Snow football ranked near top of conference in preseason polls

EPHRAIM—Snow College has been picked to finish fourth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference coaches preseason poll and third in the media preseason poll ahead of its first season in the conference.

The preseason rankings were released Thursday during the conference’s media day in Bullard, Texas.

Tyler Junior College was the unanimous favorite in both polls after posting an 11-1 record and winning the conference championship in 2025. Tyler received six of eight first-place votes from the league’s coaches and five of 11 first-place votes from the media.

Snow College earned one first-place vote in the coaches poll to finish fourth and received two first-place votes from the media, which projected the Badgers to finish third.

Trinity Valley Community College was picked second in both polls. Navarro College was third in the coaches poll and fifth in the media poll, while Kilgore College was fifth in the coaches poll and fourth in the media rankings.

Cisco College, New Mexico Military Institute and Blinn College rounded out the remaining spots in the preseason polls.

“I firmly believe that this is the best conference in junior college football,” Snow College head coach Zac Erekson said during media day. “We are super excited to be able to play a quality opponent every week. We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to play quality opponents week in and week out and elevate our program because of that.”

The Southwest Junior College Football Conference has regularly produced national contenders. Since the NJCAA Football Playoff began in 2021, the conference champion has advanced to the four-team national playoff in four of five seasons, including New Mexico Military Institute’s national championship in 2021.

Snow College opens the 2026 season on Saturday, Aug. 29, when it hosts Garden City Community College at Terry Foote Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.