Football | 7/20/2017 2:15:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern has been picked to finish seventh the Sun Belt in the 2017 Preseason Coaches Poll, announced today by the conference.

The Eagles received 82 points, just two points behind predicted sixth-place finisher Idaho. Appalachian State (136 points, seven first-place votes) was the clear favorite, picked first with Troy (127 points, two first-place votes) picked second. Following Troy, Arkansas State was picked third with one first-place vote, followed by South Alabama and Louisiana. Following GS was Georgia State in eighth place, followed by ULM, New Mexico State, Texas State and league newcomer Coastal Carolina, respectively.

The conference will announce its Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams Friday morning and will hold its annual Preseason Media Day on Monday, July 24. Running back Wesley Fields, linebacker Chris DeLaRosa and coach Tyson Summers will participate in that event at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The day officially opens with Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson's State of the Sun Belt address at 8:30 a.m. (CT).

Georgia Southern won the 2014 Sun Belt title in its first season in the league and won the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl in 2016 in its first year of bowl eligibility.

The Eagles open camp on Tuesday, July 25 in Statesboro and will open their season on Sept. 2 at Auburn.

Media Day Coverage
ESPN3 will broadcast live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome from 2-4 p.m. ET at media day and will sit down with all head coaches in addition to Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson.

Media day press conferences will be carried live on SunBeltSports.org.

Season Tickets
Fans can purchase 2017 season tickets and select their seats online at GSEagles.com/Tickets, by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting the ticket office in the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Drive). Ticket office hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Season tickets prices start as low as $75 for all five games.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.

2017 Sun Belt Football Coaches Predicted Order of Finish (first place votes)
1. Appalachian St. (7) - 136 pts
2. Troy (2) - 127 pts
3. Arkansas State (1) - 122 pts
4. South Alabama  - 98 pts
5. Louisiana (1) - 95 pts
6. Idaho  - 84 pts
7. Georgia Southern  - 82 pts
8. Georgia State  - 48 pts
9. ULM - 46 pts
10. New Mexico St. (1) - 41 pts
11. Texas State  - 31 pts
12. Coastal Carolina  - 26 pts

First place votes in parenthesis