Fort Hays State football was picked eighth in both the 2013 MIAA Coaches and Media Preseason Polls, released on Monday morning (Aug. 5) at MIAA Football Media Day in Kansas City, Mo. The Tigers are picked in a similar spot to where they finished last year, when they went 5-6 overall and 4-6 in the MIAA, tying for ninth in the conference standings.
Chris Brown at MIAA Football Media Day
The Tigers saw an improvement in wins in Chris Brown’s second year as head coach, one game better than the 4-7 overall mark in his first year of 2011. The Tigers matched their highest amount of wins in MIAA play for a season with four, also accomplished by the 2009 team. This is the eighth year of competition for Fort Hays State in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Fort Hays State opens practice next week on a brand new artificial turf surface at Lewis Field Stadium. The field will have a new look in 2013 as the 50-yardline now features the Tiger logo and the endzones are black with gold lettering. The finishing touches are being performed on the Schmidt-Bickle Indoor Training Facility right next to the stadium for use in the coming weeks.
The Tigers have just eight starters from the 2012 season returning, four on offense and four on defense. Defensive back Micheal Jordan is the only All-MIAA selection from 2012 to return. The Tigers do have the running back combo of Andre and Edward Smith back in 2012, after both went down with season ending injuries early last year and received medical redshirts. Andre Smith was an All-MIAA selection in 2011 as a junior that ran for 963 yards and Edward Smith added 748 yards on the ground that season. The pair combined for 1,711 rushing yards in 2011.
Returning starters on offense for FHSU include sophomore offensive linemen Matt Erbert and Jarred Stindt, and senior wide receivers Tanner Hageman and Keaton Callins. Returning starters on defense include senior defensive lineman Basil Bandy, senior defensive back Stephen Marcotte, junior defensive back Micheal Jordan, and junior defensive lineman Jesse Trent.
Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State tied for first in the coaches vote, each gaining 159 votes and six first place votes each. Pittsburg State grabbed two first place votes in third. In the media poll, Northwest Missouri State edged Missouri Western slightly with 300 votes to 294. Both teams received 10 first place votes in that poll. Missouri Western was the regular season champion last year and joined Northwest Missouri State as teams from the MIAA in the NCAA Playoffs last year.
Fort Hays State grabbed 70 votes in the coaches poll to sit alone in eighth and tied for eighth in the media poll with Missouri Southern, each with 138 votes.
Below are the preseason polls for the 2013 season…
2013 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
T1. Missouri Western (6) 159
T1. Northwest Missouri (6) 159
3. Pittsburg State (2) 145
4. Central Missouri 119
5. Lindenwood 117
6. Washburn 116
7. Emporia State 113
8. Fort Hays State 70
9. Missouri Southern 68
10. Central Oklahoma 57
11. Northeastern State 56
12. Nebraska-Kearney 51
13. Southwest Baptist 30
14. Lincoln 14
2013 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (10) 300
2. Missouri Western (10) 294
3. Pittsburg State (2) 276
4. Washburn 231
5. Lindenwood 221
6. Central Missouri 205
7. Emporia State (1) 197
T8. Fort Hays State 138
T8. Missouri Southern 138
10. Northeastern State 125
11. Central Oklahoma 113
12. Nebraska-Kearney 96
13. Southwest Baptist 52
14. Lincoln 29
-FHSU Sports Information-