2023 NAIA football season
Total No. of teams95
Regular seasonAugust 19 – November 11, 2023
PostseasonNovember 18 – December 18, 2023
National ChampionshipDurham County Memorial Stadium
Durham, NC
December 18, 2023
ChampionKeiser
Player of the YearJalyn Gramstad (quarterback, Northwestern (IA))

The 2023 NAIA football season was the component of the 2023 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States.

The regular season began on August 19 and culminated on November 11.[1]

The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, began on November 18 and culminated with the championship game on December 18 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Membership changes

SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
Arizona Christian FirestormSoonerFrontier
Arkansas Baptist BuffaloesIndependentSooner
Evangel ValorHeart of AmericaKansas
Iowa Wesleyan TigersNorth StarSchool closed
Lyon ScotsSoonerNCAA Division III independent
Missouri Baptist SpartansMid-StatesHeart of America
Pikeville BearsMid-SouthAppalachian
Presentation SaintsNorth StarSchool closed
Thomas Night HawksNew programSun
Thomas More SaintsMid-SouthGreat Midwest (NCAA D-II)
Trinity International TrojansMid-StatesDropped athletics

Headlines

  • The NAIA Council of Presidents voted on and approved expanding the NAIA football playoffs from 16 to 20 teams effective for this season. Under the new format, there will be 13 automatic qualifiers, with 7 more at-large teams picked from the Top 25 teams in the final NAIA Coaches Poll, and the top 12 seeds will receive a bye in the first round.[2]

Conference standings

2023 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 18 Reinhardt $^  6 –0   8 –3  
Pikeville  5 –1   7 –3  
Bluefield  3 –3   5 –5  
Union (KY)  3 –3   4 –6  
Point  3 –3   4 –7  
Kentucky Christian  1 –5   1 –10  
St. Andrews  0 –6   0 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Frontier Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 8 Montana Western $^  7 –1   9 –2  
No. 10т College of Idaho ^  6 –2   10 –3  
No. 17 Montana Tech ^  6 –2   7 –4  
No. 24 Carroll (MT)  5 –3   7 –3  
Southern Oregon  5 –3   6 –4  
Rocky Mountain  4 –4   6 –4  
Eastern Oregon  2 –6   2 –8  
Arizona Christian  1 –7   2 –8  
Montana State–Northern  0 –8   1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 Northwestern (IA) $^  10 –0   14 –1  
No. 14 Dordt ^  8 –2   9 –3  
No. 10т Morningside ^  8 –2   9 –3  
Dakota Wesleyan  5 –5   6 –5  
Midland  5 –5   6 –5  
Concordia (NE)  5 –5   5 –5  
Hastings  4 –6   5 –6  
Briar Cliff  4 –6   4 –7  
Mount Marty  2 –8   3 –8  
Doane  2 –8   2 –9  
Jamestown  2 –8   2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
North
No. 2 Grand View x^  5 –0   11 –1  
Graceland  3 –2   6 –5  
Peru State  3 –2   5 –6  
William Penn  2 –3   4 –6  
Clarke  2 –3   3 –8  
Culver–Stockton  0 –5   1 –10  
South
No. 22 MidAmerica Nazarene x  4 –1   9 –2  
No. 20 Baker x^  4 –1   9 –3  
No. 25 Benedictine (KS) x  4 –1   8 –3  
Missouri Valley  2 –3   5 –5  
Missouri Baptist  1 –4   2 –8  
Central Methodist  0 –5   1 –10  
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Bissell Division
Kansas Wesleyan x  5 –1   8 –3  
Ottawa x^  5 –1   6 –6  
Avila  4 –2   4 –7  
Saint Mary (KS)  2 –4   3 –8  
Tabor  2 –4   3 –8  
Sterling  2 –4   2 –9  
Kessinger Division
No. 9 Evangel x^  5 –0   11 –1  
No. 23 Friends  4 –1   9 –2  
Bethel (KS)  3 –2   6 –5  
Southwestern (KS)  2 –3   8 –3  
McPherson  1 –4   5 –6  
Bethany (KS)  0 –5   1 –10  
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Mid-South Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Georgetown (KY) $^  6 –0   10 –2  
No. 7 Bethel (TN) ^  5 –1   11 –2  
No. 19 Lindsey Wilson  4 –2   7 –3  
Cumberlands (KY)  2 –4   6 –4  
Cumberland (TN)  2 –4   5 –5  
Campbellsville  2 –4   4 –6  
Faulkner  0 –6   2 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Mid-States Football Association standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Mideast League
No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan ^  6 –1   10 –2  
No. 5 Marian (IN) x^  6 –1   9 –2  
Saint Francis (IN)  5 –2   6 –4  
Concordia (MI)  4 –3   7 –3  
Siena Heights  4 –3   6 –4  
Lawrence Tech  2 –5   3 –7  
Taylor  1 –6   2 –9  
Madonna  0 –7   0 –11  
Midwest League
No. 10т Saint Xavier x^  5 –0   8 –4  
Roosevelt  4 –1   6 –4  
Olivet Nazarene  3 –2   6 –4  
St. Francis (IL)  3 –3   7 –3  
St. Ambrose  1 –4   1 –9  
Judson  0 –6   0 –9  
  • x – League champion
    ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 North Star Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 16 Dickinson State $^  8 –0   10 –2  
Valley City State  6 –2   7 –3  
Waldorf  3 –5   4 –6  
Mayville State  2 –6   2 –9  
Dakota State  1 –7   1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 13 OUAZ +  7 –1   8 –1  
No. 21 Louisiana Christian +^  7 –1   9 –2  
Texas Wesleyan +  7 –1   8 –2  
Langston  5 –3   6 –4  
OK Panhandle State  4 –4   5 –5  
SAGU  4 –5   4 –6  
Arkansas Baptist  1 –6   2 –7  
Wayland Baptist  1 –7   2 –8  
Texas College  1 –7   1 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Sun Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Keiser $^  7 –0   12 –2  
No. 15 St. Thomas (FL) ^  6 –1   9 –4  
Florida Memorial  5 –2   6 –4  
Southeastern  4 –3   5 –5  
Ave Maria  2 –5   4 –6  
Webber International  2 –5   3 –6  
Warner  1 –6   4 –6  
Thomas  1 –6   1 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 NAIA independents football records
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
North American   –   1 –9  
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Bracket

First Round
November 18
Campus Sites		Second Round
November 25
Campus Sites		Quarterfinals
December 2nd
Campus Sites		Semifinals
December 9
Campus Sites		Championship
December 18
Durham, North Carolina
5Marian (IN)21
12Saint Xavier31
12Saint Xavier17
1Northwestern (IA)34
1Northwestern (IA)7
Dordt3516Dordt0
1Northwestern (IA)35
Ottawa7
4Georgetown (KY)10
6Indiana Wesleyan24
10Morningside21
6Indiana Wesleyan21
4Georgetown (KY)31
4Georgetown (KY)42
Baker5515Baker21
1Northwestern (IA)21
Louisiana Christian28
3Keiser31
8Montana Western42
11College of Idaho49
11College of Idaho31
2Grand View17
2Grand View28
Montana Tech2814Dickinson State3
11College of Idaho21
Dickinson State35
3Keiser28
7Bethel (TN)40
9Evangel13
7Bethel (TN)14
3Keiser56
3Keiser45
St. Thomas (FL)5513St. Thomas (FL)21
Reinhardt7

Rankings

Coaching changes

End of season

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

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement Previous position
Missouri Valley Paul Troth November 15, 2023 Resigned[3] Casey Creehan[4] Concord defensive coordinator (2023)
SAGU Greg Ellis November 27, 2023 Resigned[5] Jared Hudgins[6] SAGU defensive coordinator (2021–2023)
Madonna Herb Haygood December 1, 2023 Accepted administration position[7]
Doane Chris Bessler December 6, 2023 Resigned[8] Jonathan Johnson[9] Hilbert assistant head coach and defensive coordinator (2023)
Lawrence Tech Avante Mitchell Before December 19, 2023 N/A[10] Scott Merchant Chippewa Valley HS (MI) head coach (2009–2023)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NAIA Football Scoreboard". NAIA.com. NAIA. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Football Coaches Corner - 2023 Spring Update". NAIA.org. NAIA. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Long-Time Head Football Coach Paul Troth Steps Down From Position" (Press release). Missouri Valley College. November 15, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Casey Creehan Hired As New Football Head Coach". Missouri Valley College Athletics. December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  5. ↑ "SAGU Head Football Coach Resigns". Southwestern Assemblies of God University. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ "SAGU Tabs Jared Hudgins To Lead University Football Program". Southwestern Assemblies of God University. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Haygood Moves to Administration". Madonna University Athletics. November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Doane football Head Coach Chris Bessler resigns". News Channel Nebraska Southeast. December 6, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Jonathan Johnson hired as new Doane Football Head Coach". News Channel Nebraska Southeast. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Lawrence Tech Names MHSAA Hall of Famer Scott Merchant New Football Coach". Lawrence Technological University. November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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