WILKES-BARRE, Pa.- Western Connecticut State University football participated in the 2026 Landmark Conference Football Media Day at Wilkes University this afternoon. The Wolves, coached by Kevin Jones (2nd Season), are coming off a 5-5 season in 2025 when they tied for fourth in their first year in the league with a 2-4 mark against conference teams.  WestConn was picked fourth in the Landmark Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll for the second year in a row.  Jones, senior WR Markus Faucett (Bronx, N.Y.), senior LB Eamon Moran (Stratford, Conn.) senior S Ryan Rondeau (Carmel, N.Y.) and senior WR Thomas Schiavoni (Middletown, Del.) traveled to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and sat with In the D3Huddle podcast hosts Frank Rossi and James Baker for WestConn's interview session.  The four Wolves took part in a community service activity with other players from the conference, creating birthday banners for children receiving care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  Jones and the other six head football coaches rejoined Rossi and Baker for a Coaches Roundtable interview before the coaches concluded the day with their annual pre-season coaches' meeting.  

"Football Media Day has become the unofficial kickoff to our academic year and one of the events our staff looks forward to most. Bringing all seven programs together before the season starts creates a great energy, and it's always fun hearing our student-athletes talk about what they're hoping to accomplish this fall," shared Landmark Commissioner Katie Boldvich. "I also love the moments away from the interviews. Watching them have fun with the social media challenges, show off their creativity, and work together on a project that will brighten someone else's day reminds you what college athletics is really about. We're appreciative of Wilkes University for hosting us and helping us start another Landmark football season the right way."

The Landmark Conference has seven football members, including WestConn as an affiliate member in football.  Susquehanna, ranked No. 20 in the 2026 D3Football.com Pre-Season Poll, won the 2025 Landmark title with a perfect 6-0 title and went on to reach the NCAA Division III Championship Quarterfinals.  Lycoming and Wilkes both competed in 2025 Chesapeake Challenge Bowl games, and Wilkes downed Shenandoah, 37-35, to win the Cape Henry Bowl.  Catholic, Juniata, and Moravian round out the other Landmark College football squads.  The Wolves will face off against all six this fall, while also facing Kean and Gettysburg as part of the conference's scheduling agreement with the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and the Centennial Conference, respectively.  WestConn opens the 2026 campaign on the road against William Paterson on Saturday, September 5 at 1 p.m. and the Wolves' fourth non-conference game will be at home against No. 18-ranked Christopher Newport on September 12.

"We discussed with our players early last year about how playing in this conference was going to be different than our last one, about how we are taking a right out of the driveway and heading towards those Pennsylvania borders for a lot of our games," said Jones. "We had to go through it. I think a lot of our guys learned a lot of valuable lessons because there is a lot to learn in a season like that. If you take days off in the weight room, you are not going to be very successful in the Landmark. We are excited to get to this next season, to kind of bounce back and prove what we think WestConn football is all about."

The Susquehanna River Hawks were predicted to once again finish first in the league, receiving 34 points and four first-place votes. Lycoming was predicted to finish second with 30 points and two first-place votes, and Wilkes was third at 29 points and one first-place vote.  WestConn was selected fourth with 20 points, six more than Catholic in fifth with 14 points, Moravian was sixth with 13 points and Juniata College rounded out the poll at seven points.

"Throughout last season, we had high starts here, the cool down, then more hot starts, " said Faucett. "This year needs to be more about consistency, just staying in a consistent mindset throughout practice first. We have to practice how we play. As long as we do that, bring that over to the game and stay disciplined throughout the game; we could finish out strong."