Three Programs. Three Paths. One CAA Season.
Elon chases a title & playoff berth while Campbell and NC A&T work to climb the conference ladder
Elon football has been a member of the CAA since 2014, but expectations within the league have never been higher than heading into this season.
The Phoenix were picked third in the annual coaches preseason poll, released Wednesday. The previous best had been a preseason ranking of fourth in 2019 and a pair of fifth-place showings in both 2023 and 2018.
For the first time in years, Elon enters a season with somewhat of a target on its back rather than a chance to sneak up and surprise people.
“It means that we’ve earned some respect in our league, but we need to go earn the rest of it,” Elon coach Tony Trisciani said during Thursday’s CAA virtual media day. “We’re a highly motivated football team that’s really put in a tremendous amount of work over the last eight months. We’re anxious to get going.”
North Carolina currently has three teams in CAA, with Campbell and North Carolina A&T joining the league in 2023.
All three North Carolina programs enter 2026 at very different stages of their CAA journeys. Elon is chasing a championship and an FCS playoff berth. Campbell is trying to break into the conference’s upper tier. NC A&T is working to rediscover the championship standard that has long defined the Aggies.
Today’s Small-College Saturdays will turn the preseason lens on our three CAA programs. We’ll examine where each program stands, the biggest takeaways from CAA Football Media Day and the players and games that could define the conference race.
The Big Picture: 2026 CAA Predicted Order of Finish
Here is how the coaches voted in the preseason poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
1. Rhode Island (12 first-place votes) 144
2. Monmouth 119
3. Elon 115
4. New Hampshire 106
5. Stony Brook (1 first-place vote) 105
6. Towson 93
7. Maine 88
8. Campbell 56
9. Bryant 50
10. Sacred Heart 49
11. UAlbany 35
12. North Carolina A&T 28
13. Hampton 26
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