# 2020–21 NAIA football season

The 2020–21 NAIA football season was the component of the 2020 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The regular season for many teams was moved to spring 2021 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic-related measures and protocols. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on May 10, 2021, at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana. It was originally scheduled for December 19, 2020. The Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders defeated the Northwestern Red Raiders, 45–13, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.

## Conference changes and new programs
### Membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Florida Memorial Lions | Revived program | Mid-South Sun |
| Madonna Crusaders | New program | MSFA Mideast |
| Roosevelt Lakers | New program | MSFA Midwest |
Roosevelt acquired Robert Morris University's football team in April 2020 after merging with Robert Morris.

## Conference standings

2020 Frontier Conference football standings :
| 2020 Frontier Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 19 College of Idaho +  3 –1  3 –1   No. 21 Eastern Oregon +  3 –1  3 –1   No. 22 Carroll (MT) +^  3 –1  3 –2   Rocky Mountain  1 –3  1 –3   Montana State–Northern  0 –4  0 –4   + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 3 Morningside $^  8 –0  10 –1   No. 2 Northwestern (IA) ^  8 –1  11 –2   No. 15 Dordt ^  7 –2  7 –3   Midland  5 –3  5 –3   Concordia (NE)  4 –4  4 –4   Dakota Wesleyan  4 –5  4 –5   Doane  2 –5  2 –5   Hastings  2 –7  2 –8   Jamestown  1 –7  1 –7   Briar Cliff  1 –8  1 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North No. 4 Grand View x^  3 –0  7 –1   Clarke  1 –0  2 –3   William Penn  2 –1  4 –3   Peru State  0 –0  1 –2   Culver–Stockton  0 –2  1 –3   Graceland  0 –3  0 –5   South No. 7 Baker x^  4 –0  7 –1   No. 16 Benedictine (KS)  4 –1  8 –2   Central Methodist  3 –2  5 –4   MidAmerica Nazarene  2 –3  2 –6   Evangel  1 –3  2 –5   Missouri Valley  0 –5  1 –6   x – Division champion/co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll |
| 2020 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 19 Avila +  6 –1  8 –1   No. 12 Bethel (KS) +^  6 –1  9 –2   No. 25 Kansas Wesleyan  5 –2  8 –2   No. 24 Southwestern (KS)  5 –2  7 –2   Ottawa (KS)  2 –5  5 –5   Friends  2 –5  2 –6   Tabor  1 –6  3 –7   Sterling  1 –6  1 –8   McPherson  0 –0  3 –4   Bethany (KS)  0 –0  1 –4   Saint Mary (KS)  0 –0  0 –4   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 Mid-South Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Appalachian Division No. 8 Reinhardt x^  6 –0  9 –1   Faulkner  5 –1  6 –2   Kentucky Christian  4 –2  6 –2   St. Andrews  2 –3  3 –3   Union (KY)  1 –4  1 –6   Bluefield  1 –5  2 –7   Point  1 –5  1 –7   Bluegrass Division No. 1 Lindsey Wilson x^  7 –0  11 –0   No. 13 Georgetown (KY) ^  6 –1  6 –2   Cumberlands (KY)  4 –3  4 –3   Bethel (TN)  3 –4  3 –4   Pikeville  3 –4  3 –4   Cumberland (TN)  2 –5  2 –5   Thomas More  2 –5  2 –5   Campbellsville  1 –6  1 –6   Sun Division No. 4 Keiser x^  5 –0  9 –1   Southeastern  3 –1  5 –1   St. Thomas (FL)  3 –2  4 –3   Ave Maria  2 –3  3 –4   Warner  1 –3  2 –4   Webber International  1 –5  1 –7   Florida Memorial  0 –1  0 –3   x – Division champion/co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 Mid-States Football Association standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Mideast League No. 6 Concordia (MI) x^  4 –0  6 –1   No. 10 Marian (IN) ^  3 –1  5 –2   No. 17 Saint Francis (IN)  2 –2  2 –2   Indiana Wesleyan  2 –3  2 –3   Siena Heights  1 –2  2 –2   Lawrence Tech  0 –1  0 –2   Taylor  0 –4  0 –4   Midwest League No. 9 Olivet Nazarene x^  8 –0  8 –1   No. 20 Roosevelt  5 –1  6 –1   St. Ambrose  4 –2  5 –3   Saint Xavier  3 –3  5 –3   St. Francis (IL)  2 –4  2 –6   Missouri Baptist  1 –6  1 –6   Trinity International  0 –6  0 –7   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll |
| 2020 North Star Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 11 Dickinson State $^  9 –0  9 –1   Valley City State  5 –2  5 –2   Waldorf  6 –3  6 –3   Dakota State  4 –5  4 –5   Mayville State  1 –6  2 –7   Presentation  0 –9  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 14 Arizona Christian $^  6 –0  9 –2   No. 23 Ottawa (AZ)  4 –1  4 –1   SAGU  3 –2  4 –3   Langston  2 –3  2 –3   OK Panhandle State  2 –3  2 –8   Wayland Baptist  1 –4  2 –5   Texas Wesleyan  0 –0  1 –1   Texas College  0 –0  0 –0   Lyon  0 –5  0 –5   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2020 NAIA independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Edward Waters   –  1 –2   Madonna   –  0 –4 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| 1st Round April 17, 2021 | 1st Round April 17, 2021 | 1st Round April 17, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | | Championship May 10, 2021 | Championship May 10, 2021 | Championship May 10, 2021 |
| 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 42 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Bethel (KS) | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Bethel (KS) | 10 | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 49 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Concordia (MI) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Concordia (MI) | 21 | 5 | Concordia (MI) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Georgetown (KY) | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Georgetown (KY) | 7 | | | | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 38 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Keiser | 14 | | | | |
| 4 | Keiser | 63 | | | | | | | 4 | Keiser | 14 | | | | |
| 15 | Arizona Christian | 21 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Arizona Christian | 21 | 4 | Keiser | 42 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Reinhardt | 14 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Reinhardt | 40 | 8 | Reinhardt | 14 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Marian (IN) | 29 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Marian (IN) | 29 | | | | | | | | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 45 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 13 |
| 1 | Morningside | 55 | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 13 |
| 16 | Carroll (MT) | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Carroll (MT) | 0 | 1 | Morningside | 45 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Baker | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Baker | 59 | 7 | Baker | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Olivet Nazarene | 54 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Olivet Nazarene | 54 | | | | 1 | Morningside | 41 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 44 | | | | |
| 2 | Grand View | 38 | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 44 | | | | |
| 13 | Dordt | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Dordt | 10 | 2 | Grand View | 24 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 31 | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Dickinson State | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |