ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Football Conference coaches and media picked the UNI Panther football team fifth in the preseason poll released by the league Monday.
Defending national champion North Dakota State was picked first with 392 points and 32 first-place votes. South Dakota State comes in at the No. 2 pick with 348 points and four first-place votes.
The third, fourth and fifth picks were separated by just 23 total points. Illinois State was picked third at 289, Indiana State was fourth with 279 points and UNI was fifth with 266 points.