MCKINNEY, Texas (July 23, 2026) – After finishing its 2025 season ranked No. 3 in the D2Football.com End of Season Top 25 Poll, The University of Texas Permian Basin is predicted to finish in fifth place according to the 2026 LSC Football Preseason Poll. The poll was announced on Thursday, July 23, at the LSC Football Media Day at McKinney ISD Stadium's Community Event Center in McKinney, Texas. The preseason poll is voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.

Central Washington is predicted to win the 2026 Lone Star Conference football championship according to the LSC Football Preseason Poll. 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.

All 10 league teams will play nine conference games to determine the conference champion.

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. UTPB won its first crown in 2023.

In addition to the preseason poll, UTPB wide receiver Traylen Suel and defensive lineman Godgive Ugochukwu were selected for the 2026 LSC Football Preseason Players to Watch list. Suel was named Honorable Mention All-LSC in 2025. Despite missing three games due to injury, Suel still led the Falcons with a new school-record 60 receptions and a team-high 719 receiving yards, and tied for the team lead with eight receiving touchdowns. In the LSC, Suel was second in receptions, third in catches per game (5.5), and fifth in receiving yards per game (65.36). He was also tied for third in the LSC and tied for 30th in all of NCAA Division II in receiving touchdowns. Ugochukwu is a transfer student-athlete who played previously at Washburn University (2025) and Sam Houston State University (2024). Last season at Washburn, Ugochukwu played in 10 games and made 22 tackles, with 11 of those being solo tackles.

In 2025, UTPB made the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the second time in program history and for the second time in the last three seasons, and advanced to the Super Region Final (NCAA Quarterfinals) for the first time in program history. UTPB finished the season 11-3 overall, setting a program record for wins in a single season while also earning the first two playoff wins in program history, and was in a three-team tie for second in the Lone Star Conference with a 7-2 record. In the end, the Falcon football team became the first UTPB athletic program to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II era.

The Falcons also finished their 2025 season ranked No. 3 in the D2Football.com End of Season Top 25 Poll and No. 5 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) final poll. UTPB finished the 2025 football season as the highest nationally-ranked football team in the state of Texas. It is also the highest national ranking in school history for any sport.

UTPB will open up its new 2026 season on the road at NCAA Division I The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, inside Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg, Texas.