PARK CITY, Utah – Northern Arizona football was picked to finish fifth in the 2013 Big Sky Media and Coaches' Preseason Polls, which were released Monday at the Big Sky Conference Summer Kickoff.

Northern Arizona finished 8-3 last season, including an eight-game win streak.

The Lumberjacks return senior All-American running back Zach Bauman, as well as all-conference players safety Lucky Dozier, cornerback Anders Battle, defensive lineman Tim Wilkinson and punter/kicker Andy Wilder.

The Lumberjacks will begin the 2013 season on Friday, August 30 at the University of Arizona. NAU's first conference game will be on September 28 versus Montana. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports.

The top 10 spots in both polls were exactly the same. Montana State was selected to win the Big Sky, while Eastern Washington was picked second, and Montana third. Cal Poly was voted fourth, and Northern Arizona was picked fifth to round out the top five.

Sacramento State was tabbed sixth, followed by North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Portland State.

2013 Preseason Football Polls 

Media Poll

1. Montana State (31)............................ 596

2. Eastern Washington (12).................... 566

3. Montana (3)....................................... 492

4. Cal Poly (1)........................................ 466

5. Northern Arizona............................. 457

6. Sacramento St. (1)............................. 374

7. North Dakota .................................... 309

8. Northern Colorado ............................. 239

9. Southern Utah .................................. 228

10. Portland State .................................. 212

11. UC Davis...........................................191

12. Weber State ..................................... 164

13. Idaho State........................................74

Coaches' Poll

1. Montana State (8)............................... 140

2. Eastern Washington (3)....................... 130

3. Montana (2)........................................ 111

4. Cal Poly.............................................. 109

5. Northern Arizona............................... 104

6. Sacramento State................................. 88

7. North Dakota....................................... 66

8. Northern Colorado ............................... 63

9. Southern Utah .................................... 57

10. Portland State ................................... 49

11. Weber State ...................................... 48

12. UC Davis........................................... 37

13. Idaho State........................................ 12

First-place votes in parentheses. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.