(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 20)-McKendree University and Columbia College find themselves in a familiar position in the 2009-10 American Midwest Conference pre-season poll released Wednesday by the conference office.

Last year, McKendree rolled through AMC play with a perfect 14-0 mark and reached the conference tournament championship contest. The Bearcats put together a 21-game win streak in 2008-09 and closed the year with an overall record of 30-6. McKendree finished the year ranked No. 7 in NAIA Division I, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.

Head coach Harry Statham enters his 44^th year at McKendree. The all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, Statham will carry 995 career victories into the 2009-10 season. Junior forward Eric Hobbie, an All-AMC selection a year ago, returns after averaging 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Kenny Detmer and junior forward Brad Copelin, both two-year starters in the program, are also back for the Bearcats.

Columbia is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history. The Cougars were 30-8 overall and 10-4 in AMC play and reached the championship game of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The Cougars were one of the hottest teams in all of NAIA basketball during the second half of the 2008-09 season, winning 17 of 18 games to reach the NAIA title contest. That streak included a victory at McKendree in the championship game of the AMC Tournament.

Now in his 22^nd season at Columbia, head coach Bob Burchard has collected 531 career victories. Burchard has many key components from the 2008-09 squad returning this season, including senior forward Quintin Totta (5 PPG, 2 RPG), junior forward Greg Stegeman (two-year starter, 3.4 PPG, 5 RPG) and sophomore guard Taylor Evans (23 3-point FG).

Park University, which returns to the AMC after a nine-year absence, finished third in the AMC pre-season voting with 37 points. Head coach Jason Kline brings the Pirates into the league after a 16-14 season in 2008-09 playing as an NAIA Division I independent. Among the top returning players for Park are senior guard/forward Herschel Rodgers, who averaged 11 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and sophomore guard Reco Anderson, who posted 8.1 points per contest.

Hannibal-LaGrange College was picked to finish fourth in the AMC (31 points). Missouri Baptist University (24 points) slipped past William Woods University (21 points) for the fifth spot in the voting. Harris-Stowe State University and Williams Baptist College each collected 10 points and tied for seventh place in the pre-season poll.

The 2009-10 AMC schedule will tip off on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 27. The conference's post-season tournament will be conducted March 4, 6 and 9. The AMC Tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship, which will be held March 17-23, 2010 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

2009-10 AMC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRE-SEASON POLL

(FIRST-PLACE VOTES IN PARENTHESES)

Place   Team                                                   Points

1           McKendree University (5)                         46

2          Columbia College (3)                               45

3          Park University                                       37

4          Hannibal-LaGrange College                     31

5          Missouri Baptist University                      24

6          William Woods University                        21

T-7       Harris-Stowe State University                   10