Bears Receive Votes In Top-25 Poll
There are five teams from the Colonial Athletic Association in the Top-25 FCS Pre-Season poll, with the James Madison Dukes coming in at the top spot overall.
The Dukes coming off of the national title in 2016, took home 134 of the 163 first place votes in the vote to finish ahead of North Dakota State and Sam Houston State. Richmond was the second highest charting CAA team at number seven overall, while VIllanova (10), New Hampshire (13), and Albany (24) also made the top rankings of the pre-season poll.
The Maine Black Bears were won of four other CAA schools to receive votes in the Stats Poll, with UMaine garnering 11 total votes, good for 49th. Delaware, Stony Brook, and William & Mary were the other teams that received some recognition.
The Black Bears have their first pre-season scrimmage on Monday afternoon, and will open the season on the road against New Hampshire on August 31st
STATS FCS TOP-25 POLL
| Rank | School | Votes | Prev |
| 1 | James Madison (0-0) | 4034 (134) | NR |
| 2 | North Dakota State (0-0) | 3874 (19) | NR |
| 3 | Sam Houston State (0-0) | 3610 (7) | NR |
| 4 | South Dakota State (0-0) | 3385 (2) | NR |
| 5 | Eastern Washington (0-0) | 3270 | NR |
| 6 | Jacksonville State (0-0) | 3081 (1) | NR |
| 7 | Richmond (0-0) | 3041 | NR |
| 8 | North Dakota (0-0) | 2871 | NR |
| 9 | Youngstown State (0-0) | 2658 | NR |
| 10 | Villanova (0-0) | 2628 | NR |
| 11 | Wofford (0-0) | 2543 | NR |
| 12 | Chattanooga (0-0) | 1995 | NR |
| 13 | New Hampshire (0-0) | 1741 | NR |
| 14 | Charleston Southern (0-0) | 1710 | NR |
| 15 | Central Arkansas (0-0) | 1685 | NR |
| 16 | Citadel (0-0) | 1545 | NR |
| 17 | Lehigh (0-0) | 1369 | NR |
| 18 | UNI (0-0) | 924 | NR |
| 19 | Samford (0-0) | 893 | NR |
| 20 | Illinois State (0-0) | 876 | NR |
| 21 | Grambling State (0-0) | 692 | NR |
| 22 | Fordham (0-0) | 604 | NR |
| 23 | Cal Poly (0-0) | 427 | NR |
| 24 | Albany (0-0) | 418 | NR |
| 25 | Western Illinois (0-0) | 367 | NR |
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