WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The league's head coaches picked Mount Union, under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Geoff Dartt, to win the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) football title in 2026.
 
Mount Union received eight of nine first-place votes and collected 64 points, followed by Baldwin Wallace with 54 points. Ohio Northern finished third with 53 points and the final first-place vote, followed by Heidelberg with 43 points in fourth and Marietta with 32 points in fifth. Head coaches do not vote for their team in the balloting.
  
The 13-time National Champion Purple Raiders won their 36th total (conference record) and ninth-straight OAC title last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the 36th time (an NCAA Division III record). Last season, Mount Union completed its 34th undefeated regular season. Under Dartt, the Purple Raiders have gone undefeated in the regular season and claimed the OAC championship in every season.
 
The 2026 Purple Raiders start their season with a top-5 nationally ranked matchup at Wheaton College in Illinois on Saturday, September 5, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Mount Union is ranked No. 3, while the Thunder is ranked No. 5 in the 2026 D3football.com preseason poll. 

Full OAC preseason poll (first-place votes in parentheses), followed by points:
1. Mount Union 64 (8)
2. Baldwin Wallace 54
3. Ohio Northern 53 (1)
4. Heidelberg 43
5. Marietta 32
6. Muskingum 31
7. Capital 21
8. Wilmington 18
9. Otterbein 8