HUDSONVILLE, Mich. -- In a preseason poll of eight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) football coaches, Alma College is predicted to win the conference championship for the third-straight year after receiving a total of seven points and all seven possible first-place votes.

PRESEASON POLL BREAKDOWN
Hope College received the remaining first-place vote and a total of thirteen points.  Trine University rounds out the top three with 20 points. In fourth place, Albion College received 25 points. The University of Olivet (33 points) edged Adrian College (35 points) for fifth place. Kalamazoo College (42 points) and Calvin University (49 points) were predicted to finish in seventh and eighth place, respectively.

ALMA COLLEGE SCOTS
The Scots won the 2023 MIAA title for the second-straight season after going undefeated in conference play (12-1 overall). Alma finished another historic season competing in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championships after upsetting second-seeded Mount Union.

Twelve 2023 All-MIAA players will be returning for Alma, including 2023 MIAA Offensive Player of the Year and two-time All-MIAA quarterback Carter St. John. St. John, who was recently selected as a D3football.com Preseason All-American, finished conference play as the league leader with a pass-completion percentage of .764, 1,696 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, a longest pass of 85 yards, 282.7 passing yards per contest, and a pass-efficiency rating of 233.2.

The additional 2023 All-MIAA returnees include fifth-year senior wide receiver and preseason All-American Devon Frenchko, fifth-year senior tight end Nate Webb, senior offensive lineman Reese Townsend (two-time All-MIAA honoree), fifth-year senior linebacker Elijah Jackson, fifth-year senior defensive end Jerome Roberson, fifth-year senior defensive back/safety Bryce Fredenburg, sophomore wide receiver/return specialist and Preseason All-American Zach Poff, junior running back Eddie Williams (two-time All-MIAA honoree), junior offensive lineman JB Couch, junior offensive lineman Maddox Mozal, and senior kicker Joshua Hernandez (two-time All-MIAA honoree).

HOPE COLLEGE FLYING DUTCHMEN
Hope concluded the 2022 campaign with a 5-1 mark in league play and an overall record of 8-2.

Four 2023 First Team All-MIAA selections return for the Flying Dutchmen, including three-time honoree and Preseason All-American offensive lineman Dylan Clem, senior running back Chance Strickland, fifth-year senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer, and senior linebacker Cole Luhmann. Strickland led the conference with 93 rushing attempts and nine touchdowns. Holtzer was the MIAA runner-up with an average of 30.6 yards per catch, while Luhmann was third in the league in both tackle yards (20 yds) and sacks (2).

The two 2023 Second Team All-MIAA players returning for the squad are three-time All-MIAA fifth-year senior offensive lineman Luke Marsh and senior defensive lineman Oatis Ackermann.

TRINE UNIVERSITY THUNDER
Trine wrapped up 2023 with a conference record of 4-2 and an overall mark of 6-4.

In losing eight of their 2023 All-MIAA selections, the Thunder will look to senior inside linebacker Tucker Hasselman who earned a spot on the All-MIAA Second Team last season.

ALBION COLLEGE BRITONS
The Brits finished the 2023 campaign with a 3-3 split during the regular season and an overall record of 7-3.

From the 2023 All-MIAA First Team, Albion welcomes back junior outside linebacker Alex Olenik and sophomore kicker/punter Chris Bowman. Bowman finished first in the league with a long punt of 68 yards. He was also the runner-up with 29 punts, 1,127 punting yards, eight fair catches, and three 50+ yard punts.

Senior quarterback Luke Lovell will also be back on the team after receiving Second Team All-MIAA recognition in 2023.

THE UNIVERSITY OF OLIVET COMETS
The Comets went 2-4 in league play last year and 4-6 overall.

Olivet's roster will be highlighted by junior running back Dontal Wright. Wright received First Team All-MIAA honors last season after concluding conference competition with a league-best 113.0 rushing yards per game.

The 2023 Second Team All-MIAA selections that will be returning for the Comets include 2023 Pete Schmidt Award winner and fifth-year senior wide receiver SirQuarius Ball, along with sophomore defensive back James Banks.

ADRIAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs will be led by head coach Joe Palka in his first season at the helm of the program. Palka comes to Adrian from Saline High School where he served as head coach of the football team since 2012. During his time at Saline, Palka totaled a career record of 112-21 with 11 consecutive postseason appearances and 18 playoff victories. Palka looks to improve on Adrian's 0-6 league record last season (1-9 overall).

Adrian's roster will be highlighted by junior linebacker Ryker Bidwell. Bidwell received a spot on the All-MIAA Second Team in 2023. He led the conference in league play with 57 tackle assists, 80 total tackles, and 13.3 tackles per contest.

KALAMAZOO COLLEGE HORNETS
The Hornets concluded the 2023 regular season with a 1-5 record and went 5-5 overall.

Headlining the Kalamazoo roster is senior defensive back Tommy Kartes. Kartes received Second Team All-MIAA recognition last year. At the conclusion of league play, Kartes finished as the runner-up in the MIAA with 27 solo tackles and 9.0 tackles per game.

CALVIN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS
The MIAA football season will now have a total of eight teams competing with the addition of Calvin.

The Knights will be led by head coach Trent Figg in their inaugural season with the MIAA. Figg comes to Calvin from the University of Oregon. In 2022, he served as the football program’s senior offensive analyst .

...READY FOR IT?
The 2024 football season gets underway Saturday, September 7.

League play begins on Saturday, September 28, with Alma hosting Hope, Trine hosting Albion (1:00 p.m.), Adrian hosting Olivet (3:00 p.m.), and Kalamazoo hosting Calvin (6:30 p.m.).

2024 MIAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL

Rank	Team	Points	First-Place Votes
1.	Alma	7 points	7
2.	Hope	13 points	1
3.	Trine	20 points
4.	Albion	25 points
5.	Olivet	33 points
6.	Adrian	35 points
7.	Kalamazoo	42 points
8.	Calvin	49 points

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.