# 2022 NAIA football season

The 2022 NAIA football season is the component of the 2022 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States.
The regular season began on August 25 and culminated on November 12.
The playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, will begin on November 19 and culminate with the championship game on December 17 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

## Conference changes and new programs

Appalachian Athletic Conference and Sun Conference started to sponsor football this season.

### Membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Ave Maria Gyrenes | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Bluefield Rams | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| Florida Memorial Lions | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Keiser Seahawks | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Kentucky Christian Knights | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| North American Stallions | Independent (No affiliation) | Independent |
| Point Skyhawks | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| Reinhardt Eagles | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| St. Andrews (NC) Knights | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| Saint Thomas (FL) Bobcats | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Southeastern (FL) Fire | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Union (KY) Bulldogs | Mid-South | Appalachian |
| Warner Royals | Mid-South | Sun Conference |
| Webber International Warriors | Mid-South | Sun Conference |

## Conference standings

2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings :
| 2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 9 Reinhardt $^  5 –0  8 –2   Bluefield  4 –1  8 –3   Point  3 –2  4 –7   Kentucky Christian  2 –3  3 –8   St. Andrews  1 –4  1 –10   Union (KY)  0 –5  0 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 Frontier Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 18 College of Idaho +  8 –2  8 –2   No. 16 Carroll (MT) +^  8 –2  8 –3   No. 24 Montana Tech  7 –3  7 –3   Montana Western  7 –3  7 –4   Rocky Mountain  2 –8  2 –9   Southern Oregon  3 –7  3 –7   Eastern Oregon  2 –8  2 –9   Montana State–Northern  0 –10  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Morningside $^  10 –0  11 –1   No. 3 Northwestern (IA) ^  9 –1  13 –1   Midland  7 –3  8 –3   No. 25 Dordt  7 –3  7 –3   Hastings  6 –4  7 –4   Concordia (NE)  4 –6  4 –6   Doane  4 –6  4 –6   Jamestown  3 –7  4 –7   Mount Marty  2 –8  3 –8   Dakota Wesleyan  2 –8  2 –9   Briar Cliff  1 –9  1 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll |
| 2022 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North No. 2 Grand View x^  5 –0  13 –1   Peru State  4 –1  6 –5   Culver–Stockton  3 –2  5 –6   Graceland  2 –3  4 –7   William Penn  1 –4  3 –7   Clarke  0 –5  3 –8   South No. 6 Benedictine (KS) x^  5 –0  11 –2   Evangel  4 –1  7 –3   MidAmerica Nazarene  3 –2  7 –4   Baker  2 –3  5 –6   Central Methodist  1 –4  1 –10   Missouri Valley  0 –5  3 –8   x – Division champion/co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 14 Bethel (KS) +  9 –1  9 –1   No. 13 Avila +^  9 –1  10 –2   No. 10 Southwestern (KS) +^  9 –1  9 –2   Kansas Wesleyan  7 –3  8 –3   Tabor  5 –5  6 –5   McPherson  5 –5  5 –5   Saint Mary (KS)  4 –6  4 –7   Friends  3 –7  4 –7   Ottawa (KS)  2 –8  2 –8   Sterling  2 –8  2 –8   Bethany (KS)  0 –10  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 Mid-South Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 4 Bethel (TN) $^  8 –0  11 –1   No. 8 Lindsey Wilson ^  7 –1  10 –2   No. 21 Georgetown (KY)  5 –3  7 –3   Pikeville  5 –3  6 –4   Thomas More  4 –4  5 –6   Cumberlands (KY)  3 –5  5 –5   Faulkner  3 –5  4 –7   Cumberland (TN)  1 –7  3 –7   Campbellsville  0 –8  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll |
| 2022 Mid-States Football Association standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Mideast League No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan x^  7 –0  11 –2   No. 7 Marian (IN) ^  6 –1  9 –2   Concordia (MI)  4 –3  5 –5   Siena Heights  4 –3  5 –5   Taylor  3 –4  5 –6   Saint Francis (IN)  2 –5  4 –6   Lawrence Tech  2 –5  3 –7   Madonna  0 –7  0 –11   Midwest League No. 11 Saint Xavier x^  7 –0  9 –3   No. 23 St. Francis (IL)  6 –1  7 –3   Olivet Nazarene  5 –2  7 –4   Roosevelt  4 –3  7 –3   Missouri Baptist  2 –5  4 –7   St. Ambrose  2 –5  2 –8   Judson  1 –6  2 –8   Trinity International  1 –6  1 –10   x – League champion ^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 North Star Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 17 Dickinson State $^  6 –0  8 –3   Dakota State  4 –2  6 –4   Valley City State  4 –2  5 –5   Waldorf  3 –3  7 –4   Iowa Wesleyan  2 –4  4 –7   Presentation  2 –4  3 –8   Mayville State  0 –6  3 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 22 Texas Wesleyan +  7 –2  9 –2   No. 19 OUAZ +  7 –2  7 –2   No. 20 Arizona Christian +^  7 –2  8 –3   SAGU  6 –3  7 –3   Louisiana Christian  6 –3  7 –4   Langston  5 –4  6 –4   OK Panhandle State  4 –5  4 –6   Wayland Baptist  2 –7  2 –8   Texas College  1 –8  1 –9   Lyon  0 –9  1 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll |
| 2022 Sun Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Keiser $^  6 –0  10 –4   No. 15 St. Thomas (FL)  5 –1  9 –2   Ave Maria  3 –2  6 –3   Webber International  3 –3  6 –4   Southeastern  2 –3  6 –4   Florida Memorial  1 –5  3 –7   Warner  0 –6  1 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA playoff participantRankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll | 2022 NAIA independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North American   –  3 –9   Arkansas Baptist   –  1 –7 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| First Round November 19 | First Round November 19 | First Round November 19 | Quarterfinals November 26 | Quarterfinals November 26 | Quarterfinals November 26 | Semifinals December 3 | Semifinals December 3 | Semifinals December 3 | | Championship December 17 | Championship December 17 | Championship December 17 |
| 1 | Morningside | 35 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Arizona Christian | 18 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Arizona Christian | 18 | 1 | Morningside | 28 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 12 | Keiser | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Bethel (TN) | 17 | 12 | Keiser | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Keiser | 27 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Keiser | 27 | | | | 12 | Keiser | 38 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Grand View | 21 | | | | |
| 2 | Grand View | 17 | | | | | | | 2 | Grand View | 21 | | | | |
| 15 | Carroll (MT) | 14 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Carroll (MT) | 14 | 2 | Grand View | 10 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Lindsey Wilson | 7 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Lindsey Wilson | 23 | 8 | Lindsey Wilson | 7 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Reinhardt | 22 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Reinhardt | 22 | | | | | | | | 12 | Keiser | 25 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Northwestern (IA) | 35 |
| 3 | Northwestern (IA) | 49 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Northwestern (IA) | 35 |
| 14 | Dickinson State | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Dickinson State | 7 | 3 | Northwestern (IA) | 52 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Marian (IN) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Marian (IN) | 41 | 7 | Marian (IN) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Saint Xavier | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Saint Xavier | 7 | | | | 3 | Northwestern (IA) | 38 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 7 | | | | |
| 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 14 | | | | | | | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 7 | | | | |
| 13 | Avila | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Avila | 7 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 24 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Benedictine (KS) | 13 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Benedictine (KS) | 35 | 6 | Benedictine (KS) | 13 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Southwestern (KS) | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Bowl game

Olivet Nazarene and Southwestern Assemblies of God did not qualify for the NAIA playoffs, but were invited to compete in the Victory Bowl to decide the 2022 National Christian College Athletic Association championship.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Nov. 22 | 6:00 pm | Victory Bowl | Lumpkins Stadium Waxahachie, Texas | | Olivet Nazarene SAGU* | MSFA SAC NCCAA | Olivet Nazarene 21–16 |
* – Host team