NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University's football squad is ranked 18th in the nation in the pre-season poll from D3football.com. The announcement was made on Monday morning by the website.

The Captains, who are coming off their first undefeated regular season in program history, finished 10-1 last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time.

Paul Crowley's team captured its second New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title in 2025. The Christopher Newport football program began play in 2001, and has enjoyed remarkable success over its first 25 seasons. CNU has compiled an all-time record of 159-93 for a winning percentage of .631.  The Captains have won 12 total conference titles, and recorded an all-time conference record of 125-45 (.735) following a 7-0 mark last year in the NJAC. 

The upcoming season will be the 26th in the program's history, and will open on Saturday, September 5th, at TowneBank Stadium. CNU will host the Apprentice School in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

The complete pre-season poll from D3football.com:
 

Rank	School (No. 1 votes)	W-L	Points
1	North Central (Ill.) (25)	14-1	625
2	Bethel	12-1	576
3	Mount Union	11-1	565
4	Johns Hopkins	12-2	515
5	Wheaton (Ill.)	11-3	447
6	UW-Platteville	9-3	446
7	UW-River Falls	14-1	444
8	John Carroll	12-2	430
9	Wartburg	10-1	413
10	UW-La Crosse	8-3	402
11	St. John's	10-2	372
12	UW-Whitewater	8-3	370
13	DePauw	10-2	288
14	Trinity (Texas)	10-2	263
15	Hardin-Simmons	9-2	247
16	Berry	11-2	238
17	Salisbury	10-2	237
18	Christopher Newport	10-1	182
19	Hope	9-2	173
20	Susquehanna	11-3	160
21	Mary Hardin-Baylor	7-3	113
22	Coe	9-3	89
23	Cortland	8-3	56
24	Endicott	9-2	49
25	Randolph-Macon	9-2	48

Others receiving votes: Franklin & Marshall 47; UW-Oshkosh 39; Alma 34; Linfield 33; Eastern 28; Washington and Jefferson 26; Muhlenberg 24; Springfield 23; Utica 17; Wabash 14; Chapman 13; Rowan 11; Washington U. 10; Central 9; Whitworth 7; Aurora 6; Monmouth 6; Ithaca 5; Ohio Northern 5; Wesleyan 5; UW-Stout 4; Adrian 3; Hanover 3; Carnegie Mellon 2; Baldwin Wallace 1; Calvin 1; Grove City 1.

The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis. The D3football.com Top 25 started in the 2003 season.