Football | 8/4/2026 7:15:00 PM
LATROBE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After repeating as champions with their 28th Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship last year, Washington & Jefferson College was picked first in the preseason poll during the PAC Football Media Day.
The results of the league's annual preseason poll, voted on by PAC head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media, were announced Wednesday at PAC Football Media Day, hosted by Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for the 19th straight year.
Led by 24th-year head coach Mike Sirianni, W&J claimed 37 first-place votes and tallied 497 total points in the poll. The Presidents went a perfect 8-0 in PAC play last year to earn the program's 28th NCAA playoff bid and finished 8-3 overall.
Sirianni was joined at PAC Media Day by senior defensive lineman Antoine Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic), a First Team All-PAC selection after he posted 40 tackles and 12 tackles-for-loss, including seven sacks, in 2025.
"Obviously we're very honored to be picked as the favorite to win the PAC," said Sirianni. "It shows how our program has been over the years. It means nothing though in terms of who is going to win the conference championship in 2026. We know how challenging the PAC is, we respect every team every team on our schedule and with the unbalanced scheduling, it's going to be very interesting how that plays out. So there is going to be a different component to it this year, but we still know it needs to be won on the field."
Grove City College, who was one of four PAC teams to play in the postseason after earning an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs, was selected second with five first-place votes and 453 points. Westminster College, who finished an 8-3 season with a victory in the Opendorse Bowl Series Extra Points Bowl, placed third with three first-place votes and 395 points. Ranking fourth was Case Western Reserve University with 361 points, followed by Geneva College, who earned an ECAC Bowl bid a season ago, with 339 points.
The balloting was filled out by Allegheny College in sixth (250), Waynesburg University (222), Saint Vincent College (201), Hiram College (152), Thiel College (87) and Bethany College (one first-place vote, 79 points). Saint Francis University was not counted in the 2026 poll, but was represented at Media Day Tuesday.
The 2026 season will be Saint Francis' first in the PAC as the Red Wolves begin conference play while they reclassify from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis will play an eight-game slate in 2026, all against PAC opponents, but the games will not count in the conference standings while SFU reclassifies.
The event started with a brief welcome from PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko, which was followed by Ed Mailliard being recognized as this year's recipient of the Dow Carnahan Media Award. Carnahan, a longtime supporter and friend of the PAC, passed away unexpectedly on April 29, 2016. The award is presented annually to a distinguished member of the media or on-campus representative for his or her commendable service while covering and promoting the conference's student-athletes, coaches and programs.
Mailliard has been affiliated with Allegheny and Gator athletics for more than 50 years. He's covered the Gators during both halves of their membership in the PAC, and provides an invaluable service as Allegheny's primary sports photographer, as well as covering on-campus events for the College's Marketing and Communications office. His name appears in the student newspaper as far back as 1973 and the first-ever NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships program from 1975, and Mailliard still shoots for the Gators today.
The opening weekend of the 2026 football season begins on Thursday, Sept. 3rd when Westminster travels to Marietta College and continues through the 5th with 10 teams playing a non-conference tilt. The PAC schedule kicks off Sept. 19th with two league games and the full conference slate starts Sept. 26th. That is the same day Saint Francis opens its season with the Red Wolves hosting Grove City.
| 2026 PAC Football Preseason Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School |
Points (first place votes) |
2025 Record (PAC) |
| 1. Washington & Jefferson College |
497 (37) |
8-3 (8-0) |
| 2. Grove City College |
453 (5) |
8-3 (7-1) |
| 3. Westminster College |
395 (3) |
8-3 (6-2) |
| 4. Case Western Reserve University |
361 |
4-5-1 (4-4) |
| 5. Geneva College |
339 |
6-5 (6-2) |
| 6. Allegheny College |
250 |
4-6 (4-6) |
| 7. Waynesburg University |
222 |
4-6 (4-4) |
| 8. Saint Vincent College |
201 |
2-8 (1-7) |
| 9. Hiram College |
152 |
3-7 (2-6) |
| 10. Thiel College |
87 |
1-9 (1-7) |
| 11. Bethany College |
79 (1) |
1-9 (1-7) |
| Saint Francis University* |
|
0-11 (0-7 NEC) |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school transitions from Division I