The N.C. A&T football team moved closer to being recognized as one of the Top-15 teams in Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

In the NCAA FCS Coaches’ Poll, the Aggies rose four spots to No. 16 nationally following their 28-10 win this past weekend over Florida A&M.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25.

In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote. The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season.

The 15 teams ahead of the Aggies in the poll are led by: Jacksonville State followed by Illinois State, Chattanooga, Eastern Washington, McNeese State, North Dakota State, Richmond, Coastal Carolina, Portland State, Sam Houston State, South Dakota State, William & Mary, Charleston Southern, James Madison and Harvard.

The Aggies are ranked ahead of Southern Utah, Youngstown State, Montana, Indiana State, Dartmouth and The Citadel Military College in that order.

The Aggies improved to a 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the MEAC which gave the Aggies one of the biggest jumps in the poll.

Charleston Southern moved up six places to No. 13 after upsetting the previously undefeated Coastal Carolina University. Southern Utah also jumped six spots to No. 18 after beating Cal Poly San Louis Obispo. Youngstown State joined the N.C. A&T in moving up four spaces.

The Aggies were joined in the poll by fellow MEAC rival Bethune-Cookman at No. 25. N.C. A&T made a slight move upward in the Division-I ranking by moving from No. 20 to 19th in the nation.

Alexis Wainwright – Sports Editor