2021 NAIA football season

2021 NAIA football season
2021 NAIA football season
Regular season	August 28 – November 13, 2021
Postseason	November 20 – December 18, 2021
National Championship	Durham County Memorial Stadium ; Durham, NC ; December 18, 2021
Champion	Morningside
Player of the Year	Joe Dolincheck (quarterback, Morningside)
	← 2020 ; NAIA football season ; 2022 → ;

Last updated February 11, 2024

The 2021 NAIA football season is the component of the 2021 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The regular season began on August 28 and culminated on November 13. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, began on November 20 and culminated with the championship game on December 18 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Morningside Mustangs defeated the Grand View Vikings in the title game, winning the program's third NAIA title in four seasons under head coach Steve Ryan.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Allen Yellow Jackets	Appalachian	NCAA D-II Independent
Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes	Independent (NJCAA)	Independent
Edward Waters Tigers	NAIA Independent	SIAC (NCAA D-II)
Iowa Wesleyan Tigers	St. Louis (NCAA D-III)	North Star
Judson University Eagles	New program	MSFA Midwest
Louisiana Christian Wildcats	Am. Southwest (NCAA D-III)	Sooner
Mount Marty Lancers	New program	GPAC

Conference standings

2021 Frontier Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 25 College of Idaho +	7	–	3	7	–	3
No. 21 Rocky Mountain +	7	–	3	7	–	3
No. 19 Montana Western +^	7	–	3	8	–	4
Carroll (MT)	6	–	4	6	–	4
Montana Tech	5	–	5	5	–	5
Eastern Oregon	4	–	6	4	–	6
Southern Oregon	3	–	7	3	–	7
MSU Northern	1	–	9	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Morningside $^	10	–	0	14	–	0
No. 4 Northwestern (IA) ^	9	–	1	12	–	2
Concordia (NE)	7	–	3	7	–	3
No. 23 Dordt	7	–	3	7	–	3
Midland	6	–	4	6	–	5
Doane	5	–	5	5	–	5
Dakota Wesleyan	4	–	6	4	–	7
Briar Cliff	3	–	7	3	–	8
Hastings	2	–	8	2	–	8
Jamestown	2	–	8	2	–	9
Mount Marty	0	–	10	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North
No. 3 Grand View x^	5	–	0	14	–	1
No. 22 Culver–Stockton	4	–	1	8	–	3
Peru State	3	–	2	7	–	4
William Penn	2	–	3	3	–	8
Clarke	1	–	4	1	–	10
Graceland	0	–	5	0	–	11
South
No. 16 Central Methodist x^	5	–	0	9	–	3
No. 13 Baker	4	–	1	9	–	2
Benedictine (KS)	3	–	2	7	–	4
Evangel	2	–	3	5	–	6
MidAmerica Nazarene	1	–	4	3	–	8
Missouri Valley	0	–	5	3	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Kansas Wesleyan +^	9	–	1	11	–	2
No. 17 Bethel (KS) +	9	–	1	9	–	2
No. 9 Southwestern (KS) +^	9	–	1	9	–	2
Avila	7	–	3	7	–	3
McPherson	6	–	4	6	–	4
Sterling	5	–	5	6	–	6
Ottawa (KS)	4	–	6	5	–	6
Saint Mary (KS)	3	–	7	3	–	7
Tabor	2	–	8	3	–	8
Friends	1	–	9	1	–	9
Bethany (KS)	0	–	10	0	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Mid-South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Appalachian Division
No. 6 Reinhardt x^	6	–	0	9	–	3
No. 24 Faulkner	5	–	1	8	–	2
Bluefield	4	–	2	6	–	5
Kentucky Christian	2	–	4	3	–	8
Point	2	–	4	2	–	8
St. Andrews	2	–	4	2	–	9
Union (KY)	0	–	6	1	–	9
Bluegrass Division
No. 1 Lindsey Wilson x^	7	–	0	12	–	1
No. 15 Georgetown (KY)	5	–	2	8	–	2
Bethel (TN)	4	–	3	7	–	4
Thomas More	4	–	3	5	–	5
Cumberlands (KY)	3	–	4	6	–	4
Pikeville	2	–	5	4	–	6
Cumberland (TN)	2	–	5	3	–	7
Campbellsville	1	–	6	1	–	8
Sun Division
No. 11 Keiser x^	5	–	1	9	–	3
Southeastern x	5	–	1	8	–	3
St. Thomas (FL)	4	–	2	9	–	2
Ave Maria	4	–	2	5	–	6
Warner	1	–	5	3	–	8
Webber International	1	–	5	2	–	8
Florida Memorial	1	–	5	2	–	9

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Mid-States Football Association standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mideast League
No. 8 Concordia (MI) x^	6	–	1	9	–	2
No. 7 Marian (IN) x^	6	–	1	9	–	3
Siena Heights	5	–	2	6	–	4
No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan x^	4	–	3	7	–	4
Lawrence Tech	3	–	4	7	–	4
Saint Francis (IN)	2	–	5	3	–	6
Taylor	2	–	5	3	–	7
Madonna	0	–	7	1	–	9
Midwest League
No. 12 Saint Xavier x^	6	–	1	8	–	3
St. Francis (IL) x	6	–	1	6	–	3
Olivet Nazarene	5	–	2	7	–	3
Roosevelt	3	–	4	4	–	6
Judson	3	–	4	4	–	7
St. Ambrose	3	–	4	4	–	7
Missouri Baptist	1	–	6	4	–	7
Trinity International	1	–	6	3	–	8

x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 North Star Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Dickinson State $^	8	–	0	8	–	3
Valley City State	6	–	2	8	–	2
Waldorf	5	–	3	7	–	3
Dakota State	5	–	3	6	–	4
Mayville State	2	–	6	2	–	9
Iowa Wesleyan	1	–	6	2	–	9
Presentation	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Ottawa (AZ) $^	8	–	1	8	–	2
No. 20 Arizona Christian	7	–	2	8	–	2
Texas Wesleyan	7	–	2	7	–	3
SAGU	6	–	3	9	–	3
Langston	6	–	3	7	–	3
Louisiana Christian	4	–	5	4	–	7
OK Panhandle State	3	–	6	4	–	7
Lyon	2	–	7	2	–	8
Wayland Baptist	2	–	7	2	–	8
Texas College	0	–	9	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2021 NAIA independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Arkansas Baptist		–		0	–	7

Postseason

Bracket

1st Round November 20			Quarterfinals November 27			Semifinals December 4			Championship December 18

1	Lindsey Wilson	48

16	Montana Western	21
			1	Lindsey Wilson	54

			12	Keiser	12
6	Reinhardt	13

12	Keiser	16
						1	Lindsey Wilson	28

						3	Grand View	34
3	Grand View	38

14	Dickinson State	13
			3	Grand View	31

			8	Concordia (MI)	16
8	Concordia (MI)	47

11	Saint Xavier	3
									3	Grand View	28

									2	Morningside	38
2	Morningside	63

15	Ottawa (AZ)	38
			2	Morningside	58

			10	Kansas Wesleyan	21
5	Indiana Wesleyan

10	Kansas Wesleyan	forfeit
						2	Morningside	28

						4	Northwestern (IA)	19
4	Northwestern (IA)	24

13	Central Methodist	7
			4	Northwestern (IA)	25

			7	Marian (IN)	20
7	Marian (IN)	21

9	Southwestern (KS)	17

Rankings

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References

↑ Bain, Matthew (December 18, 2021). "Morningside tops Grand View in all-Iowa NAIA football national title game". The Des Moines Register . Des Moines, Iowa . Retrieved December 26, 2021.

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[1] Bain, Matthew (December 18, 2021). "Morningside tops Grand View in all-Iowa NAIA football national title game". The Des Moines Register . Des Moines, Iowa . Retrieved December 26, 2021.

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