WACO, Texas – Colorado State University Pueblo Football will open the 2025 season ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl that was released Monday.

In the preseason AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, the ThunderWolves received 549 points to sit sixth in the poll. The Pack is 20 points behind No. 5 Central Oklahoma (569 points) and 32 points in front of No. 7 Kutztown (Pa.) (517 points).

The Pack were one of four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll as Western Colorado, who went 11-2 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs, opens the season ranked No. 10 as they earned 450 points, while Colorado School of Mines (42 votes) and Colorado Mesa (1 vote) were two of 23 schools that earned votes in the inaugural poll of the 2025 season.

CSU Pueblo ended the 2024 season ranked No. 8 in the final AFCA Division II Coaches Poll after posting a 10-2 overall record and a perfect 9-0 record in the RMAC. The Pack claimed its ninth all-time RMAC title in football and earned the No. 1 seed from Super Region 4 in the NCAA Division II Playoffs and hosted a second round playoff game against Minnesota State. The Pack's two losses last season came to Grand Valley State and Minnesota State, who went a combined 22-6 a season ago. In last year's preseason AFCA poll, the Pack received 17 points to be 10th among the teams earning votes.

Third-year Pack head coach Philip Vigil welcomes back 65 lettermen, including 17 starters from last season's team. Vigil's 2025 team has eight starters back on offense, five starters on defense and four on special teams.

The Pack are scheduled to play two teams ranked in the Top 25 of the preseason and five teams overall that are either ranked or receiving votes. The ranked teams on the Pack's schedule include playing at No. 22 Central Missouri on Thursday, Sept. 11 and playing at No. 10 Western Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 1. In addition, the Pack will host Fort Hays State, who earned 66 votes in the preseason poll, in the ThunderBowl on Thursday, Sept. 4, while playing road games at Colorado Mesa on Sept. 20 and at Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 8.

CSU Pueblo, who is in its second week of preseason camp, opens the 2025 season with a 6 p.m. home game in the ThunderBowl on Thursday, Aug. 28 against South Dakota Mines. The Pack opened the 2024 season with a 35-6 win in Rapid City, S.D., against the Hardrockers.