KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Morningside (Iowa) is awarded all 19 first-place votes in the first regular season NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll presented by FirstDown PlayBook. The Top Five teams remain the same, with the lone change being Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Northwestern (Iowa) swapping spots third and fourth places. Over the six weeks since the preseason rankings, seven teams have jumped into the poll including Benedictine (Kan.), Bethel (Tenn.), College of Idaho, Texas Wesleyan, Saint Francis (Ind.), Montana Tech, Midland (Neb.), Southeastern (Fla.), and St. Thomas (Fla.).

Poll Methodology

  • The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
  • Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.
  • The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second-place and so on through the list.
  • The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
  • Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”
  • For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

 

RANK LAST SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] CONFERENCE RECORD FINAL POINTS
1 1 Morningside (Iowa) [19] Great Plains 2-0 444
2 2 Grand View (Iowa) Heart North 3-0 427
3 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Mid-South 2-0 403
4 3 Northwestern (Iowa) Great Plains 1-1 388
5 5 Marian (Ind.) Mid States East 1-0 384
6 8 Southwestern (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate 2-0 352
7 6 Concordia (Mich.) Mid States East 1-1 327
8 10 Ottawa (Ariz.) Sooner 2-0 325
9 12 Kansas Wesleyan Kansas Collegiate 2-0 304
10 15 Georgetown (Ky.) Mid-South 2-0 298
11 13 Baker (Kan.) Heart South 2-1 235
12 9 Reinhardt (Ga.) Appalachian 1-1 229
13 14 Indiana Wesleyan Mid States East 0-1 212
14 7 Keiser (Fla.) The Sun 1-2 201
15 NR Benedictine (Kan.) Heart North 2-1 182
16 NR Bethel (Tenn.) Mid-South 3-0 177
17 NR College of Idaho Frontier 2-0 173
18 NR Texas Wesleyan Sooner 3-0 141
19 17 Montana Western Frontier 2-1 115
20 NR Saint Francis (Ind.) Mid States West 1-0 113
21 NR Montana Tech Frontier 2-0 109
22 23 Bethel (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate 2-0 99
23 NR Midland (Neb.) Great Plains 3-0 75
24 NR Southeastern (Fla.) The Sun 2-1 61
25 NR St. Thomas (Fla.) The Sun 1-1 60

Dropped From Poll: Saint Xavier (Ill.); Dickinson State (N.D.); Rocky Mountain (Mont.); Arizona Christian; Dordt (Iowa); Faulkner (Ala.); St. Francis (Ill.)

Receiving Votes: Waldorf (Iowa) 28; Arizona Christian 20; Carroll (Mont.) 16; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 15; Dickinson State (N.D.) 13; Siena Heights (Mich.) 11; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 7; Cumberland (Tenn.) 5; Roosevelt (Ill.) 3

 

NAIA Press Release