DENVER, Colo. (July 31, 2025) – The Colorado State University Pueblo football program has been tabbed to share the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title with Western Colorado in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll that was released Thursday in conjunction with the league's Football Media Day event held at the CAVEA Theater on the MSU Denver campus.

The ThunderWolves, who claimed the school's ninth all-time RMAC title last season after going a perfect 9-0 in league play, open the 2025 season tied for first in the preseason poll with Western Colorado, who finished second in the RMAC last season with an 8-1 league record and an 11-2 overall record, as each team received 76 points and five first-place votes each as voted on by the league's 10 head football coaches. The coaches weren't allowed to vote for their teams in the poll.

CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado also received identical vote tallies, along with five first-place votes; they each received three votes for second place and one vote each for third place. None of the head coaches placed CSU Pueblo or Western Colorado lower than third place on their preseason ballots.

Colorado School of Mines (8-3 overall, 6-3 RMAC) was tabbed to finish third as they earned 66 total points, which included four second place and four third-place votes, while Colorado Mesa (7-4 overall, 6-3 RMAC) was tabbed fourth with 58 total points as they earned four third-place votes.

South Dakota Mines (6-5 overall, 5-4 RMAC) and Black Hills State (6-5 overall, 5-4 RMAC) were selected to finish tied for fifth place with 43 points, while Chadron State (3-8 overall, 2-7 RMAC) and New Mexico Highlands (2-9 overall, 2-7 RMAC) were each tabbed to finish tied for seventh place with 31 points. Fort Lewis (3-8 overall, 2-7 RMAC) and Adams State (0-11 overall, 0-9 RMAC) were tabbed ninth and 10th, respectively in the preseason poll with 17 and nine points total.

The Pack, who finished last season with a 10-2 record and hosted a second-round NCAA Super Region 4 Playoff game against Minnesota State, are entering the third season under the direction of head coach Philip Vigil, who was named just the program's fifth head coach since 1963 in December of 2023. Vigil is 18-5 as the Pack's head coach, including being 16-2 in RMAC games.

Vigil's third Pack team welcomes back 65 lettermen, including 17 starters from last season's team that finished ranked No. 8 in the final AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll and ended the regular season winning eight straight games and posting its first undefeated season in RMAC play since 2013. The 2025 Pack returns eight starters on offense, five starters on defense, and four on special teams.

Along with releasing the RMAC Preseason poll, the league also released its preseason All-RMAC Team. The RMAC's preseason team is determined by placing returning players in order of the head coaches' voting from the league's 2024 All-RMAC Teams.

The Pack leads the way with nine players named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team, while Western Colorado had seven players named to the preseason team. Chadron State and Mines each had three players named, while Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State each had two players named. Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands, and South Dakota Mines each had one player named.

Redshirt senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) headlines the 2025 Preseason All-RMAC Team on offense as he was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Year last season and a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award after setting single season school records for receptions (67), receiving yards (1,228) and touchdown receptions (12). In addition to Retzlaff, the other Pack offensive players named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team were junior offensive lineman Tyler Ethridge (Midlothian, Texas/Midlothian) and senior offensive lineman Domingo Prince II (Aurora, Colo./Cherry Creek). Ethridge was named a First-Team All-RMAC selection in 2024, while Prince is a two-time Second-Team All-RMAC selection.

Meanwhile, on defense, the Pack had five players named, including junior linebacker Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredericksburg), who was a Second-Team All-RMAC selection last season after leading the team in tackles with 87 and also adding 7.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, two pass break-ups, and an interception. Seidenberger was named the RMAC Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2023.

In addition to Seidenberger, junior defensive back Kahden Rullo (Denver, Colo../Grandview), junior defensive back Donovan English (Pomona, Calif./Colony), and senior defensive back Keith Mckaney (Avondale, Ariz./Desert Edge). Rullo and Mckaney were Honoable Mention All-RMAC selections last season, while English earned first team honors.

The Pack had two players named the Preseason All-RMAC Team on special teams as senior receiver/punt returner Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) and senior long snapper Brayden Starmer (Mesa, Ariz./Western New Mexico) were selected. Rakowsky earned First-Team honors as a punt returner last season after returning 27 punts for 236 yards and ranking fifth in the league in punt return average per game (8.7 yards), while Starmer was an honorable mention selection a season ago at long snapper.

CSU Pueblo, who begins preseason practice on Monday, Aug. 4, will open the 2025 season in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl with a 6 p.m. game on Thursday, Aug. 28 against South Dakota Mines, before hosting Fort Hays State the following Thursday on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. The Pack's first road game is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 11 in Warrensburg, Mo., against the University of Central Missouri at 6 p.m. MT, while the Pack's annual Homecoming game is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11 against Fort Lewis College at 2 p.m.