CLEVELAND -- The defending Mid-American Conference Champion Western Michigan football team topped the annual MAC Preseason Coaches Poll ahead of the 2026 MAC Football Kickoff at Ford Field on Wednesday. 

The Broncos finished with 138 points in the poll, placing them just ahead of Miami Ohio and it's 134. WMU received nine first place votes, with the RedHawks picking up four. Toledo was picked third with 115 points, while Ohio was forth with 107 and Central Michigan sits fifth with 101. 

Redshirt junior quarterback Broc Lowry and redshirt senior cornerback Javarius Sims joined head coach Lance Taylor at Ford Field to represent the Broncos. The MAC Preview Show begins at 11 a.m. on ESPN+ with Western Michigan's segment featuring at 2:30 p.m. 

Season and single-game tickets for the upcoming 2026 season are on-sale at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets. The season gets under way on Saturday, Sept. 5 when the Broncos head to the University of Michigan to take on the Wolverines at 7:30 p.m. live on NBC.