Entering the 2011 season:
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec | Pts | 2010 final |
| 1 | UW-Whitewater (19) | 15-0 | 619 | 1 |
| 2 | Mount Union (6) | 14-1 | 606 | 2 |
| 3 | Wesley | 12-1 | 561 | 4 |
| 4 | North Central (Ill.) | 12-1 | 526 | 3 |
| 5 | St. Thomas | 12-1 | 491 | 7 |
| 6 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 12-1 | 481 | 5 |
| 7 | Bethel | 12-2 | 480 | 6 |
| 8 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 10-2 | 382 | 11 |
| 9 | Linfield | 9-2 | 347 | 9 |
| 10 | Coe | 9-2 | 321 | 14 |
| 11 | Thomas More | 11-1 | 277 | 15 |
| 12 | Montclair State | 10-2 | 270 | 19 |
| 13 | Cortland State | 10-2 | 267 | 18 |
| 14 | Ohio Northern | 10-2 | 259 | 8 |
| 15 | Wartburg | 10-1 | 238 | 12 |
| 16 | Hardin-Simmons | 8-2 | 230 | 24 |
| 17 | Cal Lutheran | 8-2 | 199 | 21 |
| 18 | Alfred | 10-3 | 195 | 13 |
| 19 | Wabash | 8-2 | 175 | -- |
| 20 | Wittenberg | 10-1 | 165 | 17 |
| 21 | Trine | 11-1 | 129 | 10 |
| 22 | Rowan | 9-1 | 108 | 23 |
| 23 | UW-Stevens Point | 7-3 | 89 | -- |
| 24 | Franklin | 9-2 | 86 | 22 |
| 25 | St. John's | 7-3 | 78 | -- |
Others receiving votes: Delaware Valley 76, Hampden-Sydney 73, Central 64, Pacific Lutheran 62, Salisbury 55, Baldwin-Wallace 45, Springfield 29, Redlands 24, Bridgewater (Va.) 22, Johns Hopkins 16, Willamette 15, Louisiana College 13, Monmouth 10, St. John Fisher 9, Christopher Newport 9, Washington and Jefferson 6, DePauw 5, McMurry 3, Washington and Lee 3, Lebanon Valley 2, UW-Oshkosh 2, Millsaps 1, UW-Stout 1, Williams 1.
The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.