Historic comparison: MPSF preseason favorite and end of season champion

Being the preseason favorite isn’t necessarily a good thing in the MPSF.

Seven times in the last nine season the team picked No. 1 in the MPSF preseason coaches poll has failed to win the conference regular season championship. In addition, twice a preseason favorite has finished the regular season outside of the top five in the conference standings since the MPSF preseason poll’s inception for the 2006 season.


Pepperdine was picked to win the conference in the 2015 MPSF preseason coaches poll that was released last week. For Pepperdine, though, there is some precedent to the preseason favorite ending the conference season in first place as BYU accomplished feat last year.

Check out how the differences since 2006 between the MPSF preseason coaches poll favorites of the end of the season conference regular season champions.

2014 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
BYU and UC Irvine
End of season MPSF finish: BYU (tie for first place); UC Irvine (tied for fifth place)
MPSF regular season champions: BYU and Pepperdine
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: BYU (tied for No. 1); Pepperdine (No. 6)

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2013 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
UC Irvine
End of season MPSF finish: UC Irvine (second place)
MPSF regular season champions: BYU
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: BYU (No. 2)

2012 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
BYU
End of season MPSF finish: BYU (tied for second place)
MPSF regular season champions: USC
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: USC (No. 5)

2011 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
USC and UC Irvine
End of season MPSF finish: USC (first place); UC Irvine (fourth place)
MPSF regular season champions: USC
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: USC (No. 1)

2010 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
USC
End of season MPSF finish: USC (seventh place)
MPSF regular season champions: Stanford
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: Stanford (No. 3)

2009 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
Pepperdine and UCLA
End of season MPSF finish: Pepperdine (second place); UCLA (eighth place)
MPSF regular season champions: UC Irvine
Champions’ MPSF preseason poll ranking: UC Irvine (No. 5)

2008 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
Pepperdine
End of season MPSF finish: Pepperdine (tied for fourth place)
MPSF regular season champions: Long Beach State and BYU
Champions’ MPSF preseason ranking: Long Beach State (No. 7); BYU (No. 2)

2007 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
UC Irvine
End of season MPSF finish: UC Irvine (third place)
MPSF regular season champions: Pepperdine
Champions’ MPSF preseason ranking: Pepperdine (tied for No. 3)

2006 season
Preseason MPSF poll No. 1:
BYU
End of season MPSF finish: BYU (tied for fourth place)
MPSF regular season champions: UC Irvine
Champions’ MPSF preseason ranking: UC Irvine (No. 8)