— KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Northeastern State was picked ninth of the 15 teams in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association preseason football coaches poll, released Monday. The RiverHawks were one spot lower in the media poll, also released Monday during the conference's media day.

Defending NCAA Division II champion Pittsburg State, NSU’s season-opening opponent on Aug. 30 got the vote from both the media and coaches as the conference favorite, getting 12 of 15 coaches votes and 24 of the 36 media votes.

Northwest Missouri was second in both, getting two coaches votes and 11 media votes, and Missouri Western was third in both, getting one first-place vote in each. Both Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western were Division II playoff teams a year ago. Northwest Missouri beat Missouri Western in the first round and lost to Pitt State in the quarterfinals. The RiverHawks face the 2-3 teams in back-to-back weeks, travel to  Northwest Missouri on Sept. 29 and play host to Missouri Western on Oct. 6.

The rest of the top eight -- Washburn, Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Emporia State and Lindenwood – were identical in both polls.

Fort Hays State, which was 11^th in the coaches poll, jumped NSU ninth in the media poll. Missouri Southern was 10^th in the coaches poll.

Central Oklahoma, which along with NSU joins the MIAA this season, was 11^th in the coaches poll and 14t in the media poll.

The complete rankings follow.

Coaches

1. Pitt State (12)  192
2. NW Missouri (2)  184
3. Missouri Western  (1) 165
4. Washburn   154
5. Central Missouri   153
6. Nebraska-Kearney   122
7. Emporia State  103
8. Lindenwood   95
9. NSU  85
10. Missouri Southern   82
11. Fort Hays State  74
12. Central Oklahoma    54
13. Southwest Baptist   49
14. Truman State   43
15. Lincoln   18

Media

1. Pitt State (24)  538
2. NW Missouri  (11)  524
3. Missouri Western  (1)  456
4. Washburn   447
5. Central Missouri   393
6. Nebraska-Kearney    390
7. Emporia State   286
8. Lindenwood  268
9. Fort Hays State   241
10. NSU  233
11. Missouri Southern  194
12. Truman State  155
13. Southwest Baptist  150
14. Central Oklahoma  121
15. Lincoln  42