The

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) Football National Championship is decided by a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

teams in the United States. Under sponsorship of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the championship game has been played annually since 1956. In 1970, NAIA football was divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II, with a championship game played in each division. In 1997, NAIA football was again consolidated into one division. The 2019 game was played at the Eddie G. Robinson Stadium in

Grambling, Louisiana Grambling is a city in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,949 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Grambling State University and is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area. Grambling was designated a " ...

Texas A&I Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

(now known as Texas A&M–Kingsville) is still the most prolific program with seven NAIA championships, despite having been in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

since 1980. Carroll (MT) are the most successful team still playing at the NAIA level, with 6 national titles.

Morningside University Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

is the current champion, having defeated the

Grand View Vikings The Grand View Vikings are the athletic teams that represent Grand View University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the H ...

in the 2021 championship, 38-28.

Game name

Over the years, the NAIA championship games were played under a variety of names: *

Aluminum Bowl The Aluminum Bowl was a one-time postseason college football bowl game held in 1956 as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship game. It featured the Montana State University-Bozeman and St. Joseph's College. Mo ...

(1956) *Holiday Bowl (1957–1960) *

Camellia Bowl Camellia Bowl can refer to one of three college football bowl games: * Camellia Bowl (1948), played in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1948 * Camellia Bowl (1961–80), played in Sacramento, California from 1961 to 1975 and again in 1980 in the NCAA Colle ...

(1961–1963) *Champion Bowl (1964–1976 and 1980–1996, Division I games only) *Apple Bowl (1977, Division I game only) *

Palm Bowl Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

(1978–1979, Division I games only) A separate

NAIA Division II Football National Championship The NAIA Division II Football National Championship was a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA Division II college football teams in the United States. It was played annually between 1970 and 1996 when NAIA football play was divided ...

was played between 1970 and 1996, when there were two divisions at the NAIA level.

Results

Championships by school

* NAIA Division II titles are not included in this list. *Programs that no longer compete in NAIA are indicated in ''italics'' with a pink background.

References

{{American football in the United States

Game name

Results

Championships by school

See also

References