The Ohio Northern football team is ranked No. 22 in the 2016 D3football.com preseason poll.

In June, the Polar Bears were ranked No. 10 in the 2016 Sporting News College Football magazine preseason poll and No. 11 in the Lindy's Sports College Football preview magazine preseason poll.

This marks the 11th time in the last 13 seasons that the Polar Bears have been ranked in a national poll.

Northern finished the season ranked No. 19 in the final D3football.com poll.

The Polar Bears went 9-3 overall, tied for second in the OAC with a 7-2 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA III Playoffs in 2015 under 12th-year head coach Dean Paul.

Ohio Northern returns 12 starters and 37 lettermen from last year's squad and will open its 2016 season on Sept. 10 at Utica (N.Y.)

1.Mount Union15-0
2.Linfield (Ore.)12-1
3.Wisconsin-Whitewater 12-2
4.Saint Thomas (Minn.)14-1
5.Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) 11-2
6.Wisconsin-Oshkosh11-2
7.Wesley (Conn.)11-2
8.Wheaton (Ill.) 11-1
9.Saint John's (Minn.) 10-2
10.Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) 9-2
11.Thomas More (Ky.) 11-1
12.Wisconsin-Platteville8-2
13.North Central (Ill.)7-3
14.Wabash (Ind.)12-1
15.Johns Hopkins (Md.)11-1
16.Albright (Pa.)10-2
17.Cortland State (N.Y.)9-3
18.John Carroll8-2
19.Whitworth (Wash.)9-2
20.Washington & Lee (Va.)10-1
21.Texas Lutheran8-2
22.Ohio Northern University 9-3
23.Salisbury (Md.)7-3
24.Huntingdon (Ala.) 10-2
25.Delaware Valley (Pa.) 9-2

Others receiving votes: Wartburg 48; Washington and Jefferson 44; Hobart 41; Franklin 33; Stevenson 30; St. John Fisher 29; Hendrix 29; East Texas Baptist 28; St. Lawrence 28; Guilford 25; DePauw 22; Wittenberg 21; Case Western Reserve 18; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 15; Rose-Hulman 14; Dubuque 13; RPI 13; St. Norbert 10; Concordia-Moorhead 10; Westminster (Pa.) 8; Muhlenberg 6; Berry 5; Kean 5; Amherst 4; Carnegie Mellon 3; Moravian 3; Albion 3; Alfred 2; Framingham State 2; Bethel 1; Hampden-Sydney 1; Rowan 1.