Tuesday, July 30, 2002

Johnson City, Tenn. (July 30, 2002) — The Southern Conference released their 2002 coaches and media preseason football polls Tuesday from the annual conference football rouser in Greenville, S.C. East Tennessee State was ranked similarly in both polls, tying for fourth in the coaches' poll and coming in fifth in the media rankings. The Buccaneers tied with Western Carolina in the coaches' poll, while finishing just one point behind the Catamounts for fourth in the media voting. Both polls had the same top-three teams, with Appalachian State ranking first, Georgia Southern second and Furman third. ETSU is coming off a season where it finished 6-5 (4-4 SoCon), fifth in the Southern Conference standings. The team returns all 11 starters from an imposing defense that ranked among the top-30 in the nation in 2001. The Buccaneers open the 2002 season on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. as they travel to Raleigh, N.C. to face North Carolina State.