HAMMOND, La. –  The Southeastern Louisiana University football team is ranked 20^th in the 2022 HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top 25, which was released on Wednesday.
 
SLU, one of six teams to be ranked in the final FCS Coaches and Stats Perform national polls in each of the past three seasons, returns 11 All-Southland Conference performers from a 2021 squad that made its second FCS playoff appearance in the past three seasons.
 
Southeastern is the lone Southland Conference school represented in the HERO Sports Preseason Top 25. 2021 all-conference performers Gage Larvadain, Zy Alexander, Jalen Bell, Taron Jones, John Allen, Garrett Crawford, Donniel Ward-Magee, Mateo Rengifo, Austin Dunlap, John Graves III and Jack Henderson all return for SLU, which will also get a boost from the return from injury of top receiver CJ Turner.
 
The Lions report back in the fall on Aug. 4 with the team's first practice set for Aug. 5. Southeastern will open the 2022 season Sept. 3 at UL Lafayette. The five-game home schedule begins with a 6 p.m. Sept. 17 contest versus Central Connecticut State and includes visits from Murray State (Oct. 1, 6 p.m. – Hall of Fame Game), Southland newcomer Texas A&M-Commerce (Oct. 8, 4 p.m. - Homecoming), HBU (Nov. 5, 6 p.m.) and Northwestern State (Nov. 12, 6 p.m.).
 
2022 HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Montana State
4. Montana
5. East Tennessee State
6. Missouri State
7. Sam Houston
8. Kennesaw State
9. Villanova
10. Sacramento State
11. Stephen F. Austin
T12. UIW
T12. Southern Illinois
14. UT Martin
15. Delaware
16. Chattanooga
17. Holy Cross
18. Eastern Washington
19. Jackson State
20. Southeastern
21. South Dakota
22. Harvard
23. Dartmouth
24. Northern Iowa
T25. Richmond
T25. UC Davis
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2021-22 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.
 
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.