August 10th, 2026 8:00am
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – For the second straight season, Bentley - the reigning conference champion - has been picked first in the Northeast 10 Conference Football Coaches' Poll. Head coaches vote in the poll and the results were announced by the league office on Monday morning.
Bentley received 47 points and five first-place votes in the poll, holding off second-place Assumption which had 45 points. Franklin Pierce (33 points) and Southern Connecticut (31 points) rounded-out the top half of the league.
Bentley won its fifth conference title in program history in 2025 under first-year head coach CJ Scarpa.The Falcons finished with a 7-4 record, including a 6-1 mark in NE10 games, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. It was the first time in league history that the NE10 champion received an automatic bid into NCAA postseason play.
Assumption is coming off a season where it advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, going 9-3 (6-1 NE10) overall. Franklin Pierce finished third last season in the NE10 standings while setting a program record for wins with six, its most since joining Division II in 2019.
Saint Anselm placed fifth in the poll with 27 points, American International was sixth with 18 points, Post was seventh with 12 points and Pace was eighth with 11 points.
The 2026 NE10 season opens with a pair of 1 p.m. kick-offs on Saturday, August 29th. Post travels to West Virginia Wesleyan College, while AIC hosts Monroe University. All home games and conference games can be watched this season on NE10 NOW on FloSports.
2026 NE10 Football Coaches' Poll
| Rank | Team | Votes (1st Place) |
| 1 | Bentley Falcons | 47 (5) |
| 2 | Assumption Greyhounds | 45 (3) |
| 3 | Franklin Pierce Ravens | 33 |
| 4 | SCSU Owls | 31 |
| 5 | Saint Anselm Hawks | 27 |
| 6 | AIC Yellow Jackets | 18 |
| 7 | Post Eagles | 12 |
| 8 | Pace Setters | 11 |