MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Vikings sit at No. 24 in the AFCA Poll, just two weeks away from kick-off in Montgomery, Alabama.

Berry will travel to Montgomery on September 7th to take on the Hawks for the first game of the season.

Last season's national runner-up is the preseason favorite to win it all in Division III. North Central (Ill.) received 26 first-place votes and is the No. 1 team in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. The Cardinals went 14-1 in 2023, falling in the national championship game to the No. 2 team in the preseason poll, Cortland (N.Y.). The Red Dragons, who received 24 first-place votes, took home their first national title in 2023 and will begin defense of their championship on September 7 against Hilbert (N.Y.). 

Wisconsin-Whitewater is the No. 3 team. The Warhawks lost in the quarterfinals of last year's playoffs to Wartburg (Iowa), who is ranked No. 4. UW-Whitewater also has one of three top 25 matchups in the first week of action. The Warhawks will host No. 20 John Carroll (Ohio) on September 7. The other top 25 matchups have No. 7 Alma (Mich.) playing host to No. 17 Wisconsin-River Falls and No. 8 Johns Hopkins (Md.) traveling to No. 19 Ithaca (N.Y.).

 

Rank	School (1st votes)	2023 Rec.	Pts.	2023 Rank*	Season Opener	Head Coach
1	North Central (Ill.) (26)	14-1	1225	2	Sept. 14 at No. 15 Aurora (Ill.)	Brad Spencer
2	Cortland (N.Y.) (24)	14-1	1195	1	Sept. 7 at Hilbert (N.Y.)	Curt Fitzpatrick
3	Wisconsin-Whitewater	11-2	1102	5	Sept. 7 vs. No. 20 John Carroll (Ohio)	Jace Rindahl
4	Wartburg (Iowa)	13-1	1057	3	Sept. 7 at Monmouth (Ill.)	Chris Winter
5	Mount Union (Ohio)	11-1	1042	9	Sept. 7 at Ferrum (Va.)	Geoff Dartt
6	Wisconsin-La Crosse	11-2	1008	4	Sept. 5 at Rensselaer (N.Y.)	Matt Janus
7	Alma (Mich.)	12-1	934	7	Sept. 7 vs. No. 17 Wisconsin-River Falls	Jason Couch
8	Johns Hopkins (Md.)	12-1	836	8	Sept. 7 at No. 19 Ithaca (N.Y.)	Dan Wodicka
9	Wheaton (Ill.)	10-2	779	13	Sept. 7 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh	Jesse Scott
10	Randolph-Macon (Va.)	13-1	738	6	Sept. 6 at Dickinson (Pa.)	Pedro Arruza
11	Grove City (Pa.)	11-1	697	10	Sept. 7 vs. Geneva (Pa.)	Andrew DiDonato
12	Susquehanna (Pa.)	10-1	604	14	Sept. 6 vs. Bridgewater (Va.)	Tom Perkovich
13	Trinity (Tex.)	10-2	600	11	Sept. 7 vs. Texas Lutheran	Jerheme Urban
14	St. John's (Minn.)	8-2	577	22	Sept. 7 vs. Carthage (Wis.)	Gary Fasching
15	Aurora (Ill.)	11-1	529	12	Sept. 6 at Dubuque (Iowa)	Don Beebe
16	Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)	9-2	517	17	Sept. 7 at Howard Payne (Tex.)	Jesse Burleson
17	Wisconsin-River Falls	7-3	427	NR	Sept. 7 at No. 7 Alma (Mich.)	Matt Walker
18	Endicott (Mass.)	9-2	356	15	Sept. 7 at St. Lawrence (N.Y.)	Paul McGonagle
19	Ithaca (N.Y.)	9-3	294	18	Sept. 7 vs. No. 8 Johns Hopkins (Md.)	Michael Toerper
20	John Carroll (Ohio)	8-2	287	25	Sept. 7 at No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater	Jeff Behrman
21	Muhlenberg (Pa.)	10-1	248	19	Sept. 7 at Moravian (Pa.)	Nate Milne
22	Linfield (Ore.)	8-1	228	24	Sept. 7 vs. Denison (Ohio)	Joseph Smith
23	Carnegie Mellon (Pa.)	10-1	190	NR	Sept. 7 at Thiel (Pa.)	Ryan Larsen
24	Berry (Ga.)	9-1	177	23	Sept. 7 at Huntingdon (Ala.)	Tony Kunczewski
25	Whitworth (Wash.)	10-1	155	16	Sept. 7 at Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)	Rod Sandberg

*– Ranking in final AFCA Division III Poll of 2023

Others Receiving Votes: Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.), 111; Bethel (Minn.), 56; Wisconsin-Platteville, 52; Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 39; DePauw (Ind.), 37; Union (N.Y.), 35; Delaware Valley (Pa.), 23; Wabash (Ind.), 22; Coe (Iowa), 20; Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), 14; Illinois College, 10; Mount St. Joseph (Ohio), 7; Christopher Newport (Va.), 5; Washington (Mo.), 5; Belhaven (Miss.), 3; Rensselaer (N.Y.), 3; Huntingdon (Ala.), 2; Springfield (Mass.), 2; Central (Iowa), 1; Wisconsin-Stout, 1.