The Tigers, who went 10-0 in the regular season last year, garnered eight of the nine first-place votes.
Wittenberg's football team was voted as the preseason favorite by league coaches to win the North Coast Athletic Conference.
The Tigers, who went 10-0 in the regular season last year, garnered eight of the nine first-place votes for 79 points. The other top vote went to 2009 NCAC runner-up Wabash, which finished second with 71 points. Allegheny, which went 5-2 in conference play last fall, was third with 63 points.
The season opens Sept. 4 with conference play getting under way Sept. 11.
Wittenberg, which lost in the Division III NCAA playoffs by eventual champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, will be led by NCAC and NCAA Div. III defensive player of the year Eddie Vallery of South Solon, Ohio. The senior defensive end led the nation with 16.5 sacks as a junior.
2010 NCAC football preseason coaches poll
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)
1. Wittenberg (8), 79
2. Wabash (1), 71
3. Allegheny, 63
4. Wooster, 56
5. Ohio Wesleyan, 41
6. Denison, 32
7. Kenyon, 30
8. Oberlin, 19
9. Hiram, 14