LANCASTER, Pa. – Colorado State University Pueblo comes into the upcoming 2026 season ranked No. 10 in the D2Football.com Top 25 Preseason Media poll that was released online Monday evening by the D2Football.com website.
In the preseason D2Football.com Top 25 Media poll, the ThunderWolves were one of three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools ranked, with Western Colorado opening the season ranked just behind the Pack at No. 11 and Chadron State opening the season ranked No. 21. The Pack ended the 2025 season ranked No. 14 in the final D2Football.com poll.
Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Ferris State opens the season as a unanimous choice at No. 1 spot in the D2Football.com preseason poll. Harding, who was the 2023 national champion and the 2025 national runner-up, comes in at No. 2, while Minnesota State opens the season at No. 3. Three-time defending PSAC Champion Kutztown (Pa.) opens the season at No. 4, and Pittsburg State rounds out the preseason Top 5 at No. 5.
Northwest Missouri State begins the season at No. 6, and Indianapolis follows the Bearcats at No. 7, Grand Valley State checks in at No 8, and Central Washington is ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll.
Following CSU Pueblo, who was the preseason favorite in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll after going undefeated in league play the past two seasons, and Western Colorado in the poll at No. 12 is Ashland (Ohio) and is followed by Augustana at No. 13, Western Oregon is ranked No. 14, and Valdosta State opens the season at No. 15. Virginia Union is at No. 16, and are followed by Frostsburg State (Md.) at No. 17, UT-Permain Basin at No. 18, Findlay (Ohio) at No. 19 and Minnesota-Duluth completes the Top 20 at No. 20.
The final five teams in the poll begin with Chadron State at No. 21, followed by Wingate at No. 22, Northeastern State at No. 23, Newberry at No. 24, and Slippery Rock (Pa.) at No. 25.
Two of the Pack's opponents this season are ranked in the Preseason D2Football.com poll as Western Colorado, who plays at the ThunderBowl on Nov. 14, is ranked No. 11, and Chadron State, whom the Pack plays in Chadron, Neb., on Sept. 19, is ranked No. 21.
The D2Football.com Top 25 poll will be updated every Monday from Aug. 1 to Nov. 16, with the final poll of the 2026 season scheduled to be released one day after the national championship game on Dec. 19.
CSU Pueblo, which is entering its third week of preseason camp, opens the 2026 season with a 6 p.m. home game in the ThunderBowl on Thursday, Aug. 27, against Central Missouri in the first of six home games this season for the Pack. The Pack picked up a 29-24 win last season in Warrensburg, Mo., against the Mules.
