2017 NAIA football season

2017 NAIA football season
National Championship	Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, FL December 16, 2017
Champion	Saint Francis (IN)
Player of the Year	Nick Ferrer (quarterback, Saint Francis (IN))

The 2017 NAIA football season was the component of the 2017 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on December 17, at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Saint Francis Cougars defeated the Reinhardt Eagles, 24–13, in the title game to win the program's second consecutive NAIA championship.

Conference standings

2017 Central States Football League standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 13 Langston $^   8 – 0     10 – 1   No. 19 SAGU   7 – 1     8 – 3   No. 24 OK Panhandle State   6 – 2     7 – 3   Arizona Christian   5 – 3     7 – 3   Lyon   4 – 4     6 – 5   Bacone   3 – 5     3 – 8   Texas College   2 – 6     2 – 8   Texas Wesleyan   1 – 7     1 – 10   Wayland Baptist   0 – 8     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2017 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Southern Oregon $^   10 – 0     12 – 1   Montana Tech   6 – 4     6 – 4   College of Idaho   6 – 4     6 – 5   Rocky Mountain   6 – 4     6 – 5   Carroll (MT)   4 – 6     4 – 6   Eastern Oregon   4 – 6     4 – 6   Montana Western   4 – 6     4 – 7   Montana State–Northern   0 – 10     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2017 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Morningside $^   8 – 0     13 – 1   No. 8 Northwestern (IA) ^   7 – 1     10 – 2   Concordia (NE)   5 – 3     6 – 4   Midland   4 – 4     6 – 4   Dakota Wesleyan   4 – 4     6 – 5   Doane   3 – 5     5 – 5   Dordt   3 – 5     5 – 5   Hastings   2 – 6     5 – 6   Briar Cliff   0 – 8     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2017 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 12 Benedictine (KS) x^   4 – 1     9 – 3   No. 11 Grand View x^   4 – 1     9 – 3   Peru State   3 – 2     7 – 4   William Penn   3 – 2     7 – 4   Culver–Stockton   1 – 4     1 – 10   Graceland   0 – 5     1 – 10   South No. 9 Baker x^   4 – 1     10 – 2   No. 25 Evangel   4 – 1     7 – 4   Missouri Valley   3 – 2     5 – 6   MidAmerica Nazarene   2 – 3     5 – 6   Avila   1 – 4     3 – 8   Central Methodist   1 – 4     2 – 9   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2017 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 17 Tabor +   8 – 1     8 – 2   No. 16 Sterling +^   8 – 1     9 – 3   No. 21 Kansas Wesleyan   7 – 2     8 – 3   Southwestern (KS)   5 – 4     5 – 6   Bethany (KS)   4 – 5     5 – 5   Friends   4 – 5     4 – 7   Saint Mary (KS)   3 – 6     4 – 7   Ottawa   3 – 6     3 – 8   McPherson   2 – 7     3 – 7   Bethel (KS)   1 – 8     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2017 Mid-South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Appalachian Division No. 2 Reinhardt x^   6 – 0     12 – 1   Bluefield   4 – 2     6 – 5   Cumberlands (KY)   3 – 3     6 – 4   Union (KY)   3 – 3     5 – 5   Pikeville   3 – 3     5 – 6   Point   1 – 5     3 – 8   St. Andrews   1 – 5     2 – 8   Bluegrass Division No. 5 Lindsey Wilson x^   6 – 0     11 – 1   No. 7 Georgetown (KY) ^   5 – 1     9 – 2   No. 20 Campbellsville   4 – 2     8 – 2   Cumberland (TN)   3 – 3     7 – 4   Bethel (TN)   2 – 4     3 – 7   Kentucky Christian   1 – 5     1 – 10   Cincinnati Christian   0 – 6     0 – 11   Sun Division No. 10 Southeastern x^   5 – 0     8 – 2   No. 22 Faulkner   4 – 1     7 – 3   Webber International   3 – 2     5 – 4   Warner   2 – 3     4 – 6   Ave Maria   1 – 4     2 – 8   Edward Waters   0 – 5     0 – 10   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2017 Mid-States Football Association standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 1 Saint Francis (IN) x^   6 – 0     14 – 0   No. 15 Concordia (MI) ^   5 – 1     9 – 2   No. 18 Marian (IN)   4 – 2     7 – 3   Siena Heights   3 – 3     5 – 5   Taylor   2 – 4     4 – 6   Missouri Baptist   1 – 5     3 – 8   Lindenwood–Belleville   0 – 6     0 – 10   Midwest League No. 6 Saint Xavier x^   5 – 0     10 – 2   St. Francis (IL)   4 – 1     5 – 5   Olivet Nazarene   2 – 3     6 – 5   St. Ambrose   2 – 3     4 – 6   Trinity International   1 – 4     2 – 7   Robert Morris (IL)   1 – 4     2 – 9   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2017 North Star Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Dickinson State $^   8 – 0     9 – 2   No. 23 Dakota State   6 – 2     8 – 3   Waldorf   5 – 3     7 – 4   Valley City State   4 – 4     5 – 5   Presentation   3 – 5     4 – 6   Jamestown   2 – 6     2 – 9   Mayville State   0 – 8     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – Jamestown later forfeited or vacated both its wins. Waldorf was given a win by forfeit. Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Main article: 2017 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2017 NAIA football rankings