FORT WORTH, Texas – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced the first ever SAC preseason football coaches’ poll at the conference’s media day in the historic Davey O’Brien Sports Lounge inside The Fort Worth Club today. The Rams were slated ninth, while 2017 Central States Football League champion Langston took home the top spot.

The Ram Club, on top of securing the Davey O’Brien Sports Lounge as the site of media day, also hosted a welcome dinner for all attendees on Wednesday at Reata Restaurant in downtown Fort Worth. Student-athletes heard from Cory Proctor, former NFL offensive lineman, on the value of leadership.

It was the first time the Davey O’Brien Sports Lounge was made available to host an event of any type. 

“Our direction this season is straight up.” said head coach Joe Prud’homme while addressing media on Thursday. “We have a lot of new faces on the team, we had a great recruiting season, and we feel like we put ourselves in a good position to start the year.”

The most notable additions to the Ram roster includes former Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Donovan Isom and Former Texas Tech running back Desmond Nisby.

Conference coaches also named preseason award winners. Southwestern Assemblies of God quarterback C.J. Collins became the preseason SAC offensive player of the year.

Oklahoma Panhandle State linebacker Nate Leithead has been tabbed preseason league defensive player of the year, while Lyon kicker-punter Ignacio Gomez snared preseason special teams’ player of the year.

Collins, a senior from Bosqueville, Texas, produced 2,840 yards and 26 touchdowns passing last year for the Lions. He ranked 15th in the NAIA in passing yardage to grab league player of the year.

Leithead, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., picked up 69 tackles, 32 solo tackles, 2½ sacks and an interception for the Aggies to snag all-league acclaim. Gomez, a junior from Wilmer, Texas, connected on 9-of-12 field-goal attempts and 37-of-39 extra-point attempts while averaging 39.5 yards on punts to make the all-league team.

“What a great moment in history for this conference,” said SAC commissioner Stan Wagnon. “For us to embark upon being a football conference and to be able to provide some stability for years to come for the nine programs represented today is truly unique. Hopefully create a winning tradition in football as we have in our other sports and we look forward to sharing that success.”

This year marks the inaugural football season for the SAC, whose member schools have amassed a NAIA-best 106 national championships in 14 sports throughout its 40-year history. The first game of 2018 featuring an SAC member happens Thursday, Aug. 23, when Southwestern Assemblies of God visits Evangel (Mo.) for an ESPN3-broadcasted bout. The first ever SAC contest is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, when Ottawa-Arizona visits Langston.

The Rams will kick-off the 2018 season on Saturday, September 1 when the team takes on Kansas Wesleyan. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. under the lights of Farrington Field. For tickets, click here

Sooner Athletic Conference

2018 Football Coaches' Preseason Poll

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points
1.	Langston (7)	63
T2.	Arizona Christian (1)	51
T2.	Southwestern Assemblies of God (1)	51
4.	Oklahoma Panhandle State	46
T5.	Lyon	30
T5.	Wayland Baptist	30
7.	Ottawa-Arizona	22
8.	Texas College	16
9.	Texas Wesleyan	15

NOTE: Votes were cast by each of the nine head coaches. Coaches could not vote for their own team.

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: C.J. Collins, QB, Southwestern Assemblies of God

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Nate Leithead, LB, Panhandle State

Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: Ignacio Gomez, P/K, Lyon