The best team over the last half-decade in Black college football didn’t have an opportunity to defend its championship due to a pandemic-related stoppage in 2020 and a subsequent move to a new conference.
Going into the 2021 fall season, the Aggies return to the field after more than 600 days with the same high-level talent that is expected to contend for an FCS postseason spot in a strong Big South.
While Alcorn State, Jackson State, Florida A&M, and HBCU national champion Alabama A&M could claim the No. 1 spot by season’s end, North Carolina A&T, for now, sits atop the preseason HBCU Sports Ultimate Football Poll.
Also read: North Carolina A&T on mission not to be forgotten as still dominant program
1. North Carolina A&T
2. Alcorn State
3. Jackson State
4. Florida A&M
5. Alabama A&M
6. Southern
7. South Carolina State
8. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
9. Norfolk State
10. North Carolina Central
11. Bethune Cookman
12. Alabama State
13. Tennessee State
14. Prairie View
15. Grambling State
16. Bowie State
17. Savannah State
18. Miles
19. Tuskegee
20. Fayetteville State
21. Chowan
22. Shaw
23. Albany State
24. Fort Valley State
25. Virginia State
