KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Montana Western football team was selected 18th in the preseason edition of the 2026 STADIONIC-NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office
announced Monday.
The Bulldogs begin where they finished in the final poll of 2025, while five other Frontier Conference schools are also ranked or receiving votes.
College of Idaho (four) is the highest ranked FC program, followed by Montana Tech (five), Carroll (11), Western (18), Dakota State (25) and Dickinson State (RV).
The preseason poll is the first of seven coaches' polls in 2026, followed by three national selection committee polls, a final ARC rating Nov. 15, and a postseason poll Jan. 4.
2026 NAIA Football Coaches' Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Institution [First-Place Votes] |
2025 Record |
| 1 |
Grand View (Iowa) [13] |
14-0 |
| 2 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
12-1 |
| 3 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
12-2 |
| 4 |
College of Idaho |
11-2 |
| 5 |
Montana Tech |
12-1 |
| 6 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
10-2 |
| 7 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
9-3 |
| 8 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
10-1 |
| T-9 |
Friends (Kan.) |
12-1 |
| T-9 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
9-3 |
| 11 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
9-3 |
| 12 |
Marian (Ind.) |
8-4 |
| 13 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
11-2 |
| 14 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
8-3 |
| 15 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
9-3 |
| 16 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
7-4 |
| 17 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
10-3 |
| 18 |
Montana Western |
7-3 |
| 19 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
9-3 |
| 20 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
7-3 |
| 21 |
McPherson (Kan.) |
9-2 |
| 22 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
8-3 |
| 23 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
7-4 |
| 24 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
6-4 |
| 25 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
8-2 |
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs kick off the 2026 slate Sept. 5 at MSU-Northern. First kick is set for 1 p.m. MT.
For complete coverage of UMW Football, be sure to follow us on social media at @umw_football (Instagram), @UMW_Football (X), and @Montana Western Football (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.
#GOBULLDOGS!
