HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team made its 2025 debut in the national rankings Monday, as the Lions were placed No. 22 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll.
 
SLU (4-2, 2-0 SLC) heads into the second half looking to continue the strong play of the first half of the season. The Lions, who are just outside of the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 this week, are ranked in one of the two major polls for the first time since Sept. 11, 2023.
 
Southeastern has vaulted into the national rankings thanks to a first half that saw the Lions post a 4-0 record versus FCS competition. SLU is averaging 46.0 points per game versus FCS opponents, while yielding just 14.5 points per game in those four contests.
 
Southeastern is one of two SLC schools in the AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25, along with No. 18 Lamar. SFA and UTRGV are among those receiving votes.
 
Lamar (17) and SFA (25) rank in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. SLU is just two spots out of the poll, sitting near the top of those schools receiving votes.
 
The Lions will return to action Saturday, hosting Northwestern State for the 4 p.m. Homecoming contest in Strawberry Stadium. The game versus the Demons will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
 
AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25
School (First-place votes) | Rec. | Points | Prev.
1. North Dakota State (26) | 6-0 | 650 | 1
2. South Dakota State | 6-0 | 621 | 2
3. Tarleton State | 7-0 | 598 | 3
4. Montana | 6-0 | 567 | 4
5. Montana State | 5-2 | 525 | 5
6. UC Davis | 5-1 | 504 | 6
7. Lehigh | 7-0 | 470 | 8
8. Tennessee Tech | 6-0 | 465 | 7
9. Illinois State | 4-2 | 431 | 10
10. Monmouth (N.J.) | 5-1 | 410 | 11
11. North Dakota | 4-2 | 391 | 12
12. Southern Illinois | 4-2 | 323 | 9
13. Jackson State | 5-1 | 318 | 14
14. Villanova | 4-2 | 289 | 17
15. Rhode Island | 5-2 | 267 | 18
16. Mercer | 5-1 | 249 | 19
17. ACU | 4-3 | 228 | 21
18. Lamar | 5-1 | 203 | 24
19. Presbyterian | 6-0 | 176 | 23
20. Harvard | 4-0 | 145 | 25
21. Northern Arizona | 4-3 | 100 | 16
22. Southeastern | 4-2 | 98 | NR
23. West Georgia | 5-2 | 70 | 21
24. Austin Peay | 4-3 | 64 | 15
25. Youngstown State | 3-3 | 53 | 20
Others Receiving votes: Gardner-Webb 37, South Dakota 34, SFA 34, Lafayette 26, Western Carolina 19, North Carolina Central 14, Idaho 10, Sacramento State 10, UTRGV 10, Brown 8, Dartmouth 7, Penn 7, Alabama State 5, Central Arkansas 4, Elon 3, Furman 3, East Tennessee State 1, Eastern Kentucky 1.
 
Stats Perform FCS Top 25
School (First-place votes) | Rec. | Points | Prev.
1. North Dakota State (55) | 6-0 | 1,399 | 1
2. South Dakota State (1) | 6-0 | 1,340 | 2
3. Tarleton State | 7-0 | 1,265 | 3
4. Montana | 6-0 | 1,222 | 4
5. Montana State | 5-2 | 1,206 | 5
6. UC Davis | 5-1 | 1,086 | 6
7. Lehigh | 7-0 | 1,023 | 7
8. Tennessee Tech | 6-0 | 954 | 10
9. North Dakota | 4-2 | 869 | 13
10. Illinois State | 4-2 | 866 | 9
11. Monmouth | 5-1 | 846 | 12
12. Southern Illinois | 4-2 | 812 | 8
13. Abilene Christian | 4-3 | 560 | 19
14. Jackson State | 5-1 | 557 | 15
15. Villanova | 4-2 | 521 | 18
16. Rhode Island | 5-2 | 512 | 17
17. Lamar | 5-1 | 454 | 20
18. Harvard | 4-0 | 435 | 22
19. Northern Arizona | 4-3 | 376 | 14
20. Mercer | 5-1 | 359 | 25
21. Presbyterian | 6-0 | 299 | 24
22. South Dakota | 4-3 | 257 | 23
23. Austin Peay | 4-3 | 224 | 16
24. Idaho | 2-4 | 183 | 11
25. SFA | 4-2 | 152 | NR
 
Others Receiving Votes: West Georgia 126, Southeastern 96, Gardner-Webb 54, Sacramento State 28, Brown 25, Youngstown State 23, Western Carolina 23, North Carolina Central 18, Northern Colorado 9, Eastern Kentucky 5, Lafayette 5.
 
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. 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 X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow @lionupfootball on Instagram.
 
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 observes a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.