One Historic Season Later, Yale Leads the Ivy League Into 2026

Last season was a historic one for Ivy League football. Not only did the conference finally join the FCS Playoffs, but it proved it belonged on the national stage. The Ivy League didn't just show up, it won games, turned heads, and gave fans plenty of reasons to believe even bigger things are ahead.

That journey toward another memorable season officially began Monday with the release of the 2026 Ivy League Football Preseason Poll, voted on by 16 media members who cover the conference.

Yale enters the season as the favorite after receiving 15 of the 16 first-place votes and finishing with 127 points. The Bulldogs made history a season ago by earning the Ivy League's first-ever FCS Playoff victory, pulling off an incredible 28-point comeback to stun No. 15 Youngstown State, 43-42, in one of the wildest playoff games of the year.

Yale will once again lean on one of the top defensive players in the country. Abu Kamara continues to rack up preseason honors after being named a 2026 Phil Steele Preseason All-American and the publication's Ivy League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Kamara has also earned preseason All-America recognition from Stats Perform and was named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List after winning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Harvard, which also reached the FCS Playoffs with an at-large bid last year, received the only other first-place vote and finished second with 111 points. The three-time defending Ivy League champions return one of the conference's deepest rosters, bringing back their top three rushers, top three touchdown reception leaders, leading tackler, several of their top defensive playmakers, and a long list of preseason All-Americans led by Damien Henderson, Spencer Doan, Thomas O'Brien, Sean Line, and Seamus Gilmartin.

Dartmouth, which has captured four Ivy League titles over the past six seasons, was picked third with 94 points. The Big Green return standout players Harrison Keith and Grayson Saunier, both preseason First Team All-Ivy selections. 

Penn was fourth with 75 points, while Cornell and Princeton tied for fifth with 46. Brown followed with 45 points, and Columbia rounded out the poll with 32.

The 2026 Ivy League season kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 19, and after what the conference accomplished a year ago, expectations have never been higher. Last season proved the Ivy League could compete with anyone in the FCS. Now the challenge is proving it wasn't a one-year story.