Five Western opponents listed among Street & Smith’s Top 25

WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY - SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE

Director: Paul Madison Assistants: Butch Kamena, Matt Campbell

360-650-3108, wwuvikings.com

FOOTBALL

Five Western opponents listed among Street & Smith’s Top 25

Four of those games at Civic Stadium

BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Five schools on this fall’s Western Washington University football schedule are ranked in the recently released 2006 Street & Smith’s Magazine Division II Preseason Poll. Four of those teams will be coming to play at renovated Civic Stadium.

Leading Western’s Top 25 opponents is No.7 North Dakota, which the Vikings meet on Sept. 23 at Grand Forks, ND.

Coming to Bellingham are No.13 South Dakota on Oct. 14, No.14 Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 16, No.18 Washburn KS on Sept. 9 and No.19 Minnesota-Duluth on Sept. 30. All four games have 1 p.m. kickoffs.

Four of those five teams - North Dakota (10-3), Washburn (9-3), Minnesota-Duluth (8-4) and Nebraska-Omaha (8-3) - reached the NCAA II national playoffs last season.

South Dakota (9-2) shared the 2005 North Central Conference title with North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha and Minnesota-Duluth. All four teams had 4-2 league records.

In all, the Vikings play seven home games, one against arch-rival Central Washington in the Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup on Oct. 21 (6 p.m.) at Qwest Field.

Also coming to Civic Stadium are Western Oregon on Oct. 28 and Augustana on Nov. 4, both of those contests having 1 p.m. starts.

Western, which makes its NCC debut this season, begins fall practice on Aug. 9 and opens its season on Aug. 31 (6:30 p.m.) at Humboldt State University.

Street & Smith's NCAA Division II Top 25
1. Grand Valley State (MI)
2. East Stroudsburg (PA)
3. North Carolina Central
4. Saginaw Valley State (MI)
5. Northwest Missouri State
6. Pittsburg State (KS)
7. North Dakota
8. North Alabama
9. Bloomsburg (PA)
10. Presbyterian (SC)
11. West Texas A&M
12. Shepherd
13. South Dakota
14. Nebraska-Omaha
15. Carson-Newman (TN)
16. Valdosta State (GA)
17. Ashland (OH)
18. Washburn (KS)
19. Minnesota-Duluth
20. Nebraska-Kearney
21. Winona State (MN)
22. Concordia-St. Paul (MN)
23. C.W. Post (NY)
24. California (PA)
25. Southern Connecticut

Paul Madison
Sports Information Director
Western Washington University
Office - 360-650-3108