Mount Union Voted First in OAC Preseason Coaches Poll

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Mount Union, under the direction of fourth-year Head Coach Geoff Dartt, was picked to win the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) football title in 2023 by the league coaches.

Mount Union received nine of 10 first place votes to collect 81 points, followed by John Carroll with 70 points. Baldwin Wallace finished third with 66 points and one first-place vote, followed by Heidelberg with 59 points and Marietta with 47 points. Head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.

Graduate students quarterback Braxton Plunk (Plant City, Fla. / Plant City) and wide receiver Wayne Ruby Jr. (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Charles W. Flanagan) and junior linebacker Rossy Moore (Lima, Ohio / Lima) were listed on the OAC Players to Watch List for the Purple Raiders.

The Raiders won their 33rd total and sixth-straight OAC title and appeared in their 22nd NCAA Championship in 2022. They will be vying for their NCAA Division III-record 14th Championship.

Mount Union will open its season with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday, Sept. 2 at Defiance College.

Full OAC preseason poll (first-place votes in parentheses), followed by points
1. Mount Union (9), 81
2. John Carroll, 70
3. Baldwin Wallace (1), 66
4. Heidelberg, 59
5. Marietta, 47
6. Ohio Northern, 37
7. Muskingum, 33
8. Wilmington, 24
9. Otterbein, 20
10. Capital, 13

*The OAC contributed to this release.