2002 NAIA football season

The 2002 NAIA football season was the component of the 2002 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on December 21, at Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tennessee. The Carroll Fighting Saints defeated the Georgetown Tigers, 28–7, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.

2002 NAIA football season
National Championship	Jim Carroll Stadium Savannah, TN December 21, 2002
Champion	Carroll (MT)
Player of the Year	Nick Kortan (running back, Sioux Falls)

Conference standings

2002 Central States Football League standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 NW Oklahoma State $^   4 – 0     11 – 1   Bacone   3 – 1     6 – 5   Langston   2 – 2     2 – 9   Peru State   1 – 3     2 – 8   Haskell   0 – 4     2 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Dakota Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Dickinson State +^   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 7 Mary +^   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 13 Minot State +^   8 – 1     9 – 2   Valley City State   6 – 3     7 – 3   Jamestown   5 – 4     5 – 5   Huron   3 – 6     3 – 7   Mayville State   2 – 7     3 – 7   Black Hills State   2 – 7     2 – 8   South Dakota Mines   2 – 7     2 – 8   Dakota State   1 – 8     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Carroll (MT) $^   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 15 Montana Western ^   7 – 1     9 – 3   Montana Tech   3 – 5     4 – 7   Rocky Mountain   2 – 6     2 – 8   Montana State–Northern   1 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2002 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Sioux Falls $^   8 – 0     12 – 1   No. 17 Doane   6 – 2     7 – 3   No. 24 Hastings   5 – 3     7 – 3   Concordia (NE)   5 – 3     5 – 5   Northwestern (IA)   4 – 4     6 – 4   Nebraska Wesleyan   4 – 4     6 – 4   Midland Lutheran   3 – 5     4 – 7   Dakota Wesleyan   1 – 7     3 – 7   Dana   0 – 8     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene $^   9 – 1     9 – 2   No. 12 Benedictine (KS) ^   8 – 2     9 – 3   No. 19 Evangel   8 – 2     8 – 2   No. 20 Missouri Valley   8 – 2     8 – 2   William Jewell   6 – 4     6 – 5   Central Methodist   4 – 6     5 – 6   Avila   4 – 6     4 – 6   Culver–Stockton   4 – 6     4 – 7   Baker   3 – 7     3 – 8   Lindenwood   1 – 9     1 – 10   Graceland   0 – 10     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Kansas Wesleyan $^   8 – 1     8 – 2   Bethany (KS)   6 – 3     6 – 3   McPherson   5 – 4     6 – 4   Tabor   5 – 4     6 – 4   Friends   5 – 4     5 – 4   Saint Mary (KS)   5 – 4     5 – 4   Ottawa   5 – 4     5 – 5   Southwestern (KS)   5 – 4     5 – 5   Bethel (KS)   1 – 8     1 – 8   Sterling   0 – 9     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2002 Mid-South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Georgetown (KY) $^   8 – 0     12 – 2   No. 23 Cumberland (TN)   6 – 2     6 – 4   Lambuth   5 – 3     6 – 4   Pikeville   4 – 4     6 – 4   Belhaven   4 – 4     5 – 5   Campbellsville   3 – 5     4 – 6   Cumberland (KY)   3 – 5     4 – 6   Virginia–Wise   2 – 6     3 – 7   Union (KY)   1 – 7     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Mid-States Football Association standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 8 Saint Francis (IN) x^   6 – 0     11 – 1   No. 21 Tri-State   5 – 1     6 – 3   No. 22 Walsh   4 – 2     8 – 3   Geneva   3 – 3     7 – 5   Malone   2 – 4     4 – 6   Taylor   1 – 5     3 – 7   Urbana   1 – 5     1 – 10   Midwest League No. 4 McKendree x^   6 – 1     11 – 2   No. 11 Saint Xavier x^   6 – 1     9 – 3   No. 14 St. Ambrose x^   6 – 1     8 – 3   Olivet Nazarene   4 – 3     4 – 6   Trinity International   3 – 4     6 – 5   William Penn   2 – 5     4 – 7   St. Francis (IL)   1 – 6     2 – 8   Iowa Wesleyan   0 – 7     1 – 9   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2002 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Northwestern (MN) x   3 – 0     8 – 2   Martin Luther   2 – 1     6 – 3   Crown   1 – 2     2 – 7   Trinity Bible   0 – 3     0 – 9   South Maranatha Baptist x   4 – 0     6 – 3   Westminster (MO)   3 – 1     7 – 2   Principia   2 – 2     5 – 4   Rockford   1 – 3     4 – 6   Blackburn   0 – 4     1 – 8   x – Division champion/co-champions
2002 NAIA independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Azusa Pacific   –     9 – 1   No. 6 Southern Oregon ^   –     8 – 3   Paul Quinn   –     7 – 4   Edward Waters   –     6 – 4   Morningside   –     5 – 5   Allen   –     0 – 7   ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Main article: 2002 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2002 NAIA football rankings