The Mountain East Conference coaches received a difficult preseason chore.

Pick a favorite in a conference that has never existed.

The conference announced its first preseason poll at its first media Tuesday in Bridgeport, W.Va., the conference's first home base. Get ready to see "first" often when reading about the new league this season.

Judging by the poll, those below the Mason-Dixon Line have little preseason respect for those above it.

MEC coaches picked Notre Dame College to finish eighth out of 11 football-playing schools. Urbana, the conference's other Ohio program, was selected to finish sixth. Urbana joined Shepherd and Charleston as teams receiving first-place votes. Shepherd, the preseason favorite, returns eight offensive and defensive starters from a team that went 8-3 and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs last season.

NDC, which played in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last season, went 3-8 last season. The Falcons return a bevy of key players, including 1,000-yard rusher Pedro Powell, veteran quarterback Ray Russ (South) and athletic wide receiver Colton Wallace (Mentor).

Powell and Coach Adam Howard represented NDC at the media day.

Mountain East Conference Preseason Coaches Poll 

1. Shepherd (117 points, eight first-place votes), 2. Charleston (101, two), 3. Concord (94), 4. Glenville State (83), 5. West Liberty 79, 6. Urbana (75, one), 7. Fairmont State (51), 8. Notre Dame College (40), 9. Virginia-Wise (31), 10. West Virginia State 28, 11. West Virginia Wesleyan (27)

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy