Central Football Ranked Seventh in Sporting News Preseason Poll

Wildcats Tabbed Among Division II's Best Entering 2010 Season

Third-year head coach Blaine Bennett and the Wildcats are ranked seventh in the Sporting News Division II preseason top 25 poll.

ELLENSBURG (July 2) -- On the heels of a school-record 12 wins and the most successful season since joining the NCAA Division II, the Central Washington University football team is ranked seventh in the 2010 Sporting News Division II preseason poll.

The Wildcats, who were the top-ranked team in Division II football at the conclusion of the 2009 regular season and were ranked third nationally at the conclusion of the playoffs, are tabbed seventh by the publication in its 2010 preseason top 25 that appears in its annual preview magazine available on newsstands now.

Last year, Central matched its furthest advancement in the NCAA postseason in school history by advancing to the Division II quarterfinals, a round in which the Wildcats lost, 21-20, to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State at Tomlinson Stadium.

Among the opponents on Central Washington's eleven-game 2010 football schedule are two teams that are also ranked by Sporting News in its preseason polls. Minnesota Duluth is ranked fourth in the Division II preseason poll, while Eastern Washington, Central's opponent in the "Showdown on the Sound" at Qwest Field in Seattle on Sept. 11, is ranked 21st in the NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) poll by Sporting News.

The Wildcats' Aug. 28 season opener against Minnesota Duluth is slated as one of the top five games to watch in the NCAA Division II by Sporting News for the 2010 season. That game will open head coach Blaine Bennett's third year at the helm of the CWU program, and will start at 1 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.

Central Washington returns seven starters and 32 total lettermen from last season's squad.

2010 SPORTING NEWS DIVISION II PRESEASON TOP 25
1. Northwest Missouri State
2. Grand Valley State (Mich.)
3. West Liberty (W.Va.)
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. California (Pa.)
6. Nebraska-Kearney
7. CENTRAL WASHINGTON
8. UNC Pembroke
9. Edinboro (Pa.)
10. North Alabama
11. Carson-Newman (Tenn.)
12. Minnesota State Mankato
13. Hillsdale (Mich.)
14. Abilene Christian (Texas)
15. Tarleton State (Texas)
16. Missouri Western
17. Tuskegee (Ala.)
18. Texas A&M-Kingsville
19. Shippensburg (Pa.)
20. Saginaw Valley State (Mich.)
21. East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
22. West Texas A&M
23. Arkansas Tech
24. West Alabama
25. Midwestern State (Texas)

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