CANTON, Ga. – The Berry College Vikings have been selected as the favorite to claim the 2025 SAA football title.
Berry topped this season’s preseason poll with 54 points and five first-place votes. Trinity followed closely in second with 50 points and two first-place nods. The race remained tight through the top four as Maryville earned 43 points and one first-place vote, while Centre finished just behind with 41.
Voting was conducted among the SAA’s eight head coaches.
2025 SAA Football Preseason Poll
- Berry – 54 (5)
- Trinity – 50 (2)
- Maryville – 43 (1)
- Centre – 41
- Millsaps – 27
- Southwestern – 25
- Rhodes – 24
- Sewanee – 16
Berry closed the 2024 season as SAA co-champions with Centre and Trinity, earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs after posting an 8-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in conference play. In the postseason, the Vikings faced new SAA member Maryville. Berry looks to replace three All-Americans, most notably running back Brandon Cade, the D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year and SAA Offensive Player of the Year. The Vikings led the league with 50 touchdowns in 11 games and averaged 34.7 points per contest.
Trinity also advanced to the NCAA Playoffs, where the Tigers fell in the first round to UMHB. The team featured two All-Americans and Special Teams Player of the Year Tyler Huettel, who they will look to replace in 2025. Offensively, Trinity ranked just behind Berry, averaging 31.3 points per game with 42 total touchdowns. Defensively, D3football.com preseason All-American Jonathan Nwobodo is a key player to watch.
Maryville was the only SAA team to advance past the first round of the 2024 NCAA Playoffs, defeating Berry before falling to No. 9 DePauw in the second round. The Scots feature two preseason All-Americans, Grant Henderson and Owen Sacks, and are coming off their best regular season since 1978. Under head coach Ben Fox, Maryville went unbeaten in USA South play last year to capture the league championship before joining the SAA, adding even more competition to the conference race.
The 2025 football season kicks off September 4.
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at
www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.
SAA Football Champions
2024 – Berry (6-1), Trinity (6-1), Centre (6-1)
2023 – Trinity (8-0)
2022 – Trinity (7-0)
2021 – Trinity (7-0)
2020 – no season
2019 – Berry/Trinity (7-1)
2018 – Berry/Centre (7-1)
2017 – Berry (8-0)
2016 – Berry/Washington U. (7-0)
2015 – Hendrix (7-1)
2014 – Centre (6-0)
2013 – Millsaps/Rhodes (5-1)
2012 – Birmingham-Southern/Millsaps (3-1)