Norfolk State University will enter this coming football season with a national ranking.

Coach Dawson Odums’ Spartans are ranked ninth in the annual preseason BoxToRow poll for HBCU Division I programs.

Jackson State is ranked first, followed by South Carolina State, Florida A&M, Alabama A&M, Prairie View A&M, Alcorn State, North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central.

Tennessee State sits at the 10th spot behind NSU.

Norfolk State will have 12 starters returning from last year’s 6-5 team. The Spartans will open Sept. 3 at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.

The Spartans are members of the MEAC, along with South Carolina State and North Carolina Central. S.C. State defeated Jackson State in last year’s Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.

Jackson State, Florida A&M and Alcorn are Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) affiliates. North Carolina A&T is under the Colonial Athletic Association banner, while Tennessee State is an Ohio Valley Conference member.