KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the final field and the pairings for the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) on Sunday. The 16-team event will kick-off on Saturday, Nov. 17 at eight campus host sites across the country.
The full field features 11 automatic qualifiers and five 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. At-large berths were given to the next highest ranked teams that did not earn an automatic bid.
The 63rd NAIA Football National Championship will take place in Daytona Beach, Fla., at Daytona Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 15. The city of Daytona Beach will host the championship for the fifth-straight season.
2018 NAIA Football Championship Series – First Round Schedule
Saturday, November 17 | Campus Sites
Game 1 – Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (8-3) at Morningside (Iowa) (11-0)
Game 2 – St. Xavier (Ill.) (8-3) at Marian (Ind.) (10-0)
Game 3 – Baker (Kan.) (8-2) at Bethel (Tenn.) (10-0)
Game 4 – Concordia (Mich.) (9-2) at Reinhardt (Ga.) (9-1)
Game 5 – Dickinson State (N.D.) (8-2) at Northwestern (Iowa) (9-1)
Game 6 – Langston (Okla.) (9-1) at Kansas Wesleyan (11-0)
Game 7 – Cumberlands (Ky.) (10-1) at Benedictine (Kan.) (10-1)
Game 8 – Grand View (Iowa) (8-2) at Saint Francis (Ind.) (8-2)
2018 NAIA Football Championship Qualifiers (Alphabetical Listing)
| Team | Method of Qualification | Record | Appearances | FCS Record |
| Baker (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division Champion | 8-2 | 17th | 16-16 |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division Champion | 10-1 | 14th | 4-13 |
| Bethel (Tenn.) | Mid South Conference Bluegrass Division Champion | 10-0 | 5th | 3-4 |
| Concordia (Mich.) | At-Large No. 5 | 9-2 | 2nd | 0-1 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large No. 4 | 10-1 | 8th | 5-7 |
| Dickinson State (N.D.) | North Star Athletic Conference Champion | 8-2 | 19th | 6-18 |
| Grand View (Iowa) | At-Large No. 3 | 8-2 | 7th | 6-5 |
| Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Champion | 11-0 | 4th | 0-3 |
| Langston (Okla.) | Sooner Athletic Conference Champion | 9-1 | 8th | 2-7 |
| Marian (Ind.) | Mid States Football Association Mideast Division Champion | 10-0 | 7th | 15-4 |
| Morningside (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference Champion | 11-0 | 15th | 19-14 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) | At-Large No. 1 | 9-1 | 20th | 21-17 |
| Reinhardt (Ga.) | Mid South Conference Appalachian Division Champion | 9-1 | 4th | 5-3 |
| Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | Frontier Conference Champion | 8-3 | 4th | 1-3 |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | At-Large No. 2 | 8-2 | 18th | 31-15 |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) | Mid States Football Association Midwest Division Champion | 8-3 | 12th | 16-10 |
Courtesy: NAIA
