By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
WACO, Texas – Hot off the program’s highest ranking in program history, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team will open the 2022 campaign ranked 15th in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
Last season UT Martin went 10-3 while posting a 5-1 mark in league play to secure the program’s second OVC 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 Poll before claiming the 12th spot in the final postseason poll. 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.
American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – August 15, 2022
- North Dakota St. (24), 14-1, 624
- Montana, 10-3, 567
- South Dakota St. (1), 11-4, 566
- Montana St., 12-3, 560
- Villanova, 10-3, 493
- Kennesaw St., 11-2, 453
- Sacramento St., 9-3, 452
- Missouri St., 8-4, 405
- Southern Illinois, 8-5, 379
- Stephen F. Austin, 8-4, 362
- East Tennessee St., 11-2, 352
- Eastern Washington, 10-3, 337
- Chattanooga, 6-5, 294
- UIW, 10-3, 277
- UT Martin, 10-3, 257
- Southeastern Louisiana, 9-4, 254
- Jackson St., 11-2, 245
- Holy Cross, 10-3, 184
- Delaware, 5-6, 172
- Weber St., 6-5, 141
- Northern Iowa, 6-6, 119
- UC Davis, 8-4, 101
- Mercer, 7-3, 78
24t. Rhode Island, 7-4, 66
24t. Richmond, 6-5, 66
Others Receiving Votes: South Dakota, 49; Florida A&M, 44; Harvard, 38; South Carolina St., 38; Princeton, 29; Central Arkansas, 23; Eastern Kentucky, 18; Dartmouth, 17; Nicholls, 8; Furman, 6; North Carolina A&T, 6; William & Mary, 6; Murray St., 5; Davidson, 3; Fordham, 3; Southeast Missouri St., 3; North Dakota, 2; Utah Tech, 2; Austin Peay, 1; Elon, 1.
Season ticket packages and single-game ticket sales for Skyhawk football are now available. For more information or to purchase your tickets today, visit the Skyhawk Ticket Office, located in Room 1091 in the Skyhawk Fieldhouse, call (731) 881-7207 or purchase online here.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information