KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA released its preseason women's basketball poll on Wednesday, and the University of Pikeville is mentioned.
 
The Bears were seventh among the 25 teams receiving votes but not ranked in the preseason Top 25.
 
This comes one day after the Bears were announced as the preseason favorites to win the AAC this season. Only one other conference team was involved in the ratings, as Milligan (Tenn.) is also getting votes.
 
The Bears will find out how good they are early, as five of its seven non-conference opponents are in the Top 25 and another is getting votes. None of those seven games will be played in Pikeville.
 
The season begins on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the Bears travel to Indianapolis to play No. 5 Marian (Ind.) University. That game is set for a 3:30 p.m. opening tip.
 
UPike is in a classic at Campbellsville on Thanksgiving weekend. In it, the Bears will meet No. 24 Lindsey Wilson on Friday and No. 3 Campbellsville on Saturday.
 
The next non-conference game will be on Dec. 17 when they travel to Portsmouth, Ohio, to play former league opponent Shawnee State University. SSU is ranked 23^rd in the preseason poll.
 
The closest game to Pikeville among the non-conference opponents comes on Dec. 20 when the Bears meet the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) at the Williamson Fieldhouse. The Red Storm is receiving votes in the preseason poll. That game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start.
 
Finally, the Bears will play in a classic at Governors State in University Park, Ill., where on Monday, Dec. 29, they will meet No. 6 Freed Hardeman (Tenn.) University, yet another game against a former Mid-South Conference foe.
 
On Tuesday, Dec. 30, the only non-conference game against a team not mentioned in Wednesday's poll will see the Bears face Midway University.
 
In addition, the Bears face Milligan two times in the regular season. The teams play Dec. 10 at the UPike Gym and at Milligan on Jan. 21. Both games are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
 
UPike's final preseason game will take place Saturday when the Bears travel to Huntington, W.Va., to play Marshall University. Tipoff for that game at the Henderson Center is 1 p.m.