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Foxboro, Mass. – The Owls of Southern Connecticut State University are picked to capture the Northeast-10 regular season title as determined by the conference’s 10 football coaches. The preseason poll was announced this afternoon at the annual Northeast-10 Football Media Day Event at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

The Owls received all but one of the eight first-place votes to receive a total of 63 points in this year’s poll. Southern Connecticut finished last season 9-4 overall and 7-2 in the Northeast-10. Despite finishing in a tie for second place in the conference standings with American International, the Owls received a bid into the NCAA tournament.

Bentley College (7-3, 6-3 NE-10) received the final first-place vote and collected 53 points in the poll and are predicted to finish second in the conference slightly ahead of American International (7-3, 7-2 NE-10). The Yellow Jackets collected 49 points and are picked to finish third. Stonehill College (5-5, 5-4 NE-10) appears next in the poll with a fourth place finish and 37 points. Merrimack College (4-6, 4-5 NE-10) follows in a close fifth place predicted finish as the Warriors received 33 points.

Assumption College (4-7, 3-6 NE-10) collected 23 points as the Grey Hounds are picked to finish sixth. Pace University (1-10, 1-8 NE-10) is next with 22 points, while Saint Anselm College (0-10, 0-9 NE-10) rounds out the field with eight points.

Last season the Northeast-10 had two teams appear in the NCAA Tournament as Southern Connecticut hosted then conference foe Bryant University in the First Round. The Owls defeated the Bulldogs 45-28 to advance to the Second Round before ending their quest for a National Championship against California of Pennsylvania. The Owls appearance in the second round of the tournament marks the third-straight year that a Northeast-10 school reached the second round. In 2005 C.W. Post advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals and Merrimack advanced to the Second Round in 2006.

The 2008 season kicks-off on Thursday, August 28th with Saint Anselm traveling to Kutztown, Pa. to face an out of conference foe the Golden Bears of Kutztown University. The first Northeast-10 conference match-up is slated for Friday, September 12 as Southern Connecticut hosts American International.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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