NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE FINISHES SEASON AT NO. 1 IN AFCA DIVISION II COACHES' POLL

WACO, TEX.- Northwest Missouri State broke out to a 21-0 lead in the NCAA Division II national title game and held on for a 30-23 win over Grand Valley State (Mich.) to claim the school's third national championship and the top spot in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll. It is the first time the Bearcats have claimed the season ending No. 1 spot in the Coaches' Poll after coming in No. 2 for the last four years. The AFCA began the Division II Coaches' Poll in 2000.

Grand Valley State (Mich.), Central Washington, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) and Minnesota-Duluth round out the Top 5. Nebraska-Kearney made the biggest move in the poll this year, finishing the season ranked No. 8 after not appearing in the rankings until October 5. Edinboro (Pa.) jumped back into the rankings after a two-week layoff at No. 24 while West Alabama appears in the final poll at No. 21. This is the program's first-ever appearance in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll.

2009 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll
December 14, 2009
Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Prev. Postseason Results Head Coach

1. Northwest Missouri St. (25) 14-1 625 2 D. No. 3 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 30-23, in championship Mel Tjeerdsma

2. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 13-2 600 3 Lost to No. 2 Northwest Missouri St., 30-23, in championship Chuck Martin

3. Central Washington 12-1 558 1 Lost to No. 2 Northwest Missouri St., 21-20, in quarterfinals Blaine Bennett

4. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 11-3 535 10 Lost to No. 3 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 41-27, in semifinals Ken Sparks

5. Minnesota-Duluth 11-2 502 4 Lost to No. 3 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 24-10, in quarterfinals Bob Nielson

6. North Alabama 11-2 492 5 Lost to No. 10 Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 24-21, in quarterfinals Terry Bowden

7. California (Pa.) 11-4 426 22 Lost to No. 2 Northwest Missouri St., 56-31, in semifinals John Luckhardt

8. Nebraska-Kearney 11-2 413 6 Lost to No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, 42-7, in second round Darrell Morris

9. West Liberty (W.Va.) 11-2 377 9 Lost to No. 22 California (Pa.), 57-35, in quarterfinals Roger Waialae

10. Tarleton St. (Texas) 10-3 362 12 Lost to No. 1 Central Washington, 27-6, in second round Sam McElroy

11. Hillsdale (Mich.) 10-3 352 15 Lost to No. 3 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 44-27, in second round Keith Otterbein

12. Minnesota St.-Mankato 10-2 310 8 Lost to No. 15 Hillsdale (Mich.), 27-24 OT, in first round Todd Hoffner

13. Abilene Christian (Texas) 9-4 307 18 Lost to No. 2 Northwest Missouri St., 35-10, in second round Chris Thomsen

14. Midwestern St. (Texas) 9-3 289 7 Lost to No. 18 Abilene Christian (Tex.), 24-21, in first round Bill Maskill

15. Shippensburg (Pa.) 9-3 272 17 Lost to No. 22 California (Pa.), 26-21, in second round Rocky Rees

16. Texas A&M-Kingsville 9-3 253 13 Lost to No. 12 Tarleton St. (Texas), 57-56 2OT, in first round Bo Atterberry

17. Tuskegee (Ala.) 10-2 244 14 D. Elizabeth City St. (N.C.), 21-7, in Pioneer Bowl Willie Slater

18. Arkansas Tech 9-3 235 21 Lost to No. 5 North Alabama, 41-28, in second round Steve Mullins

19. Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) 9-3 206 16 Lost to No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney, 35-20, in first round Jim Collins

20. North Carolina-Pembroke 9-2 166 11 Lost to No. 21 Arkansas Tech, 41-13, in first round Pete Shinnick

21. West Alabama 8-5 113 NR Lost to No. 10 Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 59-41, in second round Bobby Wallace

22. Albany St. (Ga.) 8-3 106 20 Lost to West Alabama, 24-22, in first round Mike White

23. Charleston (W.Va.) 9-2 82 19 DNQ Playoffs Tony DeMeo

24. Edinboro (Pa.) 9-4 77 NR Lost to No. 9 West Liberty (W.Va.), 84-63, in second round Scott Browning

25. Washburn (Kan.) 8-3 43 24 DNQ Playoffs Craig Schurig

Dropped Out: Central Missouri (23), Bloomsburg (Pa.) (25).

Others Receiving Votes:  West Texas A&M, 39; Missouri Western St., 36; Central Missouri, 35; Bloomsburg (Pa.), 14; Colorado School of Mines, 10; Bentley (Mass.), 9; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 9; Wayne St. (Neb.), 8; Wingate (N.C.), 8; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 5; Winona St. (Minn.), 4; Glenville St. (W.Va.), 1; Nebraska-Omaha, 1; Seton Hill (Pa.), 1.

For more information on the AFCA and its programs, log on to the AFCA's website at www.afca.com.

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