MADISON - It is becoming nothing short of a formality in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

UW-Whitewater, winner of the past four WIAC football titles and 27-1 in league play during that span, was picked Tuesday by the league's sports information directors to win a fifth straight crown.

The Warhawks, ranked No. 2 in the d3football.com preseason poll, received seven of the eight first-place votes, with UW-Stevens Point earning the other.

The Pointers, ranked seventh in the preseason poll, stunned Whitewater 17-16 at Perkins Stadium last October to earn a share of the 2008 title with the Warhawks.

UW-Eau Claire was picked to finish third, followed by UW-La Crosse, UW-Stout, UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls and UW-Platteville.

UW-L is coming off a season in which it went 3-7 (3-4 WIAC). It was just the Eagles' third losing season since 1969.

Whitewater has reached the NCAA Division III title game the past four years, capturing the school's first national championship in 2007. The Warhawks earned the 29th WIAC title in program history last year, the second-most in conference history.