The Miles football program continues to ride the wave of its most successful season in school annuls. For the first time in program history, they will begin a new season with a national ranking.

The Golden Bears were voted as the 24th-ranked team in Division II in the 2025 American Football Coaches Association Division II poll, presented by Hudl. Miles was tied with Ashland for the No. 24 spot and was the only team in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to make this preseason Top 25 list. This ranking will also place Miles, under first-year head coach Chris Goode, in a season-opening Top 25 matchup in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic on Aug. 31 against 19th-ranked Virginia Union. It will be one of three Top 25 tilts at the top of the Division II schedule.

Miles won its fifth Division II SIAC title last season and went 10-3 overall, culminating in its first Division II playoff win and advancement into the quarterfinal playoff round for the first time. The Golden Bears finished 22nd in the AFCA Division II poll at the end of the last season, the first time the team had finished the season with a national ranking.