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. Andrews, 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     6 – 6   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     10 – 2   No. 8 Montana Tech ^   6 – 2     9 – 3   Carroll (MT)   6 – 2     7 – 3   No. 23т 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     12 – 2   No. 10 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 – 2     9 – 3   No. 17 Concordia (NE)   8 – 2     8 – 2   No. 18 Dordt   8 – 2     8 – 2   Midland   5 – 5     6 – 5   Mount Marty   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     14 – 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     11 – 3   No. 12 Baker x^   5 – 1     9 – 2   No. 13 MidAmerica Nazarene 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 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     9 – 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 – 1   No. 15 OUAZ ^   7 – 1     8 – 2   Texas College   5 – 3     7 – 3   Langston   5 – 3     6 – 4   OK Panhandle State*   4 – 4     5 – 5   Wayland Baptist   3 – 5     4 – 6   Louisiana Christian   3 – 5     4 – 7   North American   1 – 6     2 – 9   Nelson*   1 – 7     3 – 7   Arkansas Baptist   0 – 8     1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Nelson forfeit against Oklahoma Panhandle State after the season 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 12 – 1 – 0 No. 5 St. Thomas (FL) ^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 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)
St. Andrews	Bob Curtin	December 2, 2024	Resigned[19]	Matt Quinn[20]	Chesterfield HS (SC) head coach (2024)
Bethel (KS)	Daylon Markham (full-season interim)	December 3, 2024	Resigned[21]	Josh Lawson[22]	Calvin defensive coordinator (2023–2024)
Georgetown (KY)	Chris Oliver	December 10, 2024	Resigned[23]	John Perin	Georgetown (KY) defensive coordinator (2022–2024)
Faulkner	Rob Gray	December 11, 2024	Resigned[24]	Dayne Brown[25]	Enterprise HS (AL) defensive coordinator (2024)
Mount Mercy	—	December 11, 2024	—[b]	MD Daniels[26][27]	Bethel (TN) co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2024)
Bethel (TN)	Michael Jasper	December 20, 2024	Hired as head coach by Stetson[28]	Chris Springer[29]	Bethel (TN) associate head coach and defensive coordinator (2017–2024)
William Woods	Julian Mendez	December 23, 2024	Hired as assistant coach by Washburn[30]	Sam Camp	William Woods offensive coordinator (2024)
Grand View	Joe Woodley	December 23, 2024	Hired as head coach by Drake[31]	E. J. Peterson[32]	Grand View defensive coordinator (2018–2024)
Missouri Valley	Casey Creehan	January 2, 2025	Hired as defensive line coach by Hamilton Tiger-Cats[33]	LaQuentin Black[34]	Northern Iowa safeties coach (2024)
Florida Memorial	Bobby Rome II	January 19, 2025	Fired[35]	Michael Jones[36]	Florida Memorial offensive coordinator (2021–2024)
Union Commonwealth	John Luttrell	January 28, 2025	Resigned[37]	Boston Bryant[38]	Union Commonwealth defensive coordinator (2023–2024)
Lawrence Tech	Scott Merchant	February 17, 2025	Hired as head coach by Bloomfield Hills HS (MI)[39]	Oscar Olejniczak[40]	Lawrence Tech offensive coordinator and offensive line coach (2024)
MidAmerica Nazarene	Paul Hansen	February 26, 2025	Hired as head coach by Southwest Baptist[41]	Ivan Cordova[42]	MidAmerica Nazarene defensive coordinator and defensive line coach (2021–2024)
OUAZ	Mike Nesbitt	March 10, 2025	Hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach by Houston Christian[43]	Reilly Murphy[44]	St. Thomas (FL) co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach (2024)
Point	Trevor Zeiders	before March 30, 2025	Fired[citation needed]	Nigel Lawrence[45]	Russell County HS (AL) co-defensive coordinator & cornerbacks coach (2024)

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