Saxons Earn Top-20 National Rankings in Street & Smith and CFA Preseason Polls

ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team was ranked #17 in the Lindy's Street & Smith and #20 in the College Football America Yearbook's 2019 Division III Preseason Top 30 on Monday. The Saxons had not been nationally ranked since the 2017 season. The Saxons have returned to national prominence in the LIndy's Street & Smith and College Football America (CFA) Yearbook rankings after spending much of the 2018 season on the fringe of the D3Football.com and AFCA top-25 rankings. Leading into the 2019, the Saxons are ranked #17/#20 in the nation by CFA – the highest ranking in the Empire 8. Brockport was ranked #23 in the CFA preseason poll. The only other 2019 opponent for the Saxons that earned a preseason ranking was Ithaca College at #15 in the Street & Smith poll and #25 in the CFA poll. AU closed out the 2018 season 7-4 overall and 4-3 in Empire 8 play and advanced to the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl where they defeated former Empire 8 rival, Salisbury University, 14-7. The Saxons have made 16 postseason appearances in the last 17 years, including nine ECAC Bowl Championships and three trips to the NCAA tournament. Leading into the 2019 season, Head Coach Bob Rankl said, ""I am extremely excited to see what the 2019 Saxons can do on the field this fall. We have a great group of players returning as well as the best recruiting class that we have ever had. Our players and coaches have invested a lot of time preparing for next season. There is still a lot of work to do but we are definitely excited for a special season."