MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Defending champion Aurora University has been named the favorite to capture the 2024 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) football crown according to the annual preseason poll released Tuesday.

Aurora secured 161 points and 17 of 18 first-place tallies in the poll, which consists of votes from the league's head football coaches and athletics communications professionals. The Spartans finished 11-1 overall and 8-0 in league play to win the 2023 crown, advancing to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Football Championship with a 20-7 win over Coe before bowing out with a 56-35 loss at UW-La Crosse. Aurora, which averaged 62.6 points per game during league play last season, enters the 2024 season having won 38 consecutive league games.

St. Norbert College edged Benedictine University, 124-123, for second place as the Green Knights secured the final first-place vote, while Concordia University Wisconsin finished fourth with 111 points. Lakeland University placed fifth with 84 points, just ahead of Wisconsin Lutheran College (78 points) in sixth and Concordia University Chicago edged Rockford University, 50-49, for seventh place. Eureka College rounds out this year's poll in ninth place with 31 points.

National Preseason Rankings: Aurora enters the 2024 season ranked 15th in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25, while a pair of NACC seniors were named preseason all-America by D3football.com. Aurora offensive lineman Matt Kickel was named to the first team offense, while Benedictine defensive end Brian Pritt was named to the third team defense.

New Coaches: There are a couple of new coaches in the NACC this season. Chase Hankins was elevated to the top spot at Concordia Chicago after two seasons as the Cougars' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Prior to CUC, Hankins coached wide receives and tight ends at Aurora.

At Eureka, NFL veteran Randy Starks assumes control of the program. Starks played for the Tennessee Titans (2004-08), Miami Dolphins (2008-15), and Cleveland Browns (2015-16) during his 12-year playing career, twice being selected to the Pro Bowl (2011, 2013). Starks' coaching resume includes stops at Loughborough College, Bakersfield College, Fresno State University, and LaGrange College.

Fall 2024 Schedule: Aurora will be the first NACC program to take the field this fall, traveling to the University of Dubuque for a game on Friday night, Sept. 6.

The majority of the NACC gets underway the following day - Saturday, Sept. 7 - with seven road contests. St. Norbert travels to Wabash, Rockford ventures up Interstate 90 to face Beloit, Wisconsin Lutheran takes the short trip to Lake Forest, Concordia Chicago is at Greenville, Benedictine travels to Buena Vista, Lakeland visits UW-Platteville, and Eureka and Knox face off in their annual Lincoln Trophy game in Galesburg, Illinois. Concordia Wisconsin is the lone NACC school idle on the opening weekend. The Falcons host Calvin in their season opener on Saturday, Sept. 14.

The 36-game NACC slate begins on Saturday, Sept. 21 with Aurora hosting St. Norbert, Rockford traveling to Benedictine, Concordia Chicago entertaining Lakeland, and Eureka venturing to Wisconsin Lutheran, while Concordia Wisconsin is idle. The Falcons jump into league play the following weekend (Sept. 28) on the road at Benedictine.

Once again this season, a minimum of two NACC football programs will experience postseason play. The highest-placed team in the standings - once all necessary tiebreakers have been applied - will receive the NACC's automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Divison III Football Championship. A second NACC program will face off against a representative from the Midwest Conference in the third annual Lakefront Bowl, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 23 at Wisconsin Lutheran's Raabe Stadium.

2024 NACC Football Preseason Poll

Institution	Points
Aurora (17)	161
St. Norbert (1)	124
Benedictine	123
Concordia Wisconsin	111
Lakeland	83
Wisconsin Lutheran	78
Concordia Chicago	50
Rockford	49
Eureka	31