WACO, Texas - For the second-straight year, the University of New Haven football team has concluded the season ranked No. 8 in the final American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll. The 10-1 Chargers won their third-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship and advanced to their second-straight NCAA Division II playoffs.

Ranked as high as No. 3 from week seven to week 11 this season, New Haven earned its highest ranking since bringing football back to the gridiron in 2009. New Haven started the season off at No. 13 and gradually worked its way up the standings throughout the season. The Chargers have also been ranked in the top 25 every week since week two of the 2011 season.
 
2012 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll – November 17, 2012 (Final)

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Post-season	Head Coach
1.	Valdosta St. (Ga.) (30)	12-2	750	17	D. No. 2 Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 35-7, in national championship	David Dean
2.	Winston-Salem St. (N.C.)	14-1	719	2	Lost to No. 17 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 35-7, in national championship	Connell Maynor
3.	Minnesota St.-Mankato	13-1	674	5	Lost to No. 17 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 35-19, in semi-finals	Aaron Keen
4.	West Texas A&M	12-3	596	16	Lost to No. 2 Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 41-18, in semi-finals	Don Carthel
5.	Missouri Western St.	12-2	578	9	Lost to No. 5 Minnesota St.-Mankato, 17-10, in quarterfinals	Jerry Partridge
6.	Colorado St.-Pueblo	12-1	575	1	Lost to No. 16 West Texas A&M, 34-13, in quarterfinals	John Wristen
7.	Indiana (Pa.)	12-2	545	11	Lost to No. 2 Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 21-17, in quarterfinals	Curt Cignetti
8.	New Haven (Conn.)	10-1	496	3	Lost to No. 11 Indiana (Pa.), 17-14, in second round	Peter Rossomando
9.	Ashland (Ohio)	11-1	480	4	Lost to No. 16 West Texas A&M, 33-28, in second round	Lee Owens
10.	Northwest Missouri St.	10-3	446	13	Lost to No. 5 Minnesota St.-Mankato, 38-35 2OT, in second round	Adam Dorrel
11.	Henderson St. (Ark.)	10-1	408	6	Lost to No. 9 Missouri Western St., 45-21, in second round	Scott Maxfield
12.	Minnesota-Duluth	10-2	407	7	Lost to No. 9 Missouri Western St., 57-55 3OT, in first round	Bob Nielson
13.	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)	9-3	406	22	Lost to No. 17 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 48-26, in quarterfinals	Ken Sparks
14.	Shippensburg (Pa.)	11-2	349	15	Lost to No. 2 Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 37-14, in second round	Mark Maciejewski
15.	Indianapolis (Ind.)	10-3	288	18	Lost to No. 1 Colorado St.-Pueblo, 28-7, in second round	Bob Bartolomeo
16.	Midwestern St. (Texas)	9-2	284	8	Lost to No. 18 Indianapolis (Ind.), 31-14, in first round	Bill Maskill
17.	Bloomsburg (Pa.)	10-2	263	10	Lost to No. 15 Shippensburg (Pa.), 58-20, in first round	Danny Hale
18.	Chadron St. (Neb.)	9-3	231	20	Lost to No. 16 West Texas A&M, 38-30, in first round	Jay Long
19.	Harding (Ark.)	9-2	219	12	Lost to No. 13 Northwest Missouri St., 35-0, in first round	Ronnie Huckeba
20.	Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)	9-3	195	NR	Lost to No. 22 Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 38-35, in second round	Mike Houston
21.	West Alabama	9-4	189	NR	Lost to No. 17 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 49-21, in second round	Will Hall
22.	Emporia St. (Kan.)	10-2	110	24	D. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 45-38, in Lower Kanza Bowl	Garin Higgins
23.	Tuskegee (Ala.)	10-2	97	14	Lost to Elizabeth City St. (N.C.), 28-13, in Pioneer Bowl	Willie Slater
24.	Missouri S&T	10-1	95	19	DNQ Playoffs	David Brown
25.	Shepherd (W.Va.)	8-3	84	25t	Lost to No. 11 Indiana (Pa.), 27-17, in first round	Monte Cater

Dropped Out: Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21), Miles (Ala.) (23), Charleston (W.Va.) (25t)

Others Receiving Votes: Miles (Ala.), 69; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 68; Winona St. (Minn.), 47; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 22; Charleston (W.Va.), 20; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 12; Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 10; Michigan Tech, 9; California (Pa.), 5; Bentley (Mass.), 4.