NEWTOWN, Pa.— The Middle Atlantic Conference Office today released results of the 2026 MAC Football Preseason Coaches' Poll. League Coaches picked the Eastern University Eagles to repeat as MAC Champions in 2026. Eastern garnered first-place votes from all nine opposing head coaches.
The Eastern program had a breakthrough season in 2025. The Eagles went 8-1 in the league and finished in the third round of the NCAA Tournament after a bye and an impressive 28-24 win at Franklin & Marshall College in Eastern's NCAA Tournament debut. Riding a strong running game and defense that was among the national leaders in multiple categories, Eastern finished 10-2 overall.
While Head Coach Billy Crocker and his staff will, for the first time, need to replace losses from graduation, the Eagles return several key pieces on both sides of the ball. The Eastern defense returns starting talent on all three levels and had a spring season to integrate more young players under new Defensive Coordinator Matt Sutjak.
Jason Bateman led Division III in forced fumbles last year and earned All-America Honors and MAC Defensive Player of the Year recognition in the middle of a strong linebacker group. Teams averaged less than 250 yards per game against the Eagles last fall.
Offensive Coordinator Nate HInkle and Co-Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Colin Scott will have experience in the backfield MAC Offensive Player of the Year
Brett Nabb will be under center again and
Jeremiah Avrilien will both look to build on 1000 yard rushing seasons. Avrilien ran for 15 scores and caught another pass for a touchdown in 2025. Nabb ran for four scores against F & M. On the year, he threw for 11 touchdowns and ran for 11 more. After piecing together a line through many injuries last fall, Scott will have a deep group to choose from as the Eagles take the field this fall.
After an early test at No. 24 Endicott, the Eagles will start the league season with home tests against Misericordia and Lebanon Valley. League coaches picked the Cougars to finish third and LVC to finish tied for fourth. Last year, the Dutchmen beat the Eagles on a last-second field goal.
The Eagles will then go to Doylestown to to take on a Delaware Valley program that features a pair of pre-season All-Americans and a lengthy history of post-season play. League coaches picked Del Val, which won titles in every season between 2017 and 2023, to finish second.
After a bye week, Eastern will host King's and Widener before finishing the year with three of four on the road. Eastern's final remaining home game will be on November 7 against Stevenson. The Mustangs were picked to finish in a tie for fourth.
The MAC Champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship Tournament. The top three teams not to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament will earn spots in the Centennial-MAC Bowl series.
