The 2016 NAIA Football National Championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 19 and December 17 of 2016. The tournament concluded on December 17 with a single game, played as the 61st Annual NAIA Football National Championship Presented by Waste Pro. Waste Pro became the newest title game sponsor in an announcement made October 31, 2015. The game featured two teams that had never before won a national championship, the undefeated #2 Baker Wildcats facing the once-beaten #4 Saint Francis Cougars. The championship game was played at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. This was the 3rd time the championship game was played at this venue after the prior six games were played at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

from across the country. The field included ten conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seeding was based on the final edition of the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

NAIA Coaches' Poll The NAIA Coaches' Poll typically refers to a weekly ranking of the top 25 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) college football and college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate at ...

, with certain minor modifications given based on geographic considerations. Each subsequent round was re-seeded based on the rankings of all teams advancing to that round. Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 20, a day after the first round results were known. Semifinal pairings were confirmed by the NAIA on November 26, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games. Junior quarterback Logan Brettell of

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

was awarded the Rawlings Award for most valuable player in the NAIA prior to the championship. The St. Francis Cougars won the NAIA national championship, defeating Baker 38-17.

Postseason

Playoff bracket

:: * denotes OT

Bowl games

References

{{NAIA football navbox * NAIA Football National Championship Saint Francis Cougars football Baker Wildcats football Events in Daytona Beach, Florida December 2016 sports events in the United States 2016 in sports in Florida