecutive games on their way to PSAC East, PSAC and Super Region I titles. Kutztown advanced to the NCAA DII semifinals for the first time in program history before falling to top-ranked and eventual national runner-up Colorado School of Mines to finish the 2023 season with a 12-3 record.

Kutztown, No. 7 in the final 2023 AFCA DII Poll, enters the new season with the highest ranking among PSAC and Super Region I teams. Slippery Rock is the only other PSAC team in the Top 25 at No. 11, while Charleston (W.Va.) represents SR1 at No. 23. The Golden Bears defeated Charleston, 32-31, in a thriller during the NCAA Second Round last fall, before going on to beat Slippery Rock for the SR1 championship. KU also took down The Rock, 31-7, in the 2023 PSAC Championship Game.

Outside of the Top 25, four PSAC teams received votes in the Preseason Poll: California (Pa.) (12), Shepherd (8), East Stroudsburg (2) and IUP (1).

Defending national champion Harding claimed the top spot in the poll with 25 first-place votes. Central Missouri, Ferris State, Grand Valley State and Colorado School of Mines made up the rest of the top five.

Last month, Kutztown earned the No. 9 spot in the Lindy's Sports Top 25 Poll. The Golden Bears open their 2024 campaign with a Thursday night matchup against Assumption at Andre Reed Stadium on Sept. 5.
 

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2024 AFCA DIVISION II PRESEASON POLL
 

Rank	Team	2023 Record	Pts.	2023 Rank
1	Harding (Ark.) (25)	15-0	672	1
2	Central Missouri	11-2	620	6
3	Ferris St. (Mich.) (1)	8-3	590	9
4	Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (1)	11-2	566	3
5	Colorado School of Mines	14-1	564	2
6	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	11-2	540	5
7	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	12-2	516	8
8	Central Washington	9-4	418	17
9	Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)	13-2	416	4
10	Kutztown (Pa.) *	12-3	413	7
11	Slippery Rock (Pa.) *	12-2	384	10
12	West Florida	8-4	330	23
13	Minnesota St.	9-3	232	21
14	Augustana (S.D.)	11-2	231	13
15	Western Colorado	10-2	230	15
16	Indianapolis (Ind.)	9-2	216	22
17	Minnesota-Duluth	9-2	214	25
18	Delta St. (Miss.)	10-2	212	11
19	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	9-2	209	NR
20	Virginia Union	10-2	183	20
21	Texas-Permian Basin	10-2	169	18
22	Northwest Missouri St.	7-4	167	NR
23	Charleston (W.Va.) *	10-2	102	19
24	Angelo St. (Tex.)	7-3	89	NR
25	Bemidji St. (Minn.)	9-3	70	16

Others Receiving Votes: Benedict (S.C.), 64; Henderson St. (Ark.), 56; Virginia St., 54; Tiffin (Ohio), 34 *; Southern Arkansas, 24; Ashland (Ohio), 21 *; Davenport (Mich.), 21; Wingate (N.C.), 20; Emporia St. (Kan.), 18; Colorado St.-Pueblo, 17; Albany St. (Ga.), 15; Findlay (Ohio), 14 *; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 12; California (Pa.), 11 *; Oklahoma Baptist, 11; Shepherd (W.Va.), 8 *; New Haven (Conn.), 7 *; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 6; Wayne St. (Neb.), 3; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 2 *; Truman St. (Mo.), 2; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 1; Indiana (Pa.), 1 *.

* Super Region 1 Teams