SEATTLE – The University at Albany football team was picked to finish fourth in the CAA in 2020 in the HERO Sports Preseason CAA Poll, announced Thursday.
 
Defending CAA regular-season champion and 2019-20 FCS national runner-up James Madison was picked as the favorite in the conference, followed by Villanova and Delaware in second and third, respectively.  Behind UAlbany, New Hampshire rounds out the top five.
 
Six teams in the CAA won at least six games in 2019, while eight went at least .500 in conference play.  Additionally, eight teams won between three and five games on their CAA schedules.  The CAA sent three teams, UAlbany, James Madison, and Villanova, to the FCS Playoffs last season.
 
UAlbany finished 2019 with a 6-2 CAA record, good for second place in the regular-season behind James Madison.  It was UAlbany's highest CAA finish since joining the conference in 2013.
 
The Great Danes return three HERO Sports All-CAA and two All-America players, headlined by record-setting quarterback Jeff Undercuffler.

2020 HERO Sports Preseason CAA Rankings
 

Rank	School	2019 Record
1.	James Madison	14-2 (8-0)
2.	Villanova	9-4 (5-3)
3.	Delaware	5-7 (3-5)
4.	UAlbany	9-5 (6-2)
5.	New Hampshire	6-5 (5-3)
6.	Elon	5-6 (4-4)
7.	Richmond	5-7 (4-4)
8.	Towson	7-5 (4-4)
9.	Stony Brook	5-7 (2-6)
10.	William & Mary	5-7 (3-5)
11.	Maine	6-6 (4-4)
12.	Rhode Island	2-10 (0-8)