Yale picked to win Ivy League
- Updated: August 3, 2026
PRINCETON, N.J. – Following an historic 2025 season, Yale was voted the preseason favorite in the 2026 Ivy League Football Preseason Poll, which was released Monday. The poll was conducted among 16 media members who cover Ivy League football.
The Bulldogs secured the Ivy League’s first FCS playoff victory last season, overcoming a 28-point deficit to defeat No. 15 Youngstown State, 43-42. Yale earned 15 first-place votes and 127 points in the preseason poll.
Among the Bulldogs’ key returners is defensive back Abu Kamara, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, who finished 15th in the Buck Buchanan Award voting last season.
Harvard, which earned an at large berth to the FCS Playoffs last season, received the other first-place vote and placed second with 111 points. Dartmouth, which has claimed four Ivy titles in the last six seasons, was third with 94 points, followed by Penn with 75.
Cornell and Princeton tied for fifth with 46 points, followed by Brown with 45 and Columbia with 32.
The 2026 Ivy League football season kicks off Saturday, Sept. 19.
2026 IVY LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL (First Place Votes)
1. Yale – 127 (15)
2. Harvard – 111 (1)
3. Dartmouth – 94
4. Penn – 75
5. Cornell – 46
5. Princeton – 46
7. Brown – 45
8. Columbia – 32
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