| 2008-2009 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Pre-Season Ranking | |||||
| Rank | School Name | 1st Votes | 07-08 Record | Pts | Previous |
| 1 | Illinois | 25 | 38-0-0 | 599 | 1 |
| 2 | Lindenwood | 3 | 32-10-1 | 575 | 2 |
| 3 | Penn State | 32-4-4 | 531 | 5 | |
| 4 | Delaware | 29-7-1 | 521 | 3 | |
| 5 | Liberty | 25-9-1 | 512 | 4 | |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 29-5-3 | 483 | 6 | |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 23-15-1 | 446 | 7 | |
| 8 T | Iowa State | 31-11-2 | 421 | 8 | |
| 8 T | Ohio | 27-13-2 | 421 | 9 | |
| 10 | West Chester | 27-8-2 | 383 | 10 | |
| 11 | Oakland | 23-11-1 | 353 | 11 | |
| 12 | Kent State | 22-17-0 | 335 | 12 | |
| 13 | Western Michigan | 22-15-2 | 306 | 13 | |
| 14 | Stony Brook | 27-9-0 | 272 | 15 | |
| 15 | West Virginia | 19-13-4 | 263 | 14 | |
| 16 | Eastern Michigan | 21-13-5 | 217 | 17 | |
| 17 | Robert Morris (PA) | 21-13-3 | 213 | 16 | |
| 18 | Washington & Jefferson | 22-12-1 | 182 | 18 | |
| 19 | Niagara | 25-8-2 | 157 | 19 | |
| 20 | Central Oklahoma | 14-19-4 | 112 | 21 | |
| 21 | Slippery Rock | 18-13-2 | 93 | 20 | |
| 22 | Pittsburgh | 18-8-2 | 65 | 24 | |
| 23 | Arizona | 22-8-1 | 63 | 22 | |
| 24 | Robert Morris (IL) | 13-23-0 | 62 | 23 | |
| 25 | Adrian | 17-21-0 | 57 | 25 | |
