Morningside was picked first in both the coaches and media GPAC pre-season football polls.

Morningside College was tabbed the favorite in the 2015 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) football race when the Mustangs topped both the coaches and media pre-season polls announced at GPAC Football Media Day held Thursday, Aug. 6, in South Sioux City, Neb.

The four-time reigning GPAC champions received all nine first place votes in the media poll and nine of the 10 first place votes from the league’s head coaches. Head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. The Mustangs scored 90 points in the media poll for a 10-point margin over runner-up Northwestern College and had 81 points an eight-point margin over the runner-up Red Raiders in the GPAC Coaches Poll.

Morningside posted an 11-2 record last fall and made an 11th consecutive appearance in the NAIA Championship Series, where it advanced to the national semifinals.

The Mustangs have a 112-23 record for a .830 winning percentage since the start of the 2004 season. Morningside has advanced to at least the semifinals of the NAIA Championship Series each of the past three seasons, including an appearance in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game.

Morningside will open the 2015 season with a 1 p.m. game against Sterling College on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Sterling, Kan., as part of the inaugural GPAC/KCAC Classic.

Click here for the complete poll results.