2023 NAIA football season

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

2023 NAIA football season
Regular seasonAugust 19 – November 11, 2023
PostseasonNovember 18 – December 18, 2023
National ChampionshipDurham County Memorial Stadium
Durham, NC
December 18, 2023

The regular season will begin on August 19 and will culminate on November 11.[1]

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

Postseason

Rankings
Main article: 2023 NAIA football rankings

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.
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