The 2024 FCS football season kicks off with Week 0 matchups on Aug. 24. The unofficial start to the season began with the release of conference preseason polls.
The anticipation of FCS college football only grows during the offseason, but the arrival of conference media days in the middle of summer makes people sense how the upcoming season is nearing.
The release of FCS conference preseason polls serve as an unofficial start to the 2024 season – and surely as motivation depending on where a team fits into them.
Following is how the FCS conference polls have predicted the races ahead:
Big South-Ohio Valley Football Association
- 1. UT Martin (8-3, 5-1), 61 points (5 first-place votes)
- 2. Eastern Illinois (8-3, 4-2), 53 (2)
- 3. Southeast Missouri (4-7, 3-3), 51 (2)
- 4. Tennessee State (6-5, 2-4), 41
- 5. Gardner-Webb (7-5, 5-1), 40
- 6. Charleston Southern (4-7, 2-4), 27
- 7. Tennessee Tech (4-7, 2-4), 24
- 8. Lindenwood (3-7, 1-5), 18
- 9. Western Illinois (0-11, 0-8 MVFC), 9
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Pierce Holley, QB, Eastern Illinois
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri
Southwestern Athletic Conference
East Division
- 1. Alabama State (7-4, 5-3), 114 points (11 first-place votes)
- 2. Florida A&M (12-1, 8-0), 104 (6)
- 3. Jackson State (7-4, 5-3), 87 (2)
- 4. Alabama A&M (5-6, 3-5), 76 (4)
- 5. Bethune-Cookman (3-8, 2-6), 47
- 6. Mississippi Valley State (1-10, 1-7), 31
West Division
- 1. Alcorn State (7-4, 6-2), 112 (11)
- 2. Prairie View A&M (6-6, 6-2), 104 (8)
- 3. Grambling State (5-6, 4-4), 72 (4)
- 4. Southern (6-5, 5-3), 70 (1)
- 5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-9, 1-7), 61
- 6. Texas Southern (3-8, 2-6), 40
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Myles Crawley, QB, Grambling State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Ckelby Givens, DE, Southern
Upcoming FCS Conference Preseason Polls (Release Dates)
July 22 – Big Sky Conference
July 22 – Southland Conference
July 22 – Missouri Valley Football Conference
July 23 – Southern Conference
July 23 – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
July 23 – United Athletic Conference
July 24 – Northeast Conference
July 24 – CAA Football
July 25 – Patriot League
July 30 – Pioneer Football League
Aug. 5 – Ivy League
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