BAY CITY, Mich. — The 2009 Michigan Tech football team has earned its highest Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll ranking in program history. The Huskies appear at third in the poll, which was released in conjunction with today’s GLIAC Media Day Luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel.
Tech trailed only Grand Valley State (1st, 121 points) and Ashland (2nd, 107), both of which earned trips to the NCAA Playoffs last year. The Huskies tallied 94 points in the poll.
Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State were ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Hillsdale, Ferris State, Indianapolis, Findlay, Northern Michigan, Northwood and Tiffin rounded out the poll in that order.
Michigan Tech has only been picked higher than fifth in the league’s preseason poll once in school history—a fourth-place showing in 2005 when the team was coming off a GLIAC Championship campaign in 2004.
Head coach Tom Kearly has 19 of 24 starters returning from last year’s team, which went 8-3 and finished third in the conference.
“It’s nice that the other coaches in the league respect us enough to vote us third,” said Kearly, who owns a 20-12 record in three seasons as head coach. “Expectations are high for this team, but we know we have our work cut out for us—especially with our early schedule.”
Michigan Tech opens its season Sept. 5 at Hillsdale. The Huskies also have games against the league’s top-two-ranked teams in Ashland (Sept. 12) and Grand Valley State (Sept. 26) in the first four weeks of the season.
The complete 2009 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll is below. School (first place votes) Poll Points 1. Grand Valley State (11) 121 2. Ashland (1) 107 3. Michigan Tech 94 4. Wayne State 89 5. Saginaw Valley State 85 6. Hillsdale 71 7. Ferris State 66 8. Indianapolis 51 9. Findlay 38 10. Northern Michigan 33 11. Northwood 24 12. Tiffin 13
Photo Credit: Michigan Tech
