Bulldog football ranked in NAIA’s top 25 for first time since 2002

View NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll

SEWARD, Neb. – After more than a decade’s absence from the national rankings, Bulldog football is once again ranked amongst the nation’s elite. On the strength of Concordia’s first 3-0 start since 2001, head coach Vance Winter’s squad has checked in at No. 20 in the second regular season NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, released on Monday afternoon.

It’s Concordia football’s first appearance in the national poll since garnering a No. 22 ranking in the Sept. 10, 2002, edition of the poll. The Bulldogs began the 2002 season ranked 12th following a 2001 season that included a 10-2 overall record, a GPAC co-championship and a berth in the NAIA Football Championship Series. The 2001 Bulldogs, guided by head coach Courtney Meyer, rose as high as No. 6 in the polls and spent each of the final nine weeks of the season inside the top 25.

Last week the Bulldogs were listed under the “others receiving votes” portion of the poll. Concordia leaped up into the rankings on Monday thanks to an impressive 35-14 victory at Midland on Saturday combined with losses to several teams ranked just ahead of the Bulldogs.

The 20th-ranked Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Madison, S.D., to take on Dakota State University (1-3). Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.