INDIANA, Pa. – With 20 starters set to return from last year's NCAA playoff team, IUP opens the 2016 season ranked No. 4 in the Division II top 25 by The Sporting News in its college football preview issue. In addition, senior offensive guard
Ethan Cooper (Steelton, Pa. /Central Dauphin East) is on the Sporting News preseason All-American team.
Cooper is coming off of a season in which he received third team All-American honors along the offensive line by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. Also a first team all-region and all-conference pick, Cooper helped pave the way for a ground game that finished fifth in the country with 293.6 rushing yards per game and broke the single season program record with 3,523 yards.
He started 12 games at left guard in 2015 and heads into this season with 25 consecutive starts on the line.
IUP is one of three schools from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in the top 25, with the Crimson Hawks joined by Western Division rivals Slippery Rock (ninth) and California (Pa.) (18th).
Northwest Missouri State, last year's national champions, sit at the top of the poll, with Grand Valley State in second and West Georgia in third. Shepherd, which edged IUP 17-13 in the second round of the playoffs and later advanced to the championship game, rounds out the top five.
11 starters return on offense for IUP, along with seven from the defensive side of the ball and both kickers. In addition, 12 more players (five offense, seven defense) who started at least one game last season look to return, giving the Crimson Hawks a deep lineup.
This marks the first year since 2013 that the Crimson Hawks have landed in the preseason national rankings. That year, IUP was ranked seventh by Lindy's, 10th by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), and 22nd by Sporting News.
The Crimson Hawks finished this year with a 9-3 overall record and won a share of the PSAC West title with a 6-1 league mark. IUP advanced to the Division II playoffs for the 16th time in its history, defeating Charleston 47-21 in the first round before falling to eventual national runner-up Shepherd on the road.
IUP opens its 2016 season at East Stroudsburg on Sept. 10. The Crimson Hawks' first home game is Oct. 1 against Seton Hill.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
The Sporting News Preseason Top 25
1. Northwest Missouri State
2. Grand Valley State
3. West Georgia
4. IUP
5. Shepherd
6. Colorado Mines
7. Humboldt State
8. Ashland
9. Slippery Rock
10. Indianapolis
11. Colorado State-Pueblo
12. Henderson State
13. Tuskegee
14. North Alabama
15. Catawba
16. Minnesota State-Mankato
17. Ferris State
18. California (Pa.)
19. Bemidji State
20. Midwestern State
21. Florida Tech
22. Colorado Mesa
23. Augustana
24. Emporia State
25. Assumption
