2016 NAIA football season

The 2016 NAIA football season was the component of the 2016 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 17, at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Saint Francis Cougars defeated the Baker Wildcats, 38–17, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.^[1]

2016 NAIA football season
Regular season	August 25 – November 12
Postseason	November 19 – December 17
National Championship	Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, FL December 17, 2016
Champion	Saint Francis (IN)
Player of the Year	Logan Brettell (quarterback, Baker)
← 2015 NAIA football season 2017 →

Conference standings

2016 Central States Football League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 22 Arizona Christian $   6 – 0     7 – 3   No. 21 Langston   5 – 1     7 – 2   Wayland Baptist   4 – 2     7 – 3   SAGU   2 – 4     4 – 6   Lyon   2 – 4     3 – 8   Bacone   2 – 4     2 – 8   Texas College   0 – 6     0 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 Frontier Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Montana Tech $^   9 – 1     10 – 2   No. 4 Eastern Oregon ^   8 – 2     10 – 3   No. 20 Montana Western   6 – 4     7 – 4   Southern Oregon   5 – 5     5 – 6   Carroll (MT)   4 – 6     4 – 6   Rocky Mountain   4 – 6     4 – 7   College of Idaho   3 – 7     4 – 7   Montana State–Northern   1 – 9     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Morningside $^   8 – 0     10 – 2   No. 10 Doane ^   7 – 1     9 – 2   No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan   6 – 2     8 – 3   No. 19 Concordia (NE)   5 – 3     7 – 3   Midland   4 – 4     7 – 4   Northwestern (IA)   3 – 5     3 – 6   Dordt   2 – 6     5 – 6   Hastings   1 – 7     4 – 7   Briar Cliff   0 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Northwestern forfeited a win over Midland. Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2016 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 9 Grand View x^   4 – 1     9 – 3   No. 25 William Penn x   4 – 1     7 – 4   No. 24 Benedictine (KS)   3 – 2     8 – 4   Graceland   3 – 2     5 – 6   Peru State   1 – 4     5 – 6   Culver–Stockton   0 – 5     1 – 10   South No. 2 Baker x^   5 – 0     14 – 1   No. 11 Missouri Valley ^   4 – 1     9 – 3   MidAmerica Nazarene   3 – 2     6 – 5   Evangel   2 – 3     4 – 7   Central Methodist   1 – 4     2 – 9   Avila   0 – 5     0 – 11   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Tabor $^   8 – 1     8 – 3   No. 17 Kansas Wesleyan   7 – 2     9 – 2   Saint Mary (KS)   7 – 2     8 – 3   No. 13 Sterling ^   7 – 2     8 – 3   Friends   5 – 4     6 – 5   Ottawa   4 – 5     4 – 7   Bethel (KS)   3 – 6     3 – 7   Southwestern (KS)   2 – 7     2 – 8   Bethany (KS)   1 – 8     1 – 10   McPherson   1 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 Mid-South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 25 Georgetown (KY) x   5 – 1     7 – 4   Pikeville x   5 – 1     6 – 5   Union (KY)   4 – 2     5 – 6   Cumberlands (KY)   3 – 3     4 – 6   Kentucky Christian   3 – 3     3 – 8   Bluefield   1 – 5     1 – 10   Cincinnati Christian   0 – 6     0 – 11   West Division No. 3 Reinhardt x^   5 – 0     13 – 1   No. 8 Lindsey Wilson ^   4 – 1     11 – 2   Faulkner   3 – 2     6 – 4   Cumberland (TN)   2 – 3     5 – 6   Bethel (TN)   1 – 4     7 – 4   Campbellsville   0 – 5     2 – 8   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2016 Mid-States Football Association standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 5 Marian (IN) x^   6 – 0     11 – 1   No. 1 Saint Francis (IN) ^   5 – 1     13 – 1   Concordia (MI)   4 – 2     7 – 4   Siena Heights   2 – 4     5 – 5   Taylor   2 – 4     4 – 7   Missouri Baptist   2 – 4     3 – 8   Lindenwood–Belleville   0 – 6     0 – 10   Midwest League No. 15 Robert Morris (IL) x^   5 – 0     7 – 4   Saint Xavier   3 – 2     6 – 4   St. Francis (IL)   2 – 3     5 – 6   Saint Ambrose   2 – 3     4 – 6   Olivet Nazarene   2 – 3     4 – 7   Trinity International   1 – 4     4 – 7   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 North Star Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Dickinson State $^   6 – 0     9 – 3   Valley City State   4 – 2     6 – 4   Presentation   3 – 3     7 – 3   Dakota State   3 – 3     6 – 4   Jamestown *   3 – 3     4 – 7   Mayville State   2 – 4     4 – 6   Waldorf   0 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Jamestown later forfeited or vacated all its wins. Valley City State and Waldorf were given wins by forfeit. Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2016 Sun Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Southeastern $^   5 – 0     7 – 3   Warner   4 – 1     8 – 2   Webber International   2 – 2     5 – 4   Point   2 – 3     4 – 6   Edward Waters   1 – 3     3 – 6   Ave Maria   0 – 5     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2016 NAIA independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Davenport   –     5 – 5

Postseason

Main article: 2016 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2016 NAIA football rankings