BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The West Liberty University football team checked in at No. 6 Tuesday afternoon as the Mountain East Conference coaches revealed their 2019 Preseason Poll during the MEC’s annual Media Day festivities at the Conference Center.

There’s a new look to the conference this season as charter members Shepherd and UVa-Wise have moved on to other leagues. They’ve been replaced by Wheeling, which is making its NCAA Division II football debut, and Frostburg State (Md.), a perennial NCAA Division III powerhouse making the transition to the next level.

“We are pleased to welcome Wheeling and Frostburg State to the MEC football family,” Amos said. “They are certainly welcome additions to a very competitive league. We’re also looking forward to next year when we welcome UNC-Pembroke as an associate member in football and other sports. That will bring the MEC to a full complement of 12 Division II football programs going forward into an ever brighter future.”

Defending conference champion Notre Dame (Ohio), fresh off a run to the NCAA Division II national semifinals, was a unanimous choice to repeat as MEC champions. With coaches not permitted to vote for their own teams, the Cleveland-area Falcons were the No. 1 pick of every other school with 10 first-place votes and 100 points.

Fairmont State picked up every second-place vote along with the remaining first-place vote to amass 91 points at the No. 2 spot. Like Notre Dame, the Mountain State Falcons return plenty of talent from last year’s team that closed out the year on a five-game winning streak only to fall just shy of a playoff berth.

West Virginia State (75) edged out Charleston (74) for third place in the voting while the Hilltoppers (52) were joined in the middle of the pack by Urbana (64) and Glenville State (50). Concord was next with 37 points followed by Frostburg State (26), West Virginia Wesleyan (23) and Wheeling (13).

Despite posting a sub-.500 record during an injury-riddled 2018 season, there’s plenty of optimism in the West Liberty camp as Waialae welcomes back 15 starters and 38 lettermen. An influx of collegiate transfers accompanied by several highly-touted recruits who could hit the field right away could make the Hilltoppers a dark horse in the MEC chase.

“We have a lot of depth and experience on defense, especially in the secondary where All-Region cornerback Josh Ojo and 3-time All-MEC safety Logan Deri lead the way. Clay McDonald returns at one linebacker spot and we have Cody Rine and Cody Enrietti back at the tackle spots with Kenyon Felder returning at defensive end after redshirting a year ago.

“On offense, the silver lining to all our injuries in recent years is that a lot of our returning offensive linemen have game experience. Chance Rucker is a three-year starter who will be asked to provide leadership. At the skill positions, Zach Phillips returns for his senior season at quarterback. Our strongest position might be tight end with leading receiver Ridge Durbin returning along with Kyle Ritz and Wake Forest transfer Thomas Cole. We get Isaiah Robinson and Wisdom Jenkins back at wide receiver and several running backs with experience.

“We also have several transfers and some very impressive freshmen joining the mix so we can’t wait to start putting everything together when the guys report to preseason camp next month.”

The Hilltoppers are slated to open the 2019 season at Wheeling on Sept. 7. The first installment of the Wheeling-West Liberty grid rivalry is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.