We’re heading into the final week of the NAIA regular season, and the schedule is loaded with great matchups that will determine the NAIA Football Championship Series field. Here’s how the postseason works and how qualifying teams are selected.
First, a reminder that the Victory Sports Network will be hosting Dannelly and Donley’s NAIA Football Selection Show starting Sunday Night at 6:30PM ET/5:30 PM CT. You can view the program on all of our social media channels and the Urban Edge Network. Subscribe here to our YouTube Channel.
First, the NAIA Championship Series features 20 teams, with 13 automatic qualifiers coming from conference champions. Each conference’s champion—determined either outright or through that conference’s tiebreaker procedures—earns an automatic berth in the postseason. Regardless of overall record or ratings – you are designated the conference champion – you qualify for the NAIA Championship Series.
The remaining seven at-large spots are selected by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. Eligibility for those seven spots is based on the ARC Ratings (Area Rating Committees). There are four regional ARC rankings, each listing eight teams (ranked 1–8) based on the committee’s evaluation of team strength within that region. The 32 teams that appear in the final ARC Ratings make up the pool of programs eligible for the at-large bids. If your team does not appear in the final ARC Ratings, it cannot be considered for an at-large spot.
There is an ARC Rating released Thursday, November 13th and Sunday, November 16th. You can view the ARC Rating here.
It’s also important to note that the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll has no role in the postseason process. It is not used for qualification, selection, or seeding. So, if you’re looking at the Top 25 to predict who’s in or out, you’re headed down the wrong path. The Selection Committee handles both the seeding and selection for the Championship Series, and only the teams appearing in the ARC Ratings are part of that process. This year the NAIA is using the NAIA Performance Index as a replacement for the Top 25. The NAIA Performance Index gives a designated amount of points to teams for NAIA wins and losses at home and on the road. That total number divided by the number of NAIA games gives each team their performance index numbers. It’s also important to note the NAIA Performance Index only calculates wins and losses against NAIA opponents. Non-NAIA games are not factored into the result. The NAIA Performance Index chart can be seen here. The current performance index is linked below.
Once the 32 ARC teams are identified, the conference champions are removed from the list, and the remaining programs are evaluated on a set of primary and secondary criteria to determine the final seven at-large qualifiers. There is no specific order or weighting to the criteria—the committee considers all factors collectively when selecting the final postseason field.
Primary Criteria
- Overall Record/Winning Percentage
- ARC Rating
- Massey Rating
- NAIA Football Performance Index
- Record vs. Teams ranked in ARCs
Secondary Criteria
- Conference Standing
- Competition Level/Results vs. Non-NAIA Opponents
- Head-to-Head
- Opponents Record
If needed there is additional information for consideration the NAIA Football Selection Committee uses which includes: Team Stats, Team Schedule, Home/Away/Neutral Records, Score, Common Opponents, Injury Status – Players out in key games, etc. and Weather-Related Outcomes.
The full manual on the NAIA Football Championship Series can be found on the NAIA.org web site in the football section under Coaches Corner. Or you can click here to link to it directly.
Seeding and Matchup Selection
Once the 20 postseason qualifiers are selected, the NAIA Football National Selection Committee will seed the teams 1-20. Teams seeded 1-12 will receive a bye week for round one. Teams seeded 13-20 will play NAIA Championship Series Round One games on Saturday, November 22nd. The higher seeds of 13, 14, 15, 16 will host games as long as they have made the bid requirements. Every attempt will be made not to pair conference teams in the First Round of the FCS.
Upon completion of the first round, the winners of will be re-seeded going into Round Two of the NAIA Championship Series. At this time on Saturday, November 22nd the NAIA Selection Committee will meet and determine the pairings for round two, played Saturday, November 29th. The same process will happen each weekend. Typically, higher seeds will always host as long as they reach the appropriate bid requirements. This is explained in the NAIA FCS Postseason Manual.
It’s important to note, the NAIA Championship Series is not a bracketed tournament. The winner of GAME X will not advance to play the winner of GAME Y the next round. Travel considerations, rematches, flights, overall costs and a number of factors are considered each round before the matchups are announced. Traditionally, higher seeds will host lower seeds. But there is no guarantee the highest seed will play the absolute lowest seed each week. That is determined each round.
For First Round matchups, seeds 13-16 that bid at least $30,000 will host first round contests unless a flight could otherwise be eliminated. If the No. 1 – No. 8 seeds bid at least $30,000 for the Second Round, they will host second round contests in the Football Championship Series. Unless a flight could otherwise be eliminated, the four highest remaining seeds that bid at least $30,000 for the Quarterfinal Round will host Quarterfinal contests in the FCS and the same is true for the NAIA Semifinals.
For trips under 800 miles, teams will travel via bus to their opponent. Trips over 800 miles will have considerations for a flight. The NAIA has one chartered flight available each week. But there are instances where teams travelling longer than 800 miles will bus instead of taking a chartered flight even if it is available.
NAIA Championship Game
The NAIA will host the 2025 NAIA Football National Championship Game Dec. 20, 2025, at the Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon CT. The stadium, which opened in 2022, is an 8,000-seat, state-of-the-art facility and is the home of NAIA-member Texas Wesleyan University’s football program.
Join us Sunday Night at 6:30PM ET/5:30PM CT for the NAIA Football Postseason Selection Show from Dannelly and Donley!
In case you missed it, here’s our video with NAIA Selection Committee Member Dr. Jesse Godding discussing the postseason process:
