2023 NAIA football season

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.

2023 NAIA football season
Total No. of teams	95
Regular season	August 19 – November 11, 2023
Postseason	November 18 – December 18, 2023
National Championship	Durham County Memorial Stadium Durham, NC December 18, 2023
Champion	Keiser
Player of the Year	Jalyn Gramstad, QB, Northwestern (IA)
← 2022 NAIA football season 2024 →

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

School	Former conference	New conference
Arizona Christian Firestorm	Sooner	Frontier
Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes	Independent	Sooner
Evangel Valor	Heart of America	Kansas
Iowa Wesleyan Tigers	North Star	School closed
Lyon Scots	Sooner	NCAA Division III independent
Missouri Baptist Spartans	Mid-States	Heart of America
North American Stallions	Independent	Sooner
Pikeville Bears	Mid-South	Appalachian
Presentation Saints	North Star	School closed
Thomas Night Hawks	New program	Sun
Thomas More Saints	Mid-South	Great Midwest (NCAA D-II)
Trinity International Trojans	Mid-States	Dropped 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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 v t e Conf Overall 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   North American *   0 – 2     1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Accepted as SAC member but only games against SAGU and Arkansas Baptist counted as conference games. Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2023 Sun Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall 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 – 7   Warner   1 – 6     4 – 6   Thomas   1 – 6     1 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Main article: 2023 NAIA Football National Championship

Bracket

	First Round November 18 Campus Sites					Second Round November 25 Campus Sites					Quarterfinals December 2 Campus Sites					Semifinals December 9 Campus Sites					Championship December 18 Durham, North Carolina
						5	Marian (IN)	21
						12	Saint Xavier	31
											12	Saint Xavier	17
											1	Northwestern (IA)	34
						1	Northwestern (IA)	7
	Dordt		35			16	Dordt	0
																1	Northwestern (IA)	35
	Ottawa		7
																4	Georgetown (KY)	10
						6	Indiana Wesleyan	24
						10	Morningside	21
											6	Indiana Wesleyan	21
											4	Georgetown (KY)	31
						4	Georgetown (KY)	42
	Baker		55			15	Baker	21
																					1	Northwestern (IA)	21
	Louisiana Christian		28
																					3	Keiser	31
						8	Montana Western	42
						11	College of Idaho	49
											11	College of Idaho	31
											2	Grand View	17
						2	Grand View	28
	Montana Tech		28			14	Dickinson State	3
																11	College of Idaho	21
	Dickinson State		35
																3	Keiser	28
						7	Bethel (TN)	40
						9	Evangel	13
											7	Bethel (TN)	14
											3	Keiser	56
						3	Keiser	45
	St. Thomas (FL)		55			13	St. Thomas (FL)	21
	Reinhardt		7

Rankings

Main article: 2023 NAIA football rankings

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, 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
Waldorf	Chase Paramore	June 2023	Resigned	Tyler Chapa (named full time September 26)	Waldorf offensive coordinator (2022)
Olivet Nazarene	Eric Hehman	May 25, 2023	Resigned[3]	Mike Conway	Taylor defensive coordinator (2019)

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
Lawrence Tech	Avante Mitchell	November 14, 2023	Fired[4]	Scott Merchant[5]	Chippewa Valley HS (MI) head coach (2009–2023)
Missouri Valley	Paul Troth	November 15, 2023	Resigned[6]	Casey Creehan[7]	Concord defensive coordinator (2023)
SAGU	Greg Ellis	November 27, 2023	Resigned[8]	Jared Hudgins[9]	SAGU defensive coordinator (2021–2023)
Madonna	Herb Haygood	December 1, 2023	Accepted administration position[10]	Brett Guminsky[11]	Pikeville co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2023)
Doane	Chris Bessler	December 6, 2023	Resigned[12]	Jonathan Johnson[13]	Hilbert assistant head coach and defensive coordinator (2023)
Olivet Nazarene	Mike Conway (interim)	January 18, 2024	Permanent replacement	Avante Mitchell[14]	Lawrence Tech head coach (2020–2023)
Keiser	Doug Socha	January 29, 2024	Hired by Lenoir–Rhyne[15]	Myles Russ[16]	Keiser associate head coach and running backs coach (2019–2023)
Dakota Wesleyan	Ross Cimpl	February 13, 2024	Named school's athletic director	Alex Kretzschmar[17]	Dakota Wesleyan offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2023)
Louisiana Christian	Drew Maddox	February 20, 2024	Hired as defensive line coach by Southeast Missouri State[18]	Ben McLaughlin[19]	Buckeye HS (LA) head coach (2022–2023)
Texas Wesleyan	Joe Prud'homme	March 18, 2024	Resigned[20]	Brad Sherrod[21]	UTSA linebackers coach (2021–2023)

See also

• 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2023 NCAA Division II football season
• 2023 NCAA Division III football season
• 2023 U Sports football season
• 2023 junior college football season

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. "Eric Hehman Steps Down as Head Football Coach at Olivet Nazarene". victorysportsnetwork.com. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
4. @TheVarsityFBall (November 14, 2023). "Lawrence Tech looking for a new football coach after letting Avante Mitchell go" (Tweet). Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Twitter.
5. "Lawrence Tech Names MHSAA Hall of Famer Scott Merchant New Football Coach". Lawrence Technological University. November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
6. "Long-Time Head Football Coach Paul Troth Steps Down From Position" (Press release). Missouri Valley College. November 15, 2023.
7. "Casey Creehan Hired As New Football Head Coach". Missouri Valley College Athletics. December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
8. "SAGU Head Football Coach Resigns". Southwestern Assemblies of God University. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
9. "SAGU Tabs Jared Hudgins To Lead University Football Program". Southwestern Assemblies of God University. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
10. "Haygood Moves to Administration". Madonna University Athletics. November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
11. "Brett Guminsky Named Head Coach of Madonna Football". Madonna University Athletics. January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
12. "Doane football Head Coach Chris Bessler resigns". News Channel Nebraska Southeast. December 6, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
13. "Jonathan Johnson hired as new Doane Football Head Coach". News Channel Nebraska Southeast. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
14. "AVANTE MITCHELL NAMED ONU'S 11TH HEAD FOOTBALL COACH". January 18, 2024.
15. "Doug Socha named Lenoir-Rhyne Football Head Coach". Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics. January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
16. "Myles Russ Named Next Head Coach of Keiser Football". Keiser University Athletics. January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
17. "From volunteer to head coach: Alex Kretzschmar ready to take over DWU football". Yahoo Sports. February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
18. NPJ (February 20, 2024). "LCU loses highly-successful football coach Maddox". Rapides Parish Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
19. Baublitz, Brian (February 22, 2024). "Ben McLaughlin Tabbed 25th Football Head Coach in Program History". KALB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
20. University, Texas Wesleyan. "Head Coach of Rams Football Announces Departure". Texas Wesleyan University. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
21. Samuels, Doug (May 17, 2024). "Veteran ACC assistant reportedly set to take over NAIA program". Footballscoop. Retrieved May 18, 2024.