Football | 10/9/2017 11:12:00 AM

Waco, Texas----The Wingate University football team (5-0 overall, 2-0 SAC) receives national poll recognition for the first time this season, as the Bulldogs are the 24th-ranked team in the AFCA/NCAA Division II Coaches' top 25 poll, officials announce today (complete Oct. 9 poll). This poll marks the first time Wingate has been ranked since the Oct. 24, 2016 top 25 poll.
 
"It is nice for our University and football program to be recognized," Wingate head football coach Joe Reich says. "Ultimately, it's about where you finish."
 
LAST GAME
 
Wingate redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jay Hood (Lancaster, S.C.) scored the winning touchdown with 1:34 remaining on the clock, lifting the Bulldogs to a foggy 31-28 NCAA Division II football victory over UNC Pembroke at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field Saturday night. Bulldog senior running back Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.) rushed 26 times for 165 yards and one TD for Wingate.
 
AFCA POLL HISTORY
 
Wingate is listed in the AFCA top 25 poll for the 27th time in school history. The Bulldogs were ranked five times in 2004, two times in 2006, six times in 2007, seven times in 2008, one time in 2010, two times in 2011, two times in 2015 and one time each in 2016 and 2017.
 
The Bulldogs were nationally-ranked once during the 2016 season and twice during the 2015 campaign. The 2015 Bulldogs first entered the national spotlight on Oct. 5, 2015 after a stellar undefeated start (5-0 overall, 2-0 SAC). This was the first time they had been rated in the Top 25 since the September 5, 2011 poll. The 'Dogs were again ranked at number 21 in the nation on Oct. 19 after an exciting road triumph over the (then) 16th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears.
 
ON THE HORIZON
 
Wingate will hit the road for its next two SAC contests, starting with a trip to Catawba Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Bulldogs visit Mars Hill Saturday, Oct. 21 for a 1:30 p.m. contest. Wingate's next home game is Oct. 28, when Newberry visits for a 6 p.m. encounter under the Irwin Belk Stadium and Join R. Martin Field lights.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,600 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 11 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 96 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 96 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 105 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.