After winning or sharing the past two titles, Hampden-Sydney is favored to make it three in a row in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this fall.
The Tigers (8-2, 4-2) finished in a four-way tie with Randolph-Macon, Catholic and Emory & Henry last season. R-MC got the ODAC's automatic Division III playoff bid.
This year, though, H-SC is the preseason choice of the league's coaches. A big reason is the return of 14 starters, including quarterback Corey Sedlar (7.027 career passing yards, second in school history), 6-foot-6 receiver Adam Gillette (45 catches, 7 TDs last season) and linebackers Adam Sellers (73 tackles) and Josh Miller (70).