SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks begin the 2013 season ranked 18th in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll that was released on Tuesday.

The Lumberjacks are coming off an 8-3 season, which included wins over UNLV and Montana. Northern Arizona will be led by Walter Payton candidate Zach Bauman on offense. The senior running back is 119 yards shy of breaking the Lumberjack career rushing yards record, and is 34 yards away from cracking the Top 10 on the Big Sky all-time rushers' chart.

NAU has a plethora of newcomers returning in addition to Bauman. Senior punter/kicker Andy Wilder, cornerback Anders Battle and safety Lucky Dozier have all earned preseason All-American honors. The Lumberjacks return nine starters on offense and nine starters on defense.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.

Preseason 2012 FCS Coaches Preseason Poll  (August 6, 2013)

Team (No. 1 Votes)              2012 Record       Points        Final 2012 Ranking

1. North Dakota State (23)         14-1                  645                   1

2. Montana State (1)                  11-2                  591                   5

3. Eastern Washington               11-3                  549                   4

4. Sam Houston State (1)           11-4                  534                   2

5. Wofford                                9-4                    450                   7

6. Central Arkansas                   9-3                    428                   10

7. South Dakota State               9-4                    410                   17

8. New Hampshire                     8-4                    386                   13

9. Villanova                               8-4                    381                   16

10. Illinois State                         9-4                    379                   9

11. Cal Poly                              9-3                    348                   11

12. Towson                               7-4                    347                   15

13. Stony Brook                        10-3                  326                   12

14. Richmond                            8-3                    274                   18

15. James Madison                   7-4                    235                   21

16. Northern Iowa                      5-6                    218                   NR

17. Lehigh                                 10-1                  198                   14

18. Northern Arizona                  8-3                    196                   20

19. Eastern Kentucky (1)            8-3                    188                   19

20. Bethune-Cookman               9-3                    159                   23

21. Coastal Carolina                  8-5                    140                   24

22. Montana                              6-2                  135                   NR

23. Eastern Illinois                     7-5                    120                   25

24. Youngstown State               7-4                    107                   NR

25. Chattanooga                        6-5                    104                   NR

Others receiving votes: Wagner (87), Colgate (67), Tennessee State (52), Harvard (48), Delaware (47), The Citadel (39), Liberty (39), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (35), Indiana State (27), Stephen F. Austin (19), McNeese State (16), Penn (13), Alcorn State (12), Jacksonville State (11), Samford (10), Norfolk State (7), Alabama State (7), UC Davis (7), Southern Illinois (6), Maine (5), Albany (5), Tennessee Tech (5), UT Martin (4), Gardner Webb (4), Sacramento State (3), Hampton (3), San Diego (2), Jackson State (1), Missouri State (1), Brown (1)

Note: The following programs are ineligible for the Coaches Poll due to their transition to the FBS- Appalachian State, Charlotte, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion.