UT Martin Football Ranked 14th In Preseason HERO Sports FCS Top 25 Poll

By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director

MARTIN, Tenn. – Fresh off the program’s first victory in the Division I Football Championship and winning an Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team will open the summer ranked 14^th in the 2022 HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top 25.

Last season UT Martin finished with a 10-3 overall mark while going 5-1 in the OVC to secure the program’s second league championship and first since 2006. Along with the OVC title, the Skyhawks earned a berth into the NCAA Division I Football Championship where they picked up their first FCS playoff victory against Missouri State before falling in the second round to eventual national champion runner-up Montana State.

On the path to the OVC championship, the Skyhawks won a program record nine-straight games and ranked as high as No. 8 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 earlier this season. The team became just the third squad in program history to eclipse 10 wins in a single season while picking up victories over nationally ranked foes Jacksonville State (No. 9) and Missouri State (No. 10) along the way.

2022 HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top 25

1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Montana State
4. Montana
5. East Tennessee State
6. Missouri State
7. Sam Houston
8. Kennesaw State
9. Villanova
10. Sacramento State
11. Stephen F. Austin
12. Incarnate Word

T12. Southern Illinois

14. UT Martin
15. Delaware
16. Chattanooga
17. Holy Cross
18. Eastern Washington
19. Jackson State
20. Southeastern Louisiana
21. South Dakota
22. Harvard
23. Dartmouth
24. Northern Iowa
25. Richmond

T25. UC Davis

Received votes (alphabetical order): Eastern Kentucky, Mercer, Weber State

Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information