Football Tabbed Sixth in GAC Preseason Coaches Poll
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference unveiled its 2025 Football Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday, with East Central University slated to finish sixth heading into the new season. The Tigers earned 68 points in the voting, a 19-point increase from last year's total.
The poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, selected Harding as the preseason favorite, collecting nine first-place votes and topping the poll with 119 points. Ouachita Baptist followed closely in second with 108 points and the remaining three first-place votes. Southern Arkansas was picked third, followed by Henderson State in fourth. Southeastern Oklahoma State edged out ECU for fifth by just four points.
Arkansas Tech came in at seventh, with Southwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello placing eighth and ninth, respectively. Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist, and Northwestern Oklahoma State rounded out the poll in tenth through twelfth.
The Tigers will open the 2025 season at home on Thursday, Sept. 4, hosting Ouachita Baptist in a primetime matchup between Tiger squads at 7 p.m. inside Koi Ishto Stadium. ECU's home slate also includes games against Southern Nazarene, Arkansas Tech, Oklahoma Baptist, and Southern Arkansas.
