Reinhardt Sits Tight in NAIA Top 15; Bluefield Garners More Votes
September 11, 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) teams earned votes in the first regular-season edition of the NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll, which was announced on Monday.
Reinhardt picked up 191 votes to remain in the top 15 as the Eagles landed at No. 14.
Meanwhile, Bluefield received 32 votes to fall two spots outside the top 25.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
- Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second place, and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Northwestern (Iowa) [18] | 2-0 | 418 |
| 2 | 3 | Grand View (Iowa) | 2-0 | 395 |
| 3 | 4 | Morningside (Iowa) | 2-0 | 381 |
| 4 | 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 1-1 | 357 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 2-0 | 356 |
| 6 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 2-0 | 340 |
| 7 | 8 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 2-0 | 326 |
| 8 | 12 | College of Idaho | 3-0 | 303 |
| 9 | 11 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 3-0 | 296 |
| 10 | 15 | Carroll (Mont.) | 2-0 | 274 |
| 11 | 9 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1-1 | 239 |
| 12 | 21 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 2-0 | 228 |
| 13 | 21 | Texas Wesleyan | 2-0 | 195 |
| 14 | 10 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 1-1 | 191 |
| 15 | 13 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 1-1 | 182 |
| 16 | 16 | Montana Tech | 1-1 | 159 |
| 17 | 24 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 2-0 | 144 |
| 18 | NR | Graceland (Iowa) | 3-0 | 104 |
| 19 | 25 | Dordt (Iowa) | 2-0 | 100 |
| 20 | 7 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 1-2 | 88 |
| 21 | RV | Concordia (Mich.) | 2-0 | 86 |
| 22 | 17 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 1-1 | 68 |
| 23 | 14 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 1-2 | 65 |
| 24 | 19 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 2-1 | 63 |
| 25 | NR | Evangel (Mo.) | 3-0 | 54 |
Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 48; Bluefield (Va.) 32; Friends (Kan.) 26; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 26; Montana Western 10; Midland (Neb.) 10; Arizona Christian 8; Baker (Kan.) 3; Louisiana Christian 3; Kansas Wesleyan 3