HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team was ranked 11^th in the Spring 2021 Athlon Sports FCS Top 25, which was released on Tuesday.      
 
The Lions were one of three Southland Conference teams listed in the top 25. Nicholls, who SLU closes the regular season at on April 10, is No. 8 in the poll. Southeastern opens the season on Feb. 27 at Sam Houston, which is listed as No. 10 by Athlon Sports.
 
SLU is coming off a 2019 campaign that saw the program return to the FCS playoffs for the third time in school history, finishing the season ranked nationally in both the FCS Coaches (18^th) and Stats Perform (19^th) polls. The full Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25, including capsules on each team, is available at https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football/athlon-sports-preseason-fcs-top-25-2021-spring.
 
The Lions return to the practice field on Tuesday for a 3:40 p.m. practice. SLU is scheduled to open its six-game, conference-only spring schedule on Feb. 27 with a 6 p.m. contest at Sam Houston State. The Lions host McNeese at 6 p.m. on March 6 at Strawberry Stadium to open their home slate.  
 
Spring 2021 Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. Weber State
3. Northern Iowa
4. James Madison
5. South Dakota State
6. Kennesaw State
7. Villanova
8. Nicholls
9. Illinois State
10. Sam Houston
11. Southeastern Louisiana
12. Eastern Washington
13. Southern Illinois
14. New Hampshire
15. Furman
16. Jacksonville State
17. North Carolina A&T
18. Albany
19. Austin Peay
20. Wofford
21. Monmouth
22. Delaware
23. Southeast Missouri State
24. Idaho
25. South Carolina State
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet. SLU is scheduled to host McNeese (March 6), Northwestern State (March 13) and Lamar (April 3) this coming spring. Current state and local health regulations limit capacity at Strawberry Stadium to 2,518.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.