West Chester Picked To Win PSAC Eastern Division In Preseason Coaches' Poll

8/11/2014 12:00:00 PM

PSAC Media Day Packet
PSAC Coaches' Preseason Videos

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – On the strength of seven first-place votes, West Chester University was picked to win the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in a vote of the loop's head coaches.

The announcement came during PSAC Media Day for the Eastern Division schools inside the Georgian Room on the campus of Kutztown University Monday afternoon. East Stroudsburg was picked second in the preseason poll, grabbing the other first-place nod from the head coaches. Defending PSAC champion, Bloomsburg, was picked third while Shippensburg was selected fourth. Kutztown, host of media day on Monday, was slated fifth, followed by Lock Haven, Millersville and Cheyney, respectively.

Perennial Western Division powerhouse, Indiana, Pa., was picked to win the West for the third straight campaign. The winners of each division will meet in the PSAC Championship Game the last week of the regular season. Last fall, Bloomsburg defeated Slippery Rock in that contest.

West Chester sits atop the PSAC preseason poll for the first time since 2010 and for the third time in program history. The Golden Rams last won the Eastern Division in 2008 when they fell to California, Pa., in the PSAC Championship Game. West Chester's 18 PSAC titles is the most in conference history and one more than rival Bloomsburg's 17.

West Chester enters the 2014 campaign coming off its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals, following a school-record 13 wins while it's 564 points ranks fourth all-time in PSAC single-season history. West Chester gained entry into the semifinals with a 28-7 victory over Shepherd to win the Super Region One Championship. The Golden Rams' only other appearance in the national semifinals came in 2004.

The Purple & Gold open its 2014 season on the road at University of New Haven on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. for a non-conference tilt with the Chargers out of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Rams' home opener is slated for the following Saturday against Mercyhurst on Hall of Fame Day at Farrell Stadium. Kickoff for that game is 12 p.m.

PSAC East Division Preseason Poll (first-place votes in parenthesis)