2026 LSC Football Preseason Guide
Central Washington is predicted to win the 2026 Lone Star Conference football championship according to the LSC Football Preseason Poll, which was announced on Thursday (July 23) at LSC Football Media Day at McKinney ISD Stadium’s Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas.
CWU totaled 276 points and collected 16 of the possible 30 first-place votes. The Wildcats, who are led by first-year head coach Scott Power, won their first LSC championship in 2025 with a perfect 9-0 league record. CWU (10-2 overall) reached the NCAA playoffs for the third straight year.
Western Oregon is picked as the conference runner-up with 247 points and nine first-place votes. The Wolves went 8-3 overall last season and tied for the conference runner-up spot with a 7-2 mark. They won six of their final seven games.
West Texas A&M is the third-place selection with 217 points and one first-place vote. The Buffs (8-4, 7-2 LSC) ended last season on a four-game winning streak, including capturing the Heritage Bowl title.
Angelo State is predicted to finish fourth with 215 points and picked up one first-place vote. The Rams have won two of the last four LSC titles (2024 and 2022).
UT Permian Basin is the fifth-place selection with 203 points and two first-place votes. The Falcons, who won their first LSC crown in 2023, reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season.
Texas A&M-Kingsville (162 points) was picked sixth, followed by Eastern New Mexico (125 points), Midwestern State (112 points), Western New Mexico (58 points) and Sul Ross State (35 points). ENMU picked up the final first-place vote.
The preseason poll is voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.
The LSC regular season will begin as early as Thursday, Aug. 27 with ASU, ENMU, WT and WNMU kicking off that day. MSU, SRSU, TAMUK, UTPB and WOU will start Saturday, Aug. 29, while CWU gets going Saturday, Sept. 5. All 10 league teams will play nine conference games to determine the conference champion. To see a composite schedule, click
here.
The first season of LSC football was in 1931. TAMUK boasts a conference-best 27 championships, with its first coming in 1959 and last in 2009. ASU (also 1978, 1984 and 1987) and WT (1986, 2005-2007 and 2012) have won five LSC crowns each. MSU (2011-2012, 2017 and 2021) was won four times, while ENMU (1991 and 2013) and SRSU (1950 and 1965) have prevailed two times each.
To follow LSC football this season, click
here. Fans can also watch games live on
FloCollege and find live scoring updates on the
LSC Scoreboard powered by StatBroadcast.
2026 LSC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Rank |
Team |
1st |
Total |
| 1 |
Central Washington |
16 |
276 |
| 2 |
Western Oregon |
9 |
247 |
| 3 |
West Texas A&M |
1 |
217 |
| 4 |
Angelo State |
1 |
215 |
| 5 |
UT Permian Basin |
2 |
203 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
162 |
| 7 |
Eastern New Mexico |
1 |
125 |
| 8 |
Midwestern State |
|
112 |
| 9 |
Western New Mexico |
|
58 |
| 10 |
Sul Ross State |
|
35 |