LEXINGTON – Former University of Kentucky football players are invited to have lunch with the current Wildcats following Saturday’s practice at Commonwealth Stadium.

Practice begins Saturday, Aug. 18 at 9 a.m. Lunch follows at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Wildcat football alumni interested in attending practice and lunch should register no later than Thursday, Aug. 16 by contacting Jeremy Jarmon via e-mail jeremy.jarmon@uky.edu or by calling (859) 257-2999. Spouses and children are invited.

Former players not able to attend on Saturday may attend other practices by contacting the football office in advance. Coach Joker Phillips scheduled Saturday’s lunch event for the former players to meet-and-greet with the current Cats.

EKU ranked 18th: The Eastern Kentucky University football team was ranked 18th nationally in the preseason Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) top-25 poll which was released Monday afternoon. This is the highest preseason ranking for the Colonels since 2002.

Eastern Kentucky, which advanced to the NCAA FCS playoffs one year ago, returns 10 offensive and seven defensive starters including a league-high 10 players who were named to the 2012 preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team.

The only other OVC team to earn a spot in the top-25 poll was Jacksonville State which landed at No. 22.

Sam Houston State, out of the Southland Conference, was the No. 1 pick in the poll followed by defending FCS champion North Dakota State.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the top 25 each season. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

During the regular season, the top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend of the regular season, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 18, prior to the selection of the FCS playoff field.

The Sports Network will release a final top 25 poll following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 5, 2013 in Frisco, Texas.

EKU kicks off the 2012 schedule on Sept. 1 at Purdue. The season opener will be televised by the Big Ten Network beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Colonels’ home opener is scheduled for Sept. 8 against Morehead State at 6 p.m.