With six first place votes in seven ballots cast by the league’s head coaches, Montclair State University was selected as the 2004 preseason football favorite in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Under the leadership of 2003 NJAC Coach of the Year Rick Giancola, Montclair State captured its 17th  NJAC title with a perfect 5-0 conference record. The Red Hawks finished 9-2 overall last season while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Montclair returns the NJAC's leading rusher in senior running back Eugene Vick. Vick led all NJAC ballcarriers in 2003 with an average of 115.5 yards per game. In total, Giancola’s squad returns seven players who earned all-conference honors during the 2003 season.

Rowan University was selected second in the poll and received the only other first place vote from the league’s head coaches. The Profs, who captured NJAC titles in 2001 and 2002, will be seeking their 14th NJAC crown since the conference’s inception in 1969. Rowan returns eight all-conference players from 2003 including the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year in sophomore quarterback Mike Orihel. The league-leader in passer efficiency rating as a freshman, Orihel posted a passer rating of 121.5.

Conference newcomer Western Connecticut State University was selected third in the poll. Only the second affiliate member in the history of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, the Colonials will compete in the NJAC for the first time in 2004. Head Coach John Burrell’s squad is no stranger to NJAC competition, having posted a 2-1 record against NJAC teams in 2003. The Colonials were also selected as the league dark horse in the poll by the league’s head coaches.

Rounding out the remainder of the selections in the poll were SUNY Cortland picked to finish fourth; The College of New Jersey selected to finish fifth; Kean University selected for sixth place; and William Paterson University picked to finish seventh.

With the addition of Western Connecticut as the NJAC’s seventh football-playing member, the NCAA has reinstated the league’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Since the New Jersey Athletic Conference does not sponsor a postseason tournament in football, the conference’s automatic bid will be awarded to the league champion as determined by the final conference standings.

League play will begin on September 11 when TCNJ travels to face Cortland at 1:00 PM. Conference play concludes on November 13 when Kean travels to TCNJ and Montclair State hosts Rowan.