Montana State tied for seventh, Montana slotted ninth in preseason HERO Sports activities FCS High 25 ballot

The soccer team of the state of Montana ranks 7th and Montana 9th in the top 25 preseason poll by HERO Sports FCS, the online news agency said on Thursday.

The Bobcats rank 7th with Big Sky Conference opponents Weber State, making the couple the top-ranked Big Sky teams in the poll. MSU ranked 8th in the Athlon Sports Preseason poll earlier this summer, while Montana ranked 11th.

Montana State is entering the 2021 season after not playing a game since December 2019. The Fall 2020 season of the Big Sky Conference has been canceled and the Bobcats have chosen not to play games in the spring. The Bobcats begin the 2021 season in Wyoming on September 4th, the first game of the Brent Vigen era. Vigen, who happened to be hired from Wyoming, succeeds Jeff Choate as head coach. Choate left MSU for a position on the University of Texas coaching staff.

Meanwhile, Montana will start the 2021 season with a 2-0 win in spring. The Griz dismantled Central Washington and Portland State with a combined score of 107-10. UM starts its 2021 season in Washington on September 4th.

Eastern Washington (# 16) and Sacramento State (T-# 23) are the other Big Sky Conference teams taking part in the survey.

Sam Houston, who won the Spring FCS Championship, was selected by HERO to repeat in # 1 while semi-finalist James Madison, finalist South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Southern Illinois round out the top 5.

HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top-25
1. Sam Houston
2. James Madison
3. State of South Dakota
4. State of North Dakota
5. Southern Illinois
6. Delaware
T7. Weber State
T7. State of Montana
9. Montana
10. North Dakota
11. Central Arkansas
12. Monmouth
T13. Southeast Louisiana
T13. VMI
15. Jacksonville State
16. East Washington
17. Villanova
18. Austin Peay
19. North Carolina A&T
20. Chattanooga
21. Alcorn State
22. Murray State
T23. State of Eastern Tennessee
T23. State of Sacramento
25. State of Missouri

Votes received (alphabetical order)

Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, State of Kennesaw, Nicholls, Rhode Island