LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Aug. 7) – Following an appearance in the 2024 Super Region One Championship, the California (PA) football team was picked third in the preseason Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West poll released by the league office on Thursday afternoon.

The Vulcans were slotted third in the poll after finishing last year with a 10-3 overall record behind an undefeated mark in divisional play and two victories in the NCAA Playoffs. Cal registered double-digit wins for the seventh time in program history, all since 2007, and were positioned No. 12 in the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 poll.

Slippery Rock was the preseason favorite in the PSAC West after collecting four first-place votes. The Rock, which graduated the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators (CSC) NCAA Division II Academic All-American of the Year, advanced to the national semifinals last year for the first time since the 2019 campaign. IUP was positioned in second place with the remaining three first-place votes despite finishing with a .500 record in league play in 2024. Gannon ranked fourth, while Seton Hill, Edinboro and Clarion rounded out the poll this year.

In the PSAC East, Kutztown was the overwhelming preseason favorite with seven first-place votes. The Golden Bears repeated as the PSAC Champions and appeared in the NCAA Playoffs for the fourth time in five years. East Stroudsburg received the remaining first-place vote and ranked second in the poll following a consecutive post-season appearance. West Chester and Shepherd were positioned third and fourth, respectively, to round out the top half of the poll. Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Shippensburg and Millerville completed the poll.

The PSAC Championship will be played on Nov. 15 at the site of the top team in the PSAC Easte standings. Note, the PSAC West continues to have one less league game in 2025 due to imbalanced conference alignment.

Under 10th-year head coach Gary Dunn, the Vulcans begin the fall with three-straight home games at Adamson Stadium beginning on Sept. 4 against Charleston (W.Va.) – the two-time, defending-Mountain East Conference (MEC) Champions.