After finishing No. 2 in last year’s final poll, Bethune-Cookman begins the 2013 collegiate football season at No.1 in this year’s Boxtorow FCS HBCU Coaches’ Poll.
The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats received 10 of 17 first-place votes in the annual poll which is administered twice yearly from the press box and press row, and voted on by coaches of Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB) garnered five first-place votes this preseason to finish at No. 2 behind Bethune-Cookman, and just one point ahead of the Tennessee State Tigers despite finishing last season in the top position in both preseason and post-season polls. Tennessee State received two first-place votes in the recent poll after finishing third in the final 2012 tally.
Bethune-Cookman’s margin of 19 poll points on No. 2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the biggest preseason lead for No. 1 since South Carolina State’s 24-point edge on Prairie View A&M heading into the 2010 season.
