2022 NAIA football season

The 2022 NAIA football season is the component of the 2022 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States.

2022 NAIA football season
Regular season	August 25 – November 12, 2022
Postseason	November 19 – December 17, 2022
National Championship	Durham County Memorial Stadium Durham, NC December 17, 2022
Champion	Northwestern (IA)
Player of the Year	Joe Dolincheck (quarterback, Morningside)
← 2021 NAIA football season 2023 →

The regular season began on August 25 and culminated on November 12.^[1]

The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, will begin on November 19 and culminate with the championship game on December 17 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Conference changes and new programs

Appalachian Athletic Conference and Sun Conference started to sponsor football this season.

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Ave Maria Gyrenes	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Bluefield Rams	Mid-South	Appalachian
Florida Memorial Lions	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Keiser Seahawks	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Kentucky Christian Knights	Mid-South	Appalachian
North American Stallions	Independent (No affiliation)	Independent
Point Skyhawks	Mid-South	Appalachian
Reinhardt Eagles	Mid-South	Appalachian
St. Andrews (NC) Knights	Mid-South	Appalachian
Saint Thomas (FL) Bobcats	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Southeastern (FL) Fire	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Union (KY) Bulldogs	Mid-South	Appalachian
Warner Royals	Mid-South	Sun Conference
Webber International Warriors	Mid-South	Sun Conference

Conference standings

2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Reinhardt $^   5 – 0     8 – 2   Bluefield   4 – 1     8 – 3   Point   3 – 2     4 – 7   Kentucky Christian   2 – 3     3 – 8   St. Andrews   1 – 4     1 – 10   Union (KY)   0 – 5     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 Frontier Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 College of Idaho +   8 – 2     8 – 2   No. 16 Carroll (MT) +^   8 – 2     8 – 3   No. 24 Montana Tech   7 – 3     7 – 3   Montana Western   7 – 3     7 – 4   Rocky Mountain   2 – 8     2 – 9   Southern Oregon   3 – 7     3 – 7   Eastern Oregon   2 – 8     2 – 9   Montana State–Northern   0 – 10     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Morningside $^   10 – 0     11 – 1   No. 3 Northwestern (IA) ^   9 – 1     13 – 1   Midland   7 – 3     8 – 3   No. 25 Dordt   7 – 3     7 – 3   Hastings   6 – 4     7 – 4   Concordia (NE)   4 – 6     4 – 6   Doane   4 – 6     4 – 6   Jamestown   3 – 7     4 – 7   Mount Marty   2 – 8     3 – 8   Dakota Wesleyan   2 – 8     2 – 9   Briar Cliff   1 – 9     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2022 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 2 Grand View x^   5 – 0     13 – 1   Peru State   4 – 1     6 – 5   Culver–Stockton   3 – 2     5 – 6   Graceland   2 – 3     4 – 7   William Penn   1 – 4     3 – 7   Clarke   0 – 5     3 – 8   South No. 6 Benedictine (KS) x^   5 – 0     11 – 2   Evangel   4 – 1     7 – 3   MidAmerica Nazarene   3 – 2     7 – 4   Baker   2 – 3     5 – 6   Central Methodist   1 – 4     1 – 10   Missouri Valley   0 – 5     3 – 8   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Bethel (KS) +   9 – 1     9 – 1   No. 13 Avila +^   9 – 1     10 – 2   No. 10 Southwestern (KS) +^   9 – 1     9 – 2   Kansas Wesleyan   7 – 3     8 – 3   Tabor   5 – 5     6 – 5   McPherson   5 – 5     5 – 5   Saint Mary (KS)   4 – 6     4 – 7   Friends   3 – 7     4 – 7   Ottawa (KS)   2 – 8     2 – 8   Sterling   2 – 8     2 – 8   Bethany (KS)   0 – 10     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 Mid-South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Bethel (TN) $^   8 – 0     11 – 1   No. 8 Lindsey Wilson ^   7 – 1     10 – 2   No. 21 Georgetown (KY)   5 – 3     7 – 3   Pikeville   5 – 3     6 – 4   Thomas More   4 – 4     5 – 6   Cumberlands (KY)   3 – 5     5 – 5   Faulkner   3 – 5     4 – 7   Cumberland (TN)   1 – 7     3 – 7   Campbellsville   0 – 8     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2022 Mid-States Football Association standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan x^   7 – 0     11 – 2   No. 7 Marian (IN) ^   6 – 1     9 – 2   Concordia (MI)   4 – 3     5 – 5   Siena Heights   4 – 3     5 – 5   Taylor   3 – 4     5 – 6   Saint Francis (IN)   2 – 5     4 – 6   Lawrence Tech   2 – 5     3 – 7   Madonna   0 – 7     0 – 11   Midwest League No. 11 Saint Xavier x^   7 – 0     9 – 3   No. 23 St. Francis (IL)   6 – 1     7 – 3   Olivet Nazarene   5 – 2     7 – 4   Roosevelt   4 – 3     7 – 3   Missouri Baptist   2 – 5     4 – 7   St. Ambrose   2 – 5     2 – 8   Judson   1 – 6     2 – 8   Trinity International   1 – 6     1 – 10   x – League champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 North Star Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Dickinson State $^   6 – 0     8 – 3   Dakota State   4 – 2     6 – 4   Valley City State   4 – 2     5 – 5   Waldorf   3 – 3     7 – 4   Iowa Wesleyan   2 – 4     4 – 7   Presentation   2 – 4     3 – 8   Mayville State   0 – 6     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 22 Texas Wesleyan +   7 – 2     9 – 2   No. 19 OUAZ +   7 – 2     7 – 2   No. 20 Arizona Christian +^   7 – 2     8 – 3   SAGU   6 – 3     7 – 3   Louisiana Christian   6 – 3     7 – 4   Langston   5 – 4     6 – 4   OK Panhandle State   4 – 5     4 – 6   Wayland Baptist   2 – 7     2 – 8   Texas College   1 – 8     1 – 9   Lyon   0 – 9     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2022 Sun Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Keiser $^   6 – 0     10 – 4   No. 15 St. Thomas (FL)   5 – 1     9 – 2   Ave Maria   3 – 2     6 – 3   Webber International   3 – 3     6 – 4   Southeastern   2 – 3     6 – 4   Florida Memorial   1 – 5     3 – 7   Warner   0 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2022 NAIA independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North American   –     3 – 9   Arkansas Baptist   –     1 – 7

Postseason

Main article: 2022 NAIA Football National Championship

Bracket

	First Round November 19					Quarterfinals November 26					Semifinals December 3					Championship December 17
	1	Morningside	35
	16	Arizona Christian	18
						1	Morningside	28
						12	Keiser	29
	4	Bethel (TN)	17
	12	Keiser	27
											12	Keiser	38
											2	Grand View	21
	2	Grand View	17
	15	Carroll (MT)	14
						2	Grand View	10
						8	Lindsey Wilson	7
	8	Lindsey Wilson	23
	9	Reinhardt	22
																12	Keiser	25
																3	Northwestern (IA)	35
	3	Northwestern (IA)	49
	14	Dickinson State	7
						3	Northwestern (IA)	52
						7	Marian (IN)	27
	7	Marian (IN)	41
	11	Saint Xavier	7
											3	Northwestern (IA)	38
											5	Indiana Wesleyan	7
	5	Indiana Wesleyan	14
	13	Avila	7
						5	Indiana Wesleyan	24
						6	Benedictine (KS)	13
	6	Benedictine (KS)	35
	10	Southwestern (KS)	7

Bowl game

Main article: 2022 Victory Bowl

Olivet Nazarene and Southwestern Assemblies of God did not qualify for the NAIA playoffs, but were invited to compete in the Victory Bowl to decide the 2022 National Christian College Athletic Association championship.

Date	Time (EST)	Game	Site	Television	Teams	Affiliations	Results
Nov. 22	6:00 pm	Victory Bowl	Lumpkins Stadium Waxahachie, Texas		Olivet Nazarene SAGU*	MSFA SAC NCCAA	Olivet Nazarene 21–16

* – Host team

Rankings

Main article: 2022 NAIA football rankings

See also

• 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2022 NCAA Division II football season
• 2022 NCAA Division III football season
• 2022 U Sports football season
• 2022 junior college football season