The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference has released its 2024 preseason poll and the Lakeland University football team was picked to finish fifth of nine teams in the conference this year.

The Muskies received 83 points in the poll of league coaches and sports information directors to take the middle spot in the poll. Lakeland edged Wisconsin Lutheran College for the fifth spot, with the Warriors receiving 78 points.

Five-time defending champion Aurora University topped the poll with 161 points and also took 17 of the 18 first-place votes. St. Norbert College was second with 124 points and the remaining first-place vote, with Benedictine University right behind in third with 123 points. Concordia University Wisconsin came in fourth with 111 points.

Concordia University Chicago ranked behind Lakeland and Wisconsin Lutheran in seventh with 50 points. Rockford University received 49 points and Eureka College was ninth with 31 points.

Lakeland posted a 4-6 overall record last year and finished 3-5 in the NACC. The Muskies defeated Concordia Chicago, Eureka and Rockford and dropped a pair of three-point decisions to St. Norbert and Concordia Wisconsin, the two teams that tied for second in the conference with 6-2 marks.

Tenth-year head coach Colin Bruton's team includes 15 returning starters, led by two-year starting quarterback Robby Michael (Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.). The defense brings back eight starters, led by second team all-NACC selection Jake Leclaire (Sr.-Stuart, Fla.) and honorable mention picks Shamond Oliver (Jr.-Phenix City, Ala.) and Karlis Ozols (Sr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.).

Once again this season, a minimum of two NACC football programs will experience postseason play. The league's champion will receive the NACC's automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Division III Football Championship. A second NACC program will face off against a representative from the Midwest Conference in the third annual Lakefront Bowl, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 23 at Wisconsin Lutheran's Raabe Stadium.

Lakeland opens its season Saturday, Sept. 7, traveling to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

2024 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Preseason Poll
1. Aurora (17 first-place votes), 161 points
2. St. Norbert (1), 124
3. Benedictine, 123
4. Concordia Wisconsin, 111
5. Lakeland, 83
6. Wisconsin Lutheran, 78
7. Concordia Chicago, 50
8. Rockford, 49
9. Eureka, 31