HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team returns to the NCAA FCS playoffs ranked No. 15 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Monday.
 
Southeastern (9-3) moved up five spots in the coaches' poll and four spots in the Stats Perform list after a 38-26 victory over Nicholls in the 36^th edition of the River Bell Classic last Thursday.
 
The No. 16 seed Lions will host Illinois State (8-4) in the first round of the playoffs Saturday at noon in Strawberry Stadium. SLU and the Redbirds are tied for 17^th in the Stats Perform Poll, while ISU is 17^th in the coaches poll as well – two spots behind Southeastern.
 
All three of the Southland Conference schools participating in the postseason are in both polls. SFA, which was named the No. 7 seed and received a bye into the second round, is No. 10 in both polls, while Lamar, which will travel to 10^th-seeded Abilene Christian Saturday for a first round game, is No. 24 in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 and No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
 
Tickets for Saturday's game will be available for purchase online at www.LionSports.net/tickets. SLU season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase their same seats through Tuesday at 4 p.m. Any tickets not reserved by season ticket holders by the Tuesday deadline will be made available to the general public.
 
The Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office is located in West Stadium. The ticket off will be open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday of this week.
 
Saturday's game will air 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 (24) | 12-0 | 623 | 1
2. Montana State (1) | 10-2 | 597 | 3
3. Lehigh | 12-0 | 557 | 4
4. Montana | 11-1 | 554 | 2
5. Tarleton State | 11-1 | 534 | 5
6. Villanova | 9-2 | 470 | 7
7. Tennessee Tech | 11-1 | 455 | 8
8. Mercer | 9-2 | 444 | 6
9. Rhode Island | 10-2 | 430 | 9
10. SFA | 10-2 | 392 | 13
11. UC Davis | 8-3 | 348 | 14
12. Jackson State | 9-2 | 309 | 15
13. Youngstown State | 8-4 | 294 | 17
14. ACU | 8-4 | 265 | 18
15. Southeastern | 9-3 | 247 | 20
16. Monmouth | 9-3 | 208 | 11
17. Illinois State | 8-4 | 199 | 11
18. South Dakota State | 8-4 | 182 | 22
19. Harvard | 9-1 | 175 | 10
20. South Dakota | 8-4 | 173 | 21
21. Yale | 8-2 | 136 | 25
22. West Georgia | 8-3 | 108 | 23
23. North Dakota | 7-5 | 96 | 16
24. Lamar | 8-4 | 61 | 19
25. Southern Illinois | 7-5 | 58 | NR
 
Others Receiving Votes: Alabama State 52, Lafayette 40, UTRGV 31, New Hampshire 15, Gardner-Webb 14, South Carolina State 12, Presbyterian 11, Sacramento State 8, Austin Peay 7, Richmond 6, East Tennessee State 4, Southern Utah 4, Dartmouth 3, Central Connecticut State 1, Drake 1,NOolina Central 1.
 
Stats Perform FCS Top 25
School (First-place votes) | Rec. | Points | Prev.
1. North Dakota State (56) | 12-0 | 1,400 | 1
2. Montana State | 10-2 | 1,340 | 3
3. Montana | 11-1 | 1,270 | 2
4. Lehigh | 12-0 | 1,206 | 4
5. Tarleton State | 11-1 | 1,193 | 5
6. Tennessee Tech | 11-1 | 8-0 | 1,086
7. Mercer | 9-2 | 1,032 | 7
8. Rhode Island | 10-2 | 933 | 10
9. Villanova | 9-2 | 914 | 9
10. SFA | 10-2 | 890 | 14
11. UC Davis | 8-3 | 849 | 15
12. South Dakota | 8-4 | 731 | 16
13. Abilene Christian | 8-4 | 714 | 17
14. Youngstown State | 8-4 | 625 | 18
15. Harvard | 8-1 | 519 | 8
16. South Dakota State | 8-4 | 491 | 22
T17. Southeastern | 9-3 | 443 | 21
17. Illinois State | 8-4 | 443 | 11
19. North Dakota | 7-5 | 407 | 13
20. Jackson State | 9-2 | 297 | 20
21. Monmouth | 9-3 | 249 | 12
22. New Hampshire | 8-4 | 248 | 25
23. Southern Illinois | 7-5 | 243 | 24
24. Yale | 8-2 | 192 | NR
25. Lamar | 8-4 | 168 | 19
 
Others Receiving Votes: Alabama State 64, South Carolina State 54, West Georgia 50, Southern Utah 29, Austin Peay 27, Central Connecticut State 27, Drake 23, Northern Arizona 17, Lafayette 16, UTRGV 4.  
 
2025 Southeastern opponents in bold italics
 
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.