Elizabeth City State (7-4, 7-0)
They say the third time is the charm. If so, this could be Elizabeth City State's year. The Vikings have lost in the championship game two of the past three seasons.

"The kids are disappointed after not getting the ring last year, especially after two tries," said coach Waverly Tillar, now in his seventh season. "That's our motivating factor going in."

ECSU will have to fill the void left by CIAA Offensive Player of the Year Curtis Rich Jr. Rich lit up the conference with nearly 2,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions.  Junior Creven Powell, who filled in for Rich on occasion, is the front-runner for the signal-caller job. In limited action over seven games, Powell completed 48.1 percent of his passes and threw four touchdowns.

Powell will have plenty of experienced hands to throw to with the return of all-CIAA wide receiver Dexter Manley (33-866-11), who has become known as the big-play man. Manley caught seven passes for 40 yards or more last season. Tight end Karvin Gwaltney (10-164-1) and Reggie Smith, who led the team in all-purpose yards, also return.

On defense, a young defensive line should improve after a year's experience. At one point, the Vikings were uncustomarily eighth in defense, but opening games against Catawba, Tusculum and Wingate will do that to most teams. They did finish the season with a plus-20 turnover margin.

With last season's four losses against non-conference opponents, Tillar has taken an easier path this season. Tusculum is the only non-CIAA team on the schedule. The Vikings open their season in a repeat of last year's championship game against Shaw.

Bowie State (5-4, 4-3)
A new era has begun with new coach Damon Wilson, a Bulldog alum and former assistant coach.  Bowie returns 35 lettermen and 15 starters. The defense, which ranked third last season, returns seven of those 15 that have played together for two years.

Offense will be the key now that running back Isaac Redman is now in Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.  "We have some very explosive offensive players who are expected to make big plays when they have the ball," Wilson said.

Sophomore WR Clifton "Dominique" Budd was the team's MVP after leading the squad in receptions, reception yards, punt returns, kickoff returns and all-purpose yards (886 yards). Michael Gagne, also a sophomore, was second on the team in scoring.

Wilson' new team is loaded with sophomores and juniors, which bodes well for a future-building program. Bowie opens its season Aug. 29 at Slippery Rock.

Virginia State (4-3, 5-5)
The Andrew Faison watch is on. Faison is an even .500 since taking over the Trojans in 2002 (35-35), which, ironically, was its best season to date. VSU hasn't had a winning season since 2005 and another .500 record probably won't save Faison's job.

The Trojans lost 19 players last season, including nine starters. Top returnees are last year's offensive rookie of the year, running back Taron Hampton (188 rushes for 1,120 yards and seven TDs); defensive tackle Brandon Fortune, whose nine sacks was 28th in the nation; and QB Leonard Johnson, who threw for 1,315 yards and eight TDs.

Virginia Union (5-5, 3-4)
Coach Greg Richardson is gone, and Arrington Jones before him. Athletics Director Michael Bailey believes he can do the job better than anyone so he will pull double duty as AD/coach.

What both Richardson and Jones had that Bailey don't is 2007 CIAA Offensive Player of the Year, Lamar Little. Little threw for 5,519 career passing yards and over 40 TDs. You don't get those kind of numbers overnight. Aris McGlone-English from Hampton, Va., and JUCO transfer Noel Johnson-Alexandre are two newcomers with their hat in the QB ring.

After advancing to the championship game in 2007, Union had a disappointing 5-5 2008 season, including losers of four of its last five games. Can Bailey turn the program around? Find out beginning Aug. 27 against East Stroudsburg.

St. Paul's (5-5, 3-4)
The Tigers reside in tiny Lawrenceville, Va., play their home games at a high school and only revived football six years ago. Yet it produced a fourth-round draft pick in this year's NFL draft.  Greg Toler recently signed a three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

St. Paul's has yet to live up to the potential expected of a team coached by Willard Bailey, the winningest coach in CIAA history.

St. Paul's hosts West Virginia Wesleyan on Aug. 29.

Shaw (8-3, 6-1)
The Bears are the two-time defending champions and arguably the first team in conference history to win championships in two separate divisions. (Shaw won its first title in 2004 in the East).

Shaw's 2009 theme is "History has been made. Now a dynasty is being built." But after the conference's preseason rankings, coach Darrell Asberry has returned to a more familiar tune of "no respect."
"How can they put us behind Fayetteville State when we beat them last year?" he said. "How can they tie us with Elizabeth City State when we beat them in the championship game? It's just a lack a respect."

Shaw's main staple is its defense. The unit has consistently ranked in the top five in the nation and two years ago, it finished the season at No. 1.  Asberry has several big shoes to fill with the departure of five defensive starters, including two-time CIAA Defensive Player of the Year, Louis Ellis, now a member of the Miami Dolphins. Expected to step up their game are seniors' James Duplessis (44 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Dwayne Moss (20 tackles, five sacks.)

A veteran returning offense should keep Shaw at the top of the standings. Senior QB Travis Robinson threw for 1,560 yards and 20 TDs, and backfield mates' Raymond Williams (768 yards, 6.9 yards per carry, eight TDs), Aaron Ellison (557 yards, six TDs) and Johnny Wooten (486 yards, five TDs) will provide plenty of offensive ammunition.

Asberry is an intense coach; several times it has backfired. Whether Shaw can withstand the pressure of defending its title in the brutal West will be the biggest question mark of the season.

Fayetteville State (8-2, 6-1)
Coach Kenny Phillips is entering his 10th season at the helm of the Broncos program. Once the league doormat, Phillips revitalized the football program and led the Broncos to three consecutive football championship appearances (2002-04) and two playoff berths.  But FSU hasn't won a division title since. (You can thank Shaw for that.) Last year, the Broncos missed winning its fourth division title under Phillips by one game. Again thank Shaw, which gave the Broncos its only conference loss.  This season, CIAA coaches believe FSU's time has come again, picking the Broncos to win the West.

"We've had this bull's eye on our back a couple of times since I've been coach here, and it's not a big deal to me," Phillips said. "It says a lot for the student-athletes that, even not making the championship game a year ago, we've got the talent to get to the championship this year."

On paper, FSU looks to have it all: the best special teams player in Division II in Richard Medlin. The human highlight reel led the division in kickoff returns (two for touchdowns) and was named special teams player of the year. The Fayetteville native also led the CIAA in scoring (13 TDs) and all-purpose yards (1,334).

Under center will be junior quarterback Benjamin Williams. Williams was eighth in passing last season despite playing in only five games. He should have plenty of protection with all five returning starters on the offensive line. Not to mention the team has one of the best offensive minds in college football in pass offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Connell Maynor.

On defense, FSU returns eight starters, including all-CIAA Jeffrey Gowdy and Marcos Esquivel. The unit held opponents to a league-best 15 points a game.

The Broncos open their season with inter-state rival UNC-Pembroke in the Two Rivers Classic. A game some hope will sway the Braves to seek membership - football only - into the CIAA. The following week it’s D2 powerhouse Catawba. Both games are in Fayetteville. If FSU can either split or win both matchups, its preseason ranking will turn out to be more than just hype.

St. Augustine's (4-6, 3-4)
The Falcons are looking for their first winning season since 2005. St. Aug's theme is "It's Our Time." That will depend on the offense.

Since 2005, the Falcons have been stellar on defense. In 2005, when the team won its first eight games, the D was ranked No. 1 in D2. Linebackers are St. Aug's claim to fame: Tyrone Pettaway and Kevin Jones were the 2005 & 2006 CIAA defensive players of the year. Two years ago Alex Hall was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and became a semi-starter.

But defenses get tired and offensive woes over the years wore the unit down. Sophomore QB Kris Brownlee returns to fight for his starting position against challenger Joaquin Green, another sophomore from Pittsboro.
In the backfield, veteran running back Walter Sanders returns. Sanders finished second in the conference with 84 yards per game in 10 games on his way to being named All-CIAA second team.  Also back after a year's hiatus is Arnold Mullins.

"Teams are going to have to gear up to stop the running game," coach Michael Costa said. "If we can run the ball like we did last year or even better, then we have a great opportunity to win."

Seven starters return on defense, which ranked No. 13 nationally last season. Leading the pack are defensive linemen Philip Stevenson, who led the conference in sacks (10), on his way to first team All-CIAA honors, and senior Marcus Crump who registered seven sacks and 2nd team All-CIAA honors.

Two of St. Aug's first three games are against D2 powers in Catawba and Mars Hill. Like FSU, its season could either begin on a bright note.

Chowan (2-8, 1-6)
Chowan broke the color barrier by becoming the first predominately white institution to join a historically black conference.

The Hawks' 2-8 2008 record belies it history-making season. Chowan gave opponents a scare in almost every game, and no player was more frightening than QB CJ Westler, who took more knockdowns than a punch-drunk boxer. Despite the beatings, Westler led the conference with 2,214 passing yards and 23 TDs on his way to being named to the All-CIAA second team.

The Hawks are still young with mostly freshmen and sophomores, and their schedule doesn't give much room for error. They open the season against SIAC foe Albany State followed by FCS opponent Old Dominion, who will play football for the first time since 1941.

Livingstone (3-7, 3-4)
Despite bringing up the rear in just about every statistical category, the Blue Bears managed to win three games and finished fourth in the division. Coach Lamonte Massie is no longer pulling double duty as athletics director/coach - a lethal combination - so all excuses of another subpar season are out the window.

Johnson C. Smith (3-7, 2-5)
The Golden Bulls finished 3-7 for the second straight season and that was enough to send coach Daryl McNeill packing. It probably didn't help that arch rival Livingstone finished ahead of Smith in the division.

New coach Steven Aycock, an assistant under McNeill, is taking over a team that was next to last in scoring defense, allowing a whopping 37.5 points per game. Senior QB Carl Richardson, who threw for 1,980 yards and 17 TDs, is also gone.

Smith opens its season Aug. 29 against West Va. Institute of Tech.