Aug. 20, 2002

The Villanova University football team begins the 2002 season ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Preseason coaches poll released on Monday, August 20 in a vote conducted by a panel of I-AA coaches and sports information directors.

Villanova returns 12 starters and 23 letterwinners from last year's squad that tallied an 8-3 overall record and a 7-2 Atlantic 10 Conference. The 7-2 league record was good enough for Villanova to earn a share of the conference championship.

The Wildcats garnered 125 points in the poll. Defending National Champion Montana earned the top spot in the preseason poll with 1,270 points. Four other Atlantic 10 teams cracked the top 25 including William & Mary at No. 10, Hofstra at No. 13, Maine at No. 15 and Delaware at No. 21. The five Atlantic 10 teams represent the most of any conference in the poll.

Head coach Andy Talley and the Wildcats open the 2002 campaign on Saturday, August 31 at Rutgers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

ESPN/USA TODAY PRESEASON TOP 251.  Montana2.  Appalachian State3.  Northern Iowa4.  Eastern Illinois5.  Georgia Southern6.  Furman7.  Lehigh8.  Youngstown State9.  Grambling10. William & Mary11. McNeese State12. Eastern Kentucky13. Hofstra14. Florida A&M15. Maine16. Sam Houston State17. Portland State18. Western Kentucky19. Northwestern State20. Northern Arizona21. Delaware22. Montana State23. Harvard24. Hampton25. VILLANOVA