CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the first time, two teams finished as the favorite in the annual Big South preseason football poll, as two-time defending conference champion Charleston Southern University and third-year program Kennesaw State University claimed the top spot in the 2017 preseason rankings as voted by the league’s head coaches and media panel. The poll was released today at the Big South Conference Football Media Day Kickoff Luncheon at the Charlotte Marriott City Center hotel in Uptown Charlotte.



Both teams received nine first-place votes, eight second-place votes and one third-place vote to finish atop the poll with 80 points each.



The Buccaneers, who clinched the league’s automatic bid in 2016 and finished the season ranked in the Top 15, enter 2017 with a conference-high 68 letterwinners returning, including 16 starters. Mark Tucker begins his first year as Head Coach after serving as Quarterbacks Coach during the Bucs’ most successful four-year run in program history with 35 wins and two FCS Playoff berths from 2013-16. The squad has gone 10-1 in Big South games since 2015 and received a No. 16 preseason national ranking by Athlon’s.



The Owls are the preseason favorite for the first time in their three-year football history after being selected third last season and seventh in 2015. KSU is just the third Big South member to finish first in the conference’s preseason poll in its third year in the league. Under the direction of third-year head coach Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State has won 14 games in its two years of existence, was nationally-ranked for the first time in 2016 (No. 22 in the FCS Coaches Poll on Nov. 14), and welcomes back 51 letterwinners and 20 starters. The Owls will host Charleston Southern on Saturday, Nov. 11.



Gardner-Webb and fifth-year head coach Carroll McCray claimed third-place in the poll with 54 points -- its highest preseason standing since being picked third in 2013 -- and received two second-place votes from the panel. Monmouth, which begins its fourth season in the Big South this fall, was again predicted fourth in the preseason poll. Led by 25-year head coach Kevin Callahan, the Hawks earned 36 points. Presbyterian College rounded out the preseason voting with the fifth and final spot, as the Blue Hose and new head coach Tommy Spangler received 20 points.



Liberty was not eligible for the preseason poll due to its transition to FBS and ineligibility for the conference championship and FCS Playoffs. The Flames are playing their final Big South football season in 2017 and remain a conference opponent.



Kennesaw State and Presbyterian open the 2017 season on Thursday night, Aug. 31. The Blue Hose visit Wake Forest at 6:30pm, while the Owls will play at Samford at 7:00pm. The remaining four Big South teams open on Saturday, Sept. 2. Conference play starts Saturday, Oct. 14 and the regular-season concludes Saturday, Nov. 18, with the Big South champion receiving the league’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.



2017 Preseason Poll (first-place votes) Points T-1. Charleston Southern (9) 80 T-1. Kennesaw State (9) 80 3. Gardner-Webb 54 4. Monmouth 36 5. Presbyterian College 20 -- Liberty * n/a

* - not eligible for preseason poll due to transition to FBS

Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 5 points, followed by 4 points for second-place, and so on.