RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) released the FCS Coaches Poll on Monday and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team is receiving votes in a second preseason poll ahead of the 2026 season.
UTRGV received nine votes in the preseason poll, tied for 10
th-most among teams receiving votes outside of the top 25. The Vaqueros were also receiving votes in the Preseason Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.
UTRGV went 9-3 in its inaugural season in 2025, becoming the first start-up program at the NCAA DI-AA/FCS level to win nine games in its debut season since Div. I college football split into two levels. The Vaqueros broke Florida International's record with six wins against NCAA DI-AA/FCS competition, the most for a first-year team. They were also the only inaugural team to go undefeated at home, finishing 7-0 at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium.
UTRGV's only losses last season were on the road against FCS Playoff teams – all three of those opponents (No. 13 Stephen F. Austin, No. 20 Southeastern, and No. 21 Lamar) are in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll.
Other Southland Conference schools receiving votes in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll include UIW (9) and McNeese (1). The Vaqueros will face six teams in the AFCA preseason poll with Central Arkansas (1) also receiving votes.
American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll – August 17, 2026
Rank School (1st votes) 2025 Rec. Pts. 2025 Rank* Season Opener Head Coach
1. Montana St. (25) 14-2 649 1 Aug. 29 at Utah Tech Brent Vigen
2. Montana 13-2 605 3 Aug. 29 vs. Southern Utah Bobby Kennedy
3. South Dakota St. (1) 9-5 591 14 Aug. 29 vs. Stetson Dan Jackson
4. Illinois St. 12-5 553 2 Aug. 29 vs. St. Francis (Ill.) Brock Spack
5. Tarleton St. 12-2 527 6 Aug. 29 vs. Prairie View A&M Todd Whitten
6. UC Davis 9-4 498 8 Aug. 29 at Portland St. Tim Plough
7. Villanova 12-3 448 4 Aug. 28 vs. William & Mary Mark Ferrante
8. Rhode Island 11-3 434 10 Aug. 28 at Merrimack Jim Fleming
9. Youngstown St. 8-5 428 17 Aug. 27 vs. Mercyhurst Doug Phillips
10. North Dakota 8-6 396 16 Aug. 27 vs. LIU Eric Schmidt
11. Lehigh 12-1 359 9 Aug. 29 at Holy Cross Richard Nagy
12. South Dakota 10-5 347 11 Aug. 29 vs. Central Connecticut St. Matt Vitzthum
13. Stephen F. Austin 11-3 313 7 Aug. 29 at McNeese St. Colby Carthel
14. ACU 9-5 295 12 Aug. 29 at No. 21 Lamar Keith Patterson
15. Tennessee Tech 11-2 294 15 Aug. 29 vs. No. 23 Monmouth (N.J.) Bobby Wilder
16. Southern Illinois 7-5 231 NR Aug. 27 at West Florida Nick Hill
17. Mercer 9-3 189 18 Aug. 29 vs. East Texas A&M Joel Taylor
18. Austin Peay 7-5 186 NR Aug. 27 vs. Gardner-Webb Jeff Faris
19. Yale 9-3 164 13 Sept. 19 at Holy Cross Kevin Cahill
20. Southeastern Louisiana 9-4 160 19 Aug. 27 vs. HCU Frank Scelfo
21. Lamar 8-5 133 21 Aug. 29 vs. No. 14 ACU Pete Rossomando
22. UT Martin 6-6 123 NR Aug. 27 vs. Central Arkansas Jason Simpson
23. Monmouth (N.J.) 9-3 105 20 Aug. 29 at No. 15 Tennessee Tech Jeff Gallo
24. Northern Arizona 7-5 67 NR Aug. 29 vs. Eastern Washington Brian Wright
25. South Carolina St. 10-3 63 25 Aug. 29 vs. Savannah St. Chennis Berry
*– Ranking in final AFCA FCS Coaches Poll of 2025
Others Receiving Votes: Richmond, 31; Southeast Missouri St., 27; Valparaiso, 23; Alabama St., 21; East Tennessee St., 21; Western Carolina, 20; Idaho St., 15; Harvard, 14; Central Connecticut St., 12; Furman, 12; Jackson St., 11; Chattanooga, 9; Eastern Kentucky, 9; UIW, 9; UT-Rio Grande Valley, 9; Dartmouth, 8; Elon, 7; William & Mary, 7; Holy Cross, 6; Wofford, 5; Prairie View A&M, 4; Northern Colorado, 3; St. Thomas (Minn.), 3; New Hampshire, 2; Central Arkansas, 1; McNeese St., 1; San Diego, 1; Stony Brook, 1.
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