For the 18th consecutive season, Butler football begins the preseason ranked as the Grizzlies will open the 2015 season at No. 12 under new head coach Tim Schaffner.
The NJCAA Preseason Top 20 football poll was released by the national office, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Dating back to 1998, Butler is the only NJCAA program to have been ranked in each preseason football poll. The Grizzlies have now also been in the NJCAA Top 20 rankings in 169 consecutive polls - a streak started back in 2002.
However, the No. 12 ranking marks the first time Butler has not been in the preseason top 10 since 2002, when the Grizzlies opened the season ranked 17th.
Butler will face two of the top teams in the nation in the first three weeks of the season. After starting with a road game at Independence on Thursday, Aug. 27, Butler will play host No. 3 Iowa Western on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Grizzlies then hit the road to face No. 6 Hutchinson on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The Grizzlies are one of three KJCCC teams ranked in the preseason poll. In addition to Hutchinson, Coffeyville is ranked 10th, while Dodge City received votes but did not crack the top 20 rankings. Butler, winners of the Jayhawk Conference title in 14 of the last 17 seasons, finished 8-3 last season.
| 2015 NJCAA PRESEASON TOP 20 FOOTBALL POLL | ||
| Rank | Team | 2014 Record |
| 1. | East Mississippi | 12-0 |
| 2. | Trinity Valley (TX) | 12-0 |
| 3. | Iowa Western | 11-1 |
| 4. | Arizona Western | 11-1 |
| 5. | Nassau (NY) |
10-0 |
| 6. | Hutchinson | 10-1 |
| 7. | Copiah-Lincoln (MS) |
8-3 |
| 8. | Snow (UT) |
8-2 |
| 9. | Mississippi Gulf Coast | 8-2 |
| 10. | Coffeyville | 9-2 |
| 11. | Tyler (TX) |
8-3 |
| 12. | Butler | 8-3 |
| 13. | Kilgore (TX) | 7-3 |
| 14. | Georgia Military |
6-4 |
| 15. | Navarro (TX) |
7-3 |
| 16. | Northwest Mississippi | 4-6 |
| 17. | ASA (NY) | 6-2 |
| 18. | Rochester C&TC (MN) | 8-3 |
| 19. | Jones County (MS) | 5-4 |
| 20. | Central Lakes-Brainerd (MN) | 10-2 |
Other schools receiving votes: Blinn (TX); Dodge City; Hinds (MS); Hudson Valley (NY); Lackawanna (PA); Mesa (AZ).