NAIA Communications
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 16-team field and the matchups for the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series on Sunday. The 16-team FCS will kick-off on Saturday, Nov. 20 at eight campus host sites across the country, with the higher seed hosting each contest.
The full field features 12 automatic qualifiers and four at-large berths. In order to qualify for an automatic bid, teams must win their conference regular-season title. At-large berths were determined by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. Teams earning an at-large berth must be ranked in the Top 20 of the final NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll, which can be accessed here.
The 66th Annual NAIA Football National Championship will culminate on December 18 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C.
2021 NAIA Football Championship Series – First Round Schedule
Saturday, November 20 | Campus Sites
| Seed | School (Home) | Record | Seed | School (Road) | Record | ||
| Game 1 | No. 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 10-0 | vs | No. 16 | Montana Western | 8-3 |
| Game 2 | No. 2 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-0 | vs | No. 15 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 8-1 |
| Game 3 | No. 3 | Grand View (Iowa) | 11-0 | vs | No. 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-2 |
| Game 4 | No. 4 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 10-1 | vs | No. 13 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 9-2 |
| Game 5 | No. 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 9-1 | vs | No. 10 | Kansas Wesleyan | 10-1 |
| Game 6 | No. 6 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 9-2 | vs | No. 12 | Keiser (Fla.) | 7-2 |
| Game 7 | No. 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 8-2 | vs | No. 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 9-1 |
| Game 8 | No. 8 | Concordia (Mich.) | 8-1 | vs. | No. 11 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 8-2 |