LATROBE, Pa. (Aug. 6)—For the second-straight season, the Waynesburg University football team was chosen by a group of 28 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) coaches, sports information directors (SIDs) and local media members gathered at the conference's annual Football Media Day to finish second in the conference when the 2008 season concludes.

The Washington and Jefferson Presidents were selected by those gathered at the Fred Rogers Center on the campus of Saint Vincent College to be the top team in the conference for the third-straight season.

Out of a possible 28 votes, W&J received 23 first-place nods, Waynesburg received four and Thiel College received one. The rest of the poll went in this order from three to seven: Westminster, Grove City, Thomas More, Bethany and Thiel.

When he came to the podium, Waynesburg University head football coach Rick Shepas, who is coming off his best season with the Yellow Jackets (8-3, 5-1), talked about how pleased he was with how his program has been able to build a solid foundation  behind rigorous work ethic in the weight room and a potent defense over his first three seasons.

Last year effectively emphasized that point as Waynesburg boasted the top defense in the conference when it came to yards allowed per game (225.1) and rushing yards allowed (68.1). The Yellow Jackets also gave up the second fewest points in the PAC (17.8).

Shepas was joined at PAC Football Media Day by senior defensive end DJ DeWitt (Vanderbilt, Pa., Connellsville). DeWitt is one of three senior starters on this year's defensive line, which is expected to be one of team's biggest strengths.

“With three senior starters back on the defensive line, it's something we know we can count on,” Shepas said. “Defensive coordinator Scott Venick will be relying on these guys to perform while the rest of our defense catches up.”

Venick is looking to find three new starting linebackers and two new starters in the secondary.

The day began with PAC Executive Director, Joe Onderko welcoming those gathered in Latrobe. He also made two major announcements about the future of PAC football.

Those attending the annual gathering and watching over the Internet via live web-cast learned that the PAC will set aside the final week of every season, starting this year, as “Football Rivalry Week.”

Each year, the same rivalry matchups will be featured that week. Waynesburg will battle their I-79 rivalries from W&J to conclude the regular season from now on.

Other guaranteed games include the Mercer County Cup showdown between Grove City and Thiel, Westminster locking up with current provisional member Geneva and the contest affectionately referred to as “The Green Game” between Bethany and Saint Vincent, another provisional member.

The other major announcement made by Onderko was that, beginning in 2010-2011, the PAC will join the Middle Atlantic Conference in the “PAC-MAC Challenge”

Starting in the 2010 season, each member of the PAC, with the exception of Thomas More, will square off against a counterpart from the MAC. Each season's pairings will be determined by the previous season's final standings.

The PAC-MAC challenge is scheduled to take place during the second week of each season that it is in place. MAC schools competing in the series are Albright College, Delaware Valley College, Fairleigh Dickinson University-College at Florham, King's (Pa.) College, Lebanon Valley College, Lycoming College, Widener University and Wilkes University.

MAC teams will host the games in 2010, and the PAC will host in 2011. The two conferences will alternate home-field advantage each season.

As the day continued, each of the nine head coaches in attendance addressed the crowd about their respective off-seasons and their thoughts on the upcoming 2008 campaign.

The event concluded with all attending the media day being invited to take in an afternoon of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.