HAAC News
Mon, Apr 21, 2008 - [Football] - Viewed 345 times
 
Missouri Valley (3), Lindenwood (9) and MidAmerica Nazarene (14) Are Included in the NAIA's Spring Coaches' Poll
 
In the second ever National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football Top 25 Spring Coaches' Poll, Carroll (Mont.) ends their spring practice session as No. 1, announced today (April 21). The Fighting Saints snapped the 27-game winning streak of then undefeated and No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) in the 2007 National Championship to finish 15-0. Carroll received all 16 of the possible first-place votes and recorded 400 total points.
 
The Fighting Saints have won five of the last six NAIA Championships. Carroll has been ranked in the Top 5 in the last 39 straight polls including No. 1 in 23 of those rankings.  Sioux Falls, last year's No. 1 in the Spring Poll, stands No. 2 in the 2008 version. The Cougars look to replace 2007 Rawlings-NAIA Player of the Year Chad Cavender at quarterback.
 
2007 Semifinal participants Missouri Valley and St. Francis (Ind.) hold at No. 3 and 4, respectively while Bethel (Tenn.) stands at No. 5. The Top 10 did not change from the Top 25 Postseason Poll on Jan. 14.  The poll was voted upon by a 17 member-panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.
 
2008 NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches' Spring Poll – April 21
RANK
LAST WEEK*
SCHOOL
1st PLACE VOTES
2007 RECORD
TOTAL POINTS
1
1
Carroll (Mont.)
16
15-0
400
2
2
Sioux Falls (S.D.)
 
13-1
384
3
3
MissouriValley
 
10-3
349
4
4
St. Francis (Ind.)
 
11-2
348
5
5
Bethel (Tenn.)
 
11-2
334
6
6
Ohio Dominican
 
12-1
328
7
7
Morningside (Iowa)
 
9-3
285
8
8
Saint Xavier (Ill.)
 
10-3
284
9
9
Lindenwood (Mo.)
 
10-2
270
10
10
St. Ambrose (Iowa)
 
8-3
225
11
12
Friends (Kan.)
 
9-2
217
12
11
Jamestown (N.D.)
 
9-2
208
13
14
Virginia-Wise
 
9-2
206
14
13
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
 
9-3
204
15
15
Northwestern (Iowa)
 
8-2
195
16
16
Cumberlands (Ky.)
 
8-3
155
17
18
Northwestern Oklahoma
 
8-4
151
18
17
Bethel (Kan.)
 
8-1
136
19
20
Black Hills State (S.D.)
 
7-4
101
20
21
Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
 
6-5
81
21
T22
Montana Tech
 
7-4
78
22
19
Sterling (Kan.)
 
8-2
67
23
24
Georgetown (Ky.)
 
6-4
55
24
25
Malone (Ohio)
 
8-4
50
25
T22
Nebraska Wesleyan
 
7-3
40
 

Others receiving votes:

McKendree (Ill.) 10; Minot State (N.D.) 9; Shorter (Ga.) 9; William Jewell (Mo.) 8; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 4; Montana State-Northern 3; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 3; Graceland (Iowa) 1; Southern 1; Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 1