2024 NAIA football season

Last updated

2024 NAIA football season
Total No. of teams97
Regular seasonAugust 24 – November 16, 2024
PostseasonNovember 23 – December 21, 2024
National Championship Durham County Memorial Stadium
Durham, NC
December 21, 2024
Champion Grand View
Player of the Year Jackson Waring, QB, Grand View

The 2024 NAIA football season was the component of the 2024 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States.

Contents

The regular season began on August 24 and ended on November 16. [1]

The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, began on November 23. They ended with the championship game on December 21 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, where No. 2 Grand View defeated No. 1 Keiser to win the national championship.

Membership changes

TeamFormer conferenceNew conferenceRef
Defiance Yellow Jackets HCAC (NCAA D-III) Mid-States [2]
Jamestown Jimmies Great Plains North Star [3] [4]
Roosevelt Lakers Mid-States GLIAC (NCAA D-II) [5] [6]
Simpson Red Hawks New program Independent [7]
St. Ambrose Fighting Bees Mid-States Heart of America [8]
Waldorf Warriors North Star Great Plains [9]
William Woods Owls New program Heart of America [10] [8]

Headlines

Milestones and records

Conference standings

2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Reinhardt +  5 –1   7 –4  
Pikeville +^  5 –1   5 –5  
Bluefield  4 –2   5 –6  
Point  4 –2   4 –7  
Union Commonwealth  2 –4   3 –7  
Kentucky Christian  1 –5   2 –9  
St. Andrews  0 –6   0 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Frontier Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Montana Western $^  7 –1   9 –1  
No. 8 Montana Tech ^  6 –2   9 –2  
Carroll (MT)  6 –2   7 –3  
No. 22 Southern Oregon  5 –3   8 –3  
College of Idaho  5 –3   7 –4  
Eastern Oregon  4 –4   5 –6  
Arizona Christian  1 –7   2 –8  
Rocky Mountain  1 –7   2 –8  
Montana State–Northern  1 –7   1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 Morningside $^  10 –0   10 –1  
No. 9 Northwestern (IA) ^  8 –2   8 –2  
No. 17 Concordia (NE)  8 –2   8 –2  
No. 18 Dordt  8 –2   8 –2  
Mount Marty  5 –5   6 –4  
Midland  5 –5   6 –5  
Dakota Wesleyan  4 –6   4 –7  
Doane  3 –7   3 –8  
Briar Cliff  2 –8   2 –9  
Hastings  2 –8   2 –9  
Waldorf  0 –10   0 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
North
No. 2 Grand View x^  6 –0   14 –0  
Graceland  5 –1   7 –4  
Peru State  5 –2   7 –3  
Culver–Stockton  3 –3   3 –8  
William Penn  2 –4   4 –6  
St. Ambrose  1 –5   3 –8  
Clarke  0 –6   1 –10  
South
No. 9 Benedictine (KS) x^  5 –1   11 –3  
No. 12 Baker x^  5 –1   9 –2  
No. 13 MidAmerica Nazarene x^  5 –1   9 –2  
Missouri Baptist  3 –3   6 –4  
Missouri Valley  2 –4   4 –6  
Central Methodist  1 –5   1 –10  
William Woods  0 –7   1 –10  
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Bissell Division
Kansas Wesleyan x^  5 –0   7 –4  
Tabor  3 –1   6 –5  
Avila  3 –2   4 –7  
Sterling  2 –3   2 –9  
Ottawa  1 –4   1 –10  
Saint Mary (KS)  0 –4   1 –9  
Kessinger Division
No. 19т Southwestern (KS) x^  4 –1   10 –1  
No. 19т Friends x^  4 –1   10 –1  
McPherson  3 –2   8 –3  
Evangel  3 –2   8 –2  
Bethel (KS)  1 –4   5 –6  
Bethany (KS)  0 –5   3 –8  
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Mid-South Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 Georgetown (KY) $^  6 –0   8 –2  
No. 21 Campbellsville  4 –2   9 –2  
Bethel (TN)  3 –3   7 –3  
Cumberland (TN)  3 –3   7 –3  
Lindsey Wilson  3 –3   5 –4  
Cumberlands (KY)  2 –4   5 –5  
Faulkner  0 –6   2 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Mid-States Football Association standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Mideast League
No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan x^  5 –0   10 –1  
No. 22 Taylor  4 –1   9 –2  
Concordia (MI)  3 –2   5 –6  
Siena Heights  2 –3   3 –7  
Lawrence Tech  1 –4   2 –8  
Madonna  0 –5   0 –11  
Defiance  0 –0   4 –7  
Midwest League
No. 25 Saint Francis (IN) x^  4 –1   8 –3  
No. 24 Marian (IN) x  4 –1   8 –2  
St. Francis (IL)  3 –2   7 –3  
Olivet Nazarene  3 –2   6 –4  
Saint Xavier  1 –4   5 –6  
Judson  0 –5   1 –9  
  • x – League champion/co-champions
    ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 North Star Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 14 Dickinson State $^  8 –0   10 –1  
Dakota State  4 –4   6 –4  
Mayville State  3 –5   4 –6  
Jamestown  3 –5   3 –7  
Valley City State  2 –6   3 –7  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 7 Texas Wesleyan $^  8 –0   10 –1  
No. 15 OUAZ ^  7 –1   8 –2  
Texas College  5 –3   7 –3  
Langston  5 –3   6 –4  
OK Panhandle State  3 –5   4 –6  
Wayland Baptist  3 –5   4 –6  
Louisiana Christian  3 –5   4 –7  
Nelson  2 –6   4 –6  
North American  1 –6   2 –9  
Arkansas Baptist  0 –8   1 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 Sun Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Keiser $^ 6 –0 –012 –1 –0
No. 5 St. Thomas (FL) ^ 6 –1 –09 –2 –0
No. 16 Southeastern 5 –2 –08 –2 –0
Florida Memorial 4 –3 –06 –4 –1
Webber International 2 –4 –04 –5 –0
Ave Maria 2 –4 –03 –7 –0
Thomas 1 –5 –01 –8 –0
Warner 0 –6 –00 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
    Florida Memorial's game against Clark Atlanta was delayed at halftime due to weather, but was never rescheduled and resulted in a tie
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2024 NAIA independents football records
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Simpson (CA)  –  0 –9  
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Teams

Bracket

First Round
November 23
Campus sites		Second Round
November 30
Campus sites		Quarterfinals
December 7
Campus sites		Semifinals
December 14
Campus sites		Championship
December 21
Durham County Memorial Stadium
Durham, North Carolina
5 St. Thomas (FL) 21
10 Georgetown (KY) 27
10Georgetown (KY)22
1Keiser38
1 Keiser 56
13 Baker 3520Pikeville21
1Keiser42
20 Pikeville 42
9Benedictine (KS)38
8 Texas Wesleyan 33
9 Benedictine (KS) 42
9Benedictine (KS)20
3Indiana Wesleyan9
3 Indiana Wesleyan 24
15 Southwestern (KS) 3115Southwestern (KS)13
1Keiser7
18 Saint Francis (IN) 24
2Grand View35
6 Morningside 35
12 MidAmerica Nazarene 0
6Morningside31
4Montana Western24
4 Montana Western 41
14 Dickinson State 2714Dickinson State14
6Morningside13
19 Kansas Wesleyan 20
2Grand View36
7 Montana Tech 29
11 Northwestern (IA) 32
11Northwestern (IA)0
2Grand View17
2 Grand View 21
16 Friends 4716Friends17
17 OUAZ 35

Rankings

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2024, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games.

SchoolOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacementPrevious position
Sterling Darren Jackson June 4, 2024Fired [13] [14] Reggie Langford Jr. Sterling assistant head coach and offensive coordinator (2023)
Bethel (KS) A. B. Stokes July 8, 2024Resigned [15] Daylon Markham (full-season interim) Bethel (KS) defensive coordinator (2023)
Kansas Wesleyan Matt Myers October 9, 2024Fired [16] Chris Snyder / David Leonard (co-interim head coaches) Kansas Wesleyan recruiting coordinator (2023–2024) / Kansas Wesleyan defensive coordinator (2021–2024)
Rio Grande [a] Quincy Wilson November 13, 2024Fired [17] Mark Thurston Rio Grande defensive coordinator (2024)

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

SchoolOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacementPrevious position
Kansas Wesleyan Chris Snyder / David Leonard November 25, 2024Permanent replacement hired Matt Middleton [18] Harding quarterbacks coach and fullbacks coach (2023–2024)
Bethel (KS) Daylon Markham (full-season interim)December 3, 2024Resigned [19] Josh Lawson [20] Calvin defensive coordinator (2023–2024)
Georgetown (KY) Chris Oliver December 10, 2024Resigned [21] John Perin Georgetown (KY) defensive coordinator (2022–2024)
Faulkner Rob Gray December 11, 2024Resigned [22] Dayne Brown [23] Enterprise HS (AL) defensive coordinator (2024)
Mount Mercy —December 11, 2024— [b] MD Daniels [24] [25] Bethel (TN) co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2024)
Bethel (TN) Michael Jasper December 20, 2024Hired as head coach by Stetson [26] Chris Springer (interim) Bethel (TN) associate head coach and defensive coordinator (2017–2024)
William Woods Julian Mendez December 23, 2024Hired as assistant coach by Washburn [27] Sam Camp William Woods offensive coordinator (2024)
Grand View Joe Woodley December 23, 2024Hired as head coach by Drake [28] E. J. Peterson [29] Grand View defensive coordinator (2018–2024)
Missouri Valley Casey Creehan Before January 2, 2025— LaQuentin Black [30] Northern Iowa safeties coach (2024)
  1. ↑ The Rio Grande football program was established in 2023 and will not begin official NAIA play until the 2025 season.
  2. ↑ The Mount Mercy football program was announced in 2024 and will not begin official NAIA play until the 2026 season.

    See also

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    References

    1. ↑ "NAIA Football Scoreboard". NAIA.com. NAIA. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
    2. ↑ "Defiance College Board of Trustees approve athletic program's return to NAIA". defianceathletics.com. October 6, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
    3. ↑ "Membership Statement from the Great Plains Athletic Conference". Great Plains Athletic Conference. October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
    4. ↑ "University of Jamestown (N.D.) returns to North Star Athletic Association". North Star Athletic Association. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
    5. ↑ "ROOSEVELT JOINS NCAA DIVISION II". roosevelt.edu. Roosevelt University. July 13, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
    6. ↑ "Lakers Litter All-MSFA Teams For Final NAIA Season". rooseveltlakers.com. Roosevelt University. November 20, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
    7. ↑ "Simpson University Announces Addition of Football". Simpson University Athletics. October 26, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
    8. 1 2 "St. Ambrose and William Woods Football to Join the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2024". Heart of America Athletic Conference. July 24, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
    9. ↑ "Waldorf University Joins Great Plains Athletic Conference". Waldorf University Athletics. September 18, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
    10. ↑ "William Woods University announces the historic addition of intercollegiate football". William Woods University. May 22, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
    11. ↑ "The Future is Here: SAGU To Become Nelson University" (Press release). SAGU.edu. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
    12. ↑ Samuels, Doug (November 18, 2024). "NAIA quarterback threw for more touchdowns Saturday afternoon than 21 FBS teams have all season". Football Scoop. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
    13. ↑ Samuels, Doug (June 4, 2024). "NAIA head coach dismissed shortly after interviewing for Division II opening". Footballscoop. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
    14. ↑ "Warrior Athletics Announces Change in Football Leadership". June 4, 2024.
    15. ↑ "Stokes Resigns as Head Football Coach; Markham named as Interim Head Football Coach". July 8, 2024.
    16. ↑ "KWU Announces Football Program Leadership Change". Kansas Wesleyan University. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
    17. ↑ "Rio names Thurston head football coach". University of Rio Grande Athletics. November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
    18. ↑ "Matt Middleton named Head Football Coach at Kansas Wesleyan University". Kansas Wesleyan University. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
    19. ↑ "Daylon Markham Resigns as Head Football Coach". Bethel College. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
    20. ↑ "Bethel College Announces Josh Lawson as New Head Football Coach". Bethel College. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
    21. ↑ "John Perin elevated to Head Football Coach". Georgetown College. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
    22. ↑ "Faulkner Eagles head coach steps down after 4 seasons". WSFA 12. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
    23. ↑ Smith, Jeremy D. (January 9, 2025). "Brown to take helm of Faulkner University football". Faulkner University. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
    24. ↑ "Daniels Named First Head Football Coach in Program History". Mount Mercy University . December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
    25. ↑ "Mount Mercy names MD Daniels its first football coach". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) . December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
    26. ↑ "Mike Jasper Named Head Football Coach". Stetson University . December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
    27. ↑ "Camp Elevated to William Woods Football Head Coach" (Press release). William Woods Athletics. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
    28. ↑ "Bulldog Football Taps Joe Woodley as Next Head Coach" (Press release). Drake Athletics. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
    29. ↑ "Grand View Football Elevates E.J. Peterson to Head Coach". Grand View University. December 29, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
    30. ↑ "LaQuentin Black Returning to Missouri Valley College as New Football Head Coach". Missouri Valley College. January 2, 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
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