RICHMOND, Ky. - In a pre-season poll of  the Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches and sports information directors, coach Roy Kidd's Eastern Kentucky University football Colonels are the favorites to win the OVC title once again this year. Eastern captured 13 of the 16 first place votes, one shy of an unanimous decision. (Schools were not allowed to vote for their own school or players in the poll.)

EKU led the voting, receiving 97 points.  The rest of the OVC field filled out with  Eastern Illinois picked second (79) , Murray State third (77), Middle Tennessee fourth (54), Tennessee Tech fifth (53), Tennessee State sixth (46), Southeast Missouri seventh (26) and Tennessee-Martin eighth (16).

"I'm really excited," said Kidd, who will be beginning his 35th year as head coach of the Colonels.  "We have some outstanding players returning and we are looking forward to the start of practice later this week.

"We need some help on defense because we only have four starters coming back.  This area will certainly be one of our top priorities as we work torward our opener against Kentucky State (Sept. 5)."

After a slow start to the 1997 season, the Colonels picked up the pace, finishing with a perfect 7-0 OVC record. That earned EKU its 18^th OVC title and a spot in the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs for a record 17^th time. The Colonels finished the 1997 season with an 8-4 record and were ranked 15^th in the nation in the final  The Sports Network and the USA Today/ESPN polls.

Five Colonels have been named to the 1998 pre-season All-OVC first-team. Those include senior wide receiver Rondel Menendez, junior offensive guard Josh Hunter, senior offensive tackle Tyrone Hopson (who earned third-team Associated Press All-American accolades last season), junior tailback Derick Logan and senior linebacker Charles Tinsley.

Three other Colonels earned honorable mention on this year's pre-season all-conference unit. That list includes senior defensive tackle Justin Ernest, junior defensive tackle Jason Muchow, and sophomore runningback Corey Crume.

In the pre-season poll by The Sports Network, the Colonels will open the 1998 season ranked ninth in the nation. With the recent addition of UNLV transfer quarterback Jon Denton, the former WAC Freshman of the Year, the Colonels are poised to make a strong run at a 19^th OVC title and an unprecedented 18^th appearance in the I-AA playoffs.