“The third place vote is what I anticipated since it was our finish last year,” says head coach Frank Tristan , “I feel like Arizona Christian and Langston are returning a lot of players and I expect them to be strong this year as well.”

SAGU will be returning many starters as well as a handful of all-conference picks. CSFL Defensive Player of the Year , D’Vonn Brown , will return for his senior season.  Brown, along with fellow first-team picks junior offensive lineman Devon Petty , junior defensive lineman Matt Lighter, sophomore defensive back Carl Morgan andsenior kicker Chadd Dearen will all be returning for the 2016 season .

Arizona Christian finished the 2015 season with a 6-3 overall record and were undefeated in conference play.   They were also ranked No. 22 in the 2016 Spring NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.  ACU received 52 points in the poll and had seven first place votes.  The poll is comprised of the league’s coaches and sports information directors.

Langston University was on the heels of the top vote getter, as the Lions were just three points shy of the Firestorm.  Langston fell into second place and received 49 total points while being picked twice as the first place team. Southwestern Assemblies of God University also received a pair of first place votes and took a third place ranking with 42 total points to finish in third.

Wayland Baptist University (Tex.) sewed up fourth place with 33 points and Texas College ranked fifth, receiving 24 total points. Bacone College landed in the sixth spot with 19 points and Lyon College (Ark.) rounded out the poll with 12 points.

During the 2016 season, seven teams will compete for the CSFL title, including three teams from Texas, two schools from Oklahoma and one University out of Arizona and Arkansas. The CSFL is comprised of Arizona Christian University, Bacone College, Langston University, Lyon College (Ark.), Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Tex.), Wayland Baptist University (Tex.), and Texas College.

2016 CSFL Preseason Poll

Rank    School                                                              Points (1 ^st place votes)
1.      Arizona Christian University                             52 (7)
2.      Langston University                                           49 (2)
3.      SAGU (Tex.)                                                         42 (2)
4.      Wayland Baptist University (Tex.)                    33
5.      Texas College                                                     24
6.      Bacone College                                                  19
7.      Lyon College (Ark.)                                            12

The Lions will officially kick-off the new season on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at Howard Payne University.  Game time is at 7pm.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.

Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]