KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Championship Schedule] First round action of the 2019 NAIA Football National Championship will kick-off on Saturday at eight campus sites across the country. Winners will advance to the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinal Round, set for Saturday, Nov. 30. The pairings for the quarterfinal round will be released on www.NAIA.org on Saturday evening.

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 and be ranked in the Top 20 in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll. You may access the final poll here. At-large berths were given to the next highest ranked teams that did not earn an automatic bid.

The 64th NAIA Football National Championship will take place in Grambling, La., at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. The city of Ruston, La. will host the championship for the first season for more information on the 2019 NAIA Football National Championship, click here. 

2019 NAIA Football Championship Series - First Round Schedule

Saturday, November 23 | Campus Sites

Game 1 – Dickinson State (N.D.) (8-2) at Morningside (Iowa) (10-0) | Watch Live

Game 2 – Reinhardt (Ga.) (9-2) at Marian (Ind.) (9-0) | Watch Live

Game 3 – Baker (Kan.) (8-2) at Kansas Wesleyan (11-0) | Watch Live

Game 4 – Concordia (Mich.) (8-2) at Grand View (Iowa) (11-0) | Watch Live

Game 5 – Ottawa (Ariz.) (9-1) at College of Idaho (10-0) | Watch Live

Game 6 –St. Francis (Ind.) (7-2) at Lindsey Wilson (10-0) | Watch Live

Game 7 – Cumberlands (Ky.) (9-1) at Keiser (Fla.) (9-0) | Watch Live

Game 8 – Saint Xavier (Ill.) (8-2) at Northwestern (Iowa) (9-1) | Watch Live

2019 NAIA Football Championship Series – First Round Notes

• The Mustangs will host Dickinson State (N.D.), who were the winners of the North Star Athletic Association Division.
• Seven of the eight FCS hosts are undefeated going into championship play: No. 2 Marian (Ind.), No. 3 Kansas Wesleyan, No. 4 Grand View (Iowa), No. 5 College of Idaho, No. 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and No. 7 Keiser (Fla.).
• Three teams are new to the football championship series:  College of Idaho, Keiser (Fla.) and Ottawa (Ariz.).
• 12 of the remaining 13 teams all competed in the 2018 FCS.
• The Spirit of Ottawa finished regular season with an overall record of 9-1. Quarterback Austin McCullough leads the passing attack and ranks No. 4 in the nation, averaging 298 passing yards per game.
• Northwestern (Iowa) owns the most appearances in the NAIA Football Championship. This season will be the Red Raiders 21^st FCS appearance all-time as they host 8-2 Saint Xavier (Ill.).
• Saint Xavier (Ill.) and Saint Francis (Ind.) are both in search of improving their championship record on Saturday, both teams are currently tied with an FCS record of 32-16.
• Six teams in the field have captured an NAIA National Title in their history. Marian, Northwestern and Saint Francis (Ind.) have each won two championships while Grand View (Iowa), Morningside (Iowa) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) have all won one.
• Morningside is making its 16^th-consecutive appearance in the FCS, which is the longest streak in NAIA Football. The team has reached the quarterfinals in 13 of the last 15 seasons.
• Morningside leads the nation in scoring offense per game and total offense per game as well as seven other categories.