2024 NAIA football season

The 2024 NAIA football season was 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 teams	97
Regular season	August 24 – November 16, 2024
Postseason	November 23 – December 21, 2024
National Championship	Durham County Memorial Stadium Durham, NC December 21, 2024
Champion	Grand View
Player of the Year	Jackson Waring, QB, Grand View
← 2023 NAIA football season

The regular season began on August 24 and ended on November 16.^[1]

The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, began on November 23. They ended with the championship game on December 21 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, where No. 2 Grand View defeated No. 1 Keiser to win the national championship.

Membership changes

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

• 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

• 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

2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings v t e 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 Commonwealth   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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Montana Western $^   7 – 1     9 – 1   No. 8 Montana Tech ^   6 – 2     9 – 2   Carroll (MT)   6 – 2     7 – 3   No. 22 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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Morningside $^   10 – 0     10 – 1   No. 9 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 – 2     8 – 2   No. 17 Concordia (NE)   8 – 2     8 – 2   No. 18 Dordt   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 v t e 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. 9 Benedictine (KS) x^   5 – 1     9 – 2   No. 12 Baker x^   5 – 1     9 – 1   No. 13 MidAmerica Nazarene x^   5 – 1     9 – 1   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 v t e 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 No. 19т Southwestern (KS) x^   4 – 1     10 – 1   No. 19т Friends x^   4 – 1     10 – 1   McPherson   3 – 2     8 – 3   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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Georgetown (KY) $^   6 – 0     8 – 2   No. 21 Campbellsville   4 – 2     9 – 2   Bethel (TN)   3 – 3     7 – 3   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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan x^   5 – 0     10 – 1   No. 22 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 No. 25 Saint Francis (IN) x^   4 – 1     8 – 3   No. 24 Marian (IN) x   4 – 1     8 – 2   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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Dickinson State $^   8 – 0     10 – 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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Texas Wesleyan $^   8 – 0     10 – 0   No. 15 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 v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Keiser $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 No. 5 St. Thomas (FL) ^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 16 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 v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Simpson (CA)   –     0 – 9   Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Teams

See also: List of NAIA national football championship series appearances by team

Automatic bids (13) Automatic bids Conference School Record Appearance Last Appalachian Pikeville 5–5 2nd 2005 Frontier Montana Western 9–1 6th 2023 Great Plains Morningside 10–1 21st 2023 Heart of America North Division Grand View 10–0 13th 2023 South Division Benedictine (KS) 9–2 16th 2022 KCAC Bissell Division Kansas Wesleyan 7–4 7th 2021 Kessinger Division Friends 10–1 5th 2008 Mid-South Georgetown (KY) 8–2 24th 2023 Mid-States Mideast League Indiana Wesleyan 10–1 4th 2023 Midwest League Saint Francis (IN) 8–3 20th 2019 North Star Dickinson State 9–1 25th 2023 Sooner Texas Wesleyan 10–0 1st — Sun Keiser 9–0 6th 2023

At-large bids (7) At-large bids School Conference Record Appearance Last Baker Heart of America 9–1 21st 2023 MidAmerica Nazarene Heart of America 9–1 12th 2014 Montana Tech Frontier 9–2 11th 2023 Northwestern (IA) Great Plains 8–2 26th 2023 OUAZ Sooner 8–1 3rd 2021 Southwestern (KS) KCAC 10–1 8th 2022 St. Thomas (FL) Sun 9–1 2nd 2023

Bracket

	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
						5	St. Thomas (FL)	21
						10	Georgetown (KY)	27
											10	Georgetown (KY)	22
											1	Keiser	38
						1	Keiser	56
	13	Baker	35			20	Pikeville	21
																1	Keiser	42
	20	Pikeville	42
																9	Benedictine (KS)	38
						8	Texas Wesleyan	33
						9	Benedictine (KS)	42
											9	Benedictine (KS)	20
											3	Indiana Wesleyan	9
						3	Indiana Wesleyan	24
	15	Southwestern (KS)	31			15	Southwestern (KS)	13
																					1	Keiser	7
	18	Saint Francis (IN)	24
																					2	Grand View	35
						6	Morningside	35
						12	MidAmerica Nazarene	0
											6	Morningside	31
											4	Montana Western	24
						4	Montana Western	41
	14	Dickinson State	27			14	Dickinson State	14
																6	Morningside	13
	19	Kansas Wesleyan	20
																2	Grand View	36
						7	Montana Tech	29
						11	Northwestern (IA)	32
											11	Northwestern (IA)	0
											2	Grand View	17
						2	Grand View	21
	16	Friends	47			16	Friends	17
	17	OUAZ	35

Rankings

Main article: 2024 NAIA football rankings

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

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 (full-season interim)	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)
Rio Grande[a]	Quincy Wilson	November 13, 2024	Fired[17]	Mark Thurston	Rio Grande defensive coordinator (2024)

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
Kansas Wesleyan	Chris Snyder / David Leonard	November 25, 2024	Permanent replacement hired	Matt Middleton[18]	Harding quarterbacks coach and fullbacks coach (2023–2024)
Bethel (KS)	Daylon Markham (full-season interim)	December 3, 2024	Resigned[19]	Josh Lawson[20]	Calvin defensive coordinator (2023–2024)
Georgetown (KY)	Chris Oliver	December 10, 2024	Resigned[21]	John Perin	Georgetown (KY) defensive coordinator (2022–2024)
Faulkner	Rob Gray	December 11, 2024	Resigned[22]	Randy Ragsdale	Faulkner associate head coach (2021–2024)
Mount Mercy	—	December 11, 2024	—[b]	MD Daniels[23][24]	Bethel (TN) co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2024)
Bethel (TN)	Michael Jasper	December 20, 2024	Hired as head coach by Stetson[25]	Chris Springer (interim)	Bethel (TN) associate head coach and defensive coordinator (2017–2024)
William Woods	Julian Mendez	December 23, 2024	Hired on staff at Washburn[26]	Sam Camp	William Woods offensive coordinator (2024)
Grand View	Joe Woodley	December 23, 2024	Hired as head coach by Drake[27]

1. The Rio Grande football program was established in 2023 and will not begin official NAIA play until the 2025 season.
2. The Mount Mercy football program was announced in 2024 and will not begin official NAIA play until the 2026 season.

See also

• 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2024 NCAA Division II football season
• 2024 NCAA Division III football season
• 2024 U Sports football season
• 2024 NAIA flag football season

References

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. "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.
17. "Rio names Thurston head football coach". University of Rio Grande Athletics. November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
18. "Matt Middleton named Head Football Coach at Kansas Wesleyan University". Kansas Wesleyan University. 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
19. "Daylon Markham Resigns as Head Football Coach". Bethel College. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
20. "Bethel College Announces Josh Lawson as New Head Football Coach". Bethel College. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
21. "John Perin elevated to Head Football Coach". Georgetown College. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
22. "Faulkner Eagles head coach steps down after 4 seasons". WSFA 12. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
23. "Daniels Named First Head Football Coach in Program History". Mount Mercy University. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
24. "Mount Mercy names MD Daniels its first football coach". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
25. "Mike Jasper Named Head Football Coach". Stetson University. December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
26. "Camp Elevated to William Woods Football Head Coach" (Press release). William Woods Athletics. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
27. "Bulldog Football Taps Joe Woodley as Next Head Coach" (Press release). Drake Athletics. December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.