BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Fresh off its 11th Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) South Division championship in 2025, the Minnesota State football team has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2026 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference office announced Monday.
Sophomore linebacker Jefferson Mobry was named the NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while junior running back Sam Backer earned Minnesota State Offensive Player to Watch honors.
The Mavericks received 166 points and 10 of 14 first-place votes in the overall conference poll. Minnesota State also was picked to win the South Division, collecting 36 points and six of seven first-place votes.
Minnesota Duluth was selected second overall with 154 points and three first-place votes while also earning the preseason nod to win the North Division. Augustana placed third with 145 points and one first-place vote, followed by Sioux Falls (126) and Wayne State (125) to round out the top five.
In the South Division poll, Augustana finished second with 29 points and one first-place vote. Sioux Falls was third with 27 points, followed by Wayne State (22). Winona State was picked fifth with 16 points and ranked ninth overall. Concordia-St. Paul finished sixth with nine points and was 12th overall, while Southwest Minnesota State placed seventh with eight points and ranked 14th overall.
Again in 2026, the NSIC will have 14 teams. The schedule will be broken into two divisions (north/south). Each team will play 10 conference games that will count towards the NSIC Overall Championship, of which six divisional games will count towards the NSIC North/South Division Championships. In all, three league champions will be awarded (Overall Champion, North Division Champion, South Division Champion). Ties will not be broken for overall or division champions.
A native of Rio, Wis., Mobry enjoyed an outstanding freshman season in 2025. He earned All-NSIC First Team honors, was named the NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year, and received D2CCA Super Region Three Second Team recognition.
Mobry led the Mavericks with 72 total tackles and 39 solo tackles in 14 games. He also paced the team with four interceptions and added two fumble recoveries, establishing himself as one of the conference's premier defensive playmakers entering the 2026 season.
Backer, a native of Chatfield, Minn., also earned All-NSIC First Team honors after a dominant 2025 campaign. He rushed for 980 yards on 196 carries with 19 touchdowns, while adding 29 receptions for 233 yards and two scores.
Backer led the NSIC and ranked fifth nationally with 19 rushing touchdowns. His 980 rushing yards ranked 31st nationally and third in the conference. He averaged 9.0 points per game, good for 12th nationally and second in the NSIC. His 126 total points and 21 total touchdowns both ranked fifth nationally, while his 19 rushing touchdowns moved him into third place in program history for single-season rushing scores.
Minnesota State finished the 2025 season with a 10-4 overall record and a 7-3 mark in NSIC play. The Mavericks advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals for the seventh time in program history after posting a 2-1 record in the NCAA playoffs. Minnesota State owns a 20-16 all-time postseason record in 16 NCAA tournament appearances.
The Mavericks will open the 2026 season in Week 0 with a road matchup at Colorado Mesa at 7 p.m. CT before hosting five home games at Blakeslee Stadium. The home opener is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. against Bemidji State.
Maverick fans can purchase season and single game tickets for the 2026 season with season ticket information at www.msumavericks.com/seasontickets, and single game information at www.msumavericks.com/singlegame. In addition, information on Lot 7 tailgating can be found at www.msumavericks.com/lot7.
New for the 2026 season, the NSIC Network is now powered by Midco Sports Plus, the conference's new streaming home for exclusive live and on-demand coverage of all 16 NSIC member institutions. Fans can stream every home regular season conference and non-conference home football game, along with NSIC championship events, through a monthly ($15) or annual subscription (less than $7 per month). Subscriptions are available at MidcoSportsPlus.com or through the Midco Sports Plus app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku.
Stay up to date on all Maverick Athletics news by downloading the Maverick mobile app for exclusive content, gameday notifications, schedules, rosters and more. Fans can also follow @MinnStAthletics on Instagram and X and like the Minnesota State Mavericks Facebook page.
