2024 NAIA football season

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

2024 NAIA football season
Total No. of teams97
Regular seasonAugust 24 – November 16, 2024
PostseasonNovember 23 – December 21, 2024
National ChampionshipDurham County Memorial Stadium
Durham, NC
December 21, 2024

The regular season will begin on August 24 and will culminate on November 16.[1]

The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, will begin on November 23 and culminate with the championship game on December 21 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Membership changes

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Team Former conference New conference Ref
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

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  • March 1 – Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) announced that they would change their name to Nelson University, effective on August 1.[11]

Milestones and records

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  • November 16 – Pikeville quarterback Lee Kirkland threw for 646 yards and 11 touchdowns in the Bears' 90–14 win over St. Andrew's, setting a new NAIA single-game record for yardage and tying the overall college football record for single-game TD passes held by David Klingler of Houston since 1991.[12]

Conference standings

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2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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 (KY)   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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Montana Western $^   7 1     9 1  
No. 8 Montana Tech ^   6 2     9 2  
No. 23 Carroll (MT)   6 2     7 3  
No. 14 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Morningside $^   10 0     10 1  
No. 9 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 2     8 2  
No. 10 Dordt   8 2     8 2  
Concordia (NE)   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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North
No. 2 Grand View x^   6 0     10 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. 15 Baker x^   5 1     9 1  
No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene x^   5 1     9 1  
No. 7 Benedictine (KS) 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
Conf Overall
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
Southwestern (KS) x^   4 1     10 1  
No. 23 Friends x^   4 1     10 1  
McPherson   3 2     8 3  
No. 16 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 13 Georgetown (KY) $^   6 0     8 2  
Campbellsville   4 2     9 2  
No. 25 Bethel (TN)   3 3     7 3  
No. 22 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mideast League
No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan x^   5 0     10 1  
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
Saint Francis (IN) x^   4 1     8 3  
Marian (IN) x   4 1     8 2  
No. 19 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 17 Dickinson State $^   8 0     9 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Texas Wesleyan $^   8 0     10 0  
No. 20 OUAZ ^   7 1     8 1  
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
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Keiser $^ 6 0 0 9 0
No. 5 St. Thomas (FL) ^ 6 1 0 9 1 0
No. 18 Southeastern 5 2 0 8 2 0
Florida Memorial 4 3 0 6 4 1
Webber International 2 4 0 4 5 0
Ave Maria 2 4 0 3 7 0
Thomas 1 5 0 1 8 0
Warner 0 6 0 0 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
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Simpson (CA)       0 9  
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

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Teams

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Bracket

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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
13Baker
20Pikeville
14Dickinson State
19Kansas Wesleyan
15Southwestern (KS)
18Saint Francis (IN)
16Friends
17OUAZ

Rankings

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Coaching changes

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Preseason and in-season

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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.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement Previous position
Sterling Darren Jackson June 4, 2024 Fired[13][14] Reggie Langford Jr. Sterling assistant head coach and offensive coordinator (2023)
Bethel (KS) A. B. Stokes July 8, 2024 Resigned[15] Daylon Markham Bethel (KS) defensive coordinator (2023)
Kansas Wesleyan Matt Myers October 9, 2024 Fired[16] Chris Snyder / David Leonard (co-interim head coaches) Kansas Wesleyan recruiting coordinator (2023–2024) / Kansas Wesleyan defensive coordinator (2021–2024)


See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NAIA Football Scoreboard". NAIA.com. NAIA. Retrieved 10 May 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 11 October 2023.
  4. ^ "University of Jamestown (N.D.) returns to North Star Athletic Association". North Star Athletic Association. Retrieved 14 November 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. ^ a b "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. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  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 (2024-06-04). "NAIA head coach dismissed shortly after interviewing for Division II opening". Footballscoop. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  14. ^ "Warrior Athletics Announces Change in Football Leadership". 2024-06-04.
  15. ^ "Stokes Resigns as Head Football Coach; Markham named as Interim Head Football Coach". 2024-07-08.
  16. ^ "KWU Announces Football Program Leadership Change". Kansas Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2024-10-22.