Pikeville to Visit Baker (Kan.) in NAIA Football Championship Series
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [FCS Schedule & Results] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the teams, seeding and host sites for the 69th Annual NAIA Football Championship Series. The 20-team field starts the NAIA National Championship with 12 teams earning first round byes and eight teams squaring off at four sites around the country on November 23rd.
The full field features 13 automatic qualifiers and seven at-large berths. In order to qualify for an automatic bid, teams must win their conference regular season or division title. At-large berths were determined by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. Teams earning an at-large berth must be ranked in the Top 25 of the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25, which can be accessed here.
The 69th Annual NAIA Football National Championship will culminate on December 21st at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C. For more information on the 2024 NAIA Football National Championship, click here.
This year's championship field includes 13 automatic qualifiers and 7 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference title. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. The committee consists of one representative from each of the four Area Ranking Committees, designated a the ARC Chair, the Football National Administrative Council liaison, an executive committee officer for the NAIA Football Coaches Association, and three at-large members connected with NAIA Football, but not currently a head coach. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
All football championship series will be video streamed by the host. The NAIA Football National Championship is broadcast FREE on Urban Edge Network and the newly redesigned NAIA Network on December 21st in Durham, North Carolina.
Qualifier Highlights
- Northwestern (Iowa) and Dickinson State (N.D.) lead the field in appearances with 26 and 25, respectively.
- Pikeville (Ky.) and Friends (Kan.) both make the football championship series field for the first time since 2005 and 2008.
- Texas Wesleyan is making its first trip to the postseason.
- Morningside (Iowa) boasts the best FCS record out of the 20-team field with a mark of 34-17.
- The 2024 championship series field enters the first round of the playoffs with a 176-30 record, good for an 85.4 winning percentage.
- Entering the 69th football championship series, the 20 teams in the field have combined for 13 titles, led by Morningside (Iowa), Georgetown (Ky.), and Northwestern (Iowa) with three titles each.
- Only three teams have yet to suffer a loss in their 2024 Red Banner campaign with Keiser (Fla.) (9-0), Grand View (Iowa) (10-0), and Texas Wesleyan (10-0).
- Six teams have 10 wins entering the postseason with Grand View (Iowa), Texas Wesleyan, Morningside (Iowa), Southwestern (Kan.), Friends (Kan.), and Indiana Wesleyan.
Top 12 Qualifiers
| Seed | Institution | 2024 Season Record |
| 1 | Keiser (Fla.) | 9-0 |
| 2 | Grand View (Iowa) | 10-0 |
| 3 | Indiana Wesleyan | 10-1 |
| 4 | Montana Western | 9-1 |
| 5 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 9-1 |
| 6 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-1 |
| 7 | Montana Tech | 9-2 |
| 8 | Texas Wesleyan | 10-0 |
| 9 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 9-2 |
| 10 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 8-2 |
| 11 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 8-2 |
| 12 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 9-1 |
First Round Matchups
(Teams listed in Bold are home)
| Rank | Institution | Record | Rank | Institution | Record | |
| 13 | Baker (Kan.) | 9-1 | vs. | 20 | Pikeville (Ky.) | 5-5 |
| 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 9-1 | vs. | 19 | Kansas Wesleyan | 7-4 |
| 15 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 10-1 | vs. | 18 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 8-3 |
| 16 | Friends (Kan.) | 10-1 | vs. | 17 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 8-1 |
2024 NAIA Football Championship Series Qualifiers
(Alphabetical Listing)
| Institution | Qualification Method | Season Record | Appearances | Last Qualified | FCS Record | Titles |
| Baker (Kan.) | At-Large | 9-1 | 21 | 2023 | 19-20 | 0 |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Heart South Division Automatic Qualifier | 9-2 | 16 | 2022 | 8-15 | 0 |
| Dickinson State (N.D.) | North Star Conference Champion | 9-1 | 25 | 2023 | 8-24 | 0 |
| Friends (Kan.) | KCAC Kessinger Division Champion | 10-1 | 5 | 2008 | 0-4 | 0 |
| Georgetown (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference Champion | 8-2 | 24 | 2023 | 27-20 | 3 |
| Grand View (Iowa) | Heart North Division Champion | 10-0 | 13 | 2023 | 15-11 | 1 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | MSFA Mideast Division Champion | 10-1 | 4 | 2023 | 3-3 | 0 |
| Kansas Wesleyan | KCAC Bissell Division Champion | 7-4 | 7 | 2021 | 4-6 | 0 |
| Keiser (Fla.) | Sun Conference Champion | 9-0 | 6 | 2023 | 10-4 | 1 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | At-Large | 9-1 | 12 | 2014 | 6-11 | 0 |
| Montana Tech | At-Large | 9-2 | 11 | 2023 | 5-10 | 0 |
| Montana Western | Frontier Conference Champion | 9-1 | 6 | 2023 | 1-5 | 0 |
| Morningside (Iowa) | GPAC Conference Champion | 10-1 | 21 | 2023 | 34-17 | 3 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) | At-Large | 8-2 | 26 | 2023 | 33-22 | 3 |
| OUAZ (Ariz.) | At-Large | 8-1 | 2 | 2021 | 0-2 | 0 |
| Pikeville (Ky.) | Appalachian Conference Champion | 5-5 | 2 | 2005 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | MSFA Midwest Division Champion | 8-3 | 20 | 2019 | 32-17 | 2 |
| Southwestern (Kan.) | At-Large | 10-1 | 7 | 2022 | 2-6 | 0 |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) | At-Large | 9-1 | 2 | 2023 | 1-1 | 0 |
| Texas Wesleyan | Sooner Conference Champion | 10-0 | 1 | - | - | - |