2019 NAIA football season

2019 NAIA football season
Regular season	August 24 – November 16, 2019
Postseason	November 23 – December 21, 2019
National Championship	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambing, LA December 21, 2019
Champion	Morningside
Player of the Year	Charles Salary (running back, Marian (IN))

The 2019 NAIA football season was the component of the 2019 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on December 21 at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana. The Morningside Mustangs defeated the Marian Knights, 40–38, in the title game to win the program's second consecutive NAIA championship.

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Benedictine Ravens	HAAC North	HAAC South
Cincinnati Christian Eagles	Mid-South Bluegrass	Mid-South Appalachian
Clarke Pride	New program	HAAC North
Cumberlands Patriots	Mid-South Appalachian	Mid-South Bluegrass
Edward Waters Tigers	Mid-South Sun	Independent
Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats	Independent	MSFA Mideast
Kentucky Christian Knights	Mid-South Bluegrass	Mid-South Appalachian
Lawrence Tech Blue Devils	Independent	MSFA Mideast
Lindenwood (IL) Lynx	MSFA Mideast	Dropped football
Missouri Baptist Spartans	MSFA Mideast	MSFA Midwest
Pikeville Bears	Mid-South Appalachian	Mid-South Bluegrass
St. Thomas Bobcats	New program	Mid-South Sun
Thomas More Saints	Independent (NCAA D-III)	Mid-South Bluegrass

Ottawa (AZ) became eligible for the postseason. Thomas More, which had been an NAIA member from 1947 until leaving for the NCAA in 1990, was immediately eligible for NAIA postseason play as a returning member. Cincinnati Christian ceased to exist during the season.

Conference standings

2019 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 College of Idaho $^   10 – 0     11 – 1   No. 22 Montana Western   7 – 3     7 – 3   No. 25 Carroll (MT)   6 – 4     6 – 4   Montana Tech   6 – 4     6 – 4   Eastern Oregon   4 – 6     4 – 7   Southern Oregon   4 – 6     4 – 7   Rocky Mountain   3 – 7     4 – 7   Montana State–Northern   0 – 10     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Morningside $^   9 – 0     14 – 0   No. 10 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 – 1     9 – 2   Dordt   6 – 3     7 – 4   Midland   6 – 3     7 – 4   Briar Cliff   4 – 5     5 – 6   Doane   4 – 5     4 – 7   Concordia (NE)   3 – 6     3 – 7   Dakota Wesleyan   2 – 7     3 – 8   Jamestown   2 – 7     2 – 9   Hastings   1 – 8     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 3 Grand View x^   5 – 0     13 – 1   Culver–Stockton   4 – 1     6 – 5   William Penn   2 – 3   4 – 6 – 1 Clarke   2 – 3     2 – 9   Peru State   2 – 3     2 – 9   Graceland   0 – 5     0 – 11   South No. 14 Baker x^   5 – 0     9 – 3   No. 18 Benedictine (KS)   3 – 2     8 – 3   No. 20 Evangel   3 – 2     8 – 3   MidAmerica Nazarene   2 – 3     7 – 4   Central Methodist   2 – 3   5 – 5 – 1 Missouri Valley   0 – 5     3 – 8   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2019 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Kansas Wesleyan $^   10 – 0     12 – 1   No. 24 Bethel (KS)   7 – 3     8 – 3   Avila   7 – 3     7 – 3   Sterling   7 – 3     7 – 3   Tabor   5 – 5     6 – 5   McPherson   5 – 5     5 – 6   Southwestern (KS)   5 – 5     5 – 6   Bethany (KS)   4 – 6     4 – 6   Friends   3 – 7     3 – 7   Ottawa (KS)   2 – 8     2 – 8   Saint Mary (KS)   0 – 10     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 Mid-South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Appalachian Division No. 13 Reinhardt x^   6 – 0     9 – 3   St. Andrews   5 – 1     5 – 5   Point   4 – 2     5 – 7   Bluefield   3 – 3     4 – 7   Kentucky Christian   2 – 4     3 – 8   Cincinnati Christian *   1 – 5     2 – 9   Union (KY)   0 – 6     0 – 11   Bluegrass Division No. 4 Lindsey Wilson x^   7 – 0     12 – 1   No. 7 Cumberlands (KY) ^   6 – 1     10 – 2   Pikeville   4 – 3     6 – 5   Georgetown (KY)   4 – 3     5 – 5   Cumberland (TN)   3 – 4     5 – 5   Bethel (TN)   2 – 5     5 – 6   Thomas More   2 – 5     4 – 7   Campbellsville   0 – 7     1 – 9   Sun Division No. 9 Keiser x^   6 – 0     9 – 1   No. 15 Southeastern   5 – 1     8 – 1   Ave Maria   3 – 3     5 – 5   St. Thomas (FL)   2 – 4     4 – 6   Webber International   2 – 4     3 – 6   Warner   2 – 4     3 – 7   Faulkner   1 – 5     3 – 6   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Cincinnati Christian announced its closure mid-season and forfeited its three remaining games. Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 Mid-States Football Association standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 2 Marian (IN) x^   6 – 0     12 – 1   No. 12 Concordia (MI) ^   4 – 2     8 – 3   No. 11 Saint Francis (IN) ^   4 – 2     7 – 3   No. 20 Siena Heights   3 – 3     7 – 3   Indiana Wesleyan   3 – 3     6 – 4   Taylor   1 – 5     3 – 7   Lawrence Tech   0 – 6     1 – 9   Midwest League No. 8 Saint Xavier x^   6 – 0     9 – 3   Olivet Nazarene   4 – 2     6 – 5   Robert Morris (IL)   4 – 2     5 – 5   St. Ambrose   4 – 2     4 – 5   St. Francis (IL)   2 – 4     3 – 8   Missouri Baptist   1 – 5     2 – 9   Trinity International   0 – 6     1 – 10   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2019 North Star Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Dickinson State $^   6 – 1     8 – 3   Valley City State   5 – 2     7 – 3   No. 23 Waldorf   5 – 2     7 – 3   Dakota State   3 – 4     5 – 5   Mayville State   1 – 6     2 – 8   Presentation   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Ottawa (AZ) +^   7 – 1     9 – 2   No. 19 Langston +   7 – 1     8 – 2   Lyon   6 – 2     7 – 3   Arizona Christian   6 – 2     6 – 4   Wayland Baptist   3 – 5     4 – 6   OK Panhandle State   3 – 5     3 – 7   Texas Wesleyan   3 – 5     3 – 7   Texas College   1 – 7     1 – 9   SAGU   0 – 8     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2019 NAIA independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Allen   –     3 – 6   Edward Waters   –     1 – 10

Postseason

Main article: 2019 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2019 NAIA football rankings

See also

• 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2019 NCAA Division II football season
• 2019 NCAA Division III football season