KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After closing out an 8-2 regular season with a 71-7 win over Briar Cliff yesterday, the Red Raider football team learned its postseason fate, receiving the No. 11 seed and a first-round bye in the 2024 NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS).
The full field features 13 automatic qualifiers and seven at-large berths. In order to qualify for an automatic bid, teams must win their conference regular season or division title. At-large berths were determined by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. Teams earning an at-large berth must be ranked in the Top 25 of the final NAIA Coaches’ Top 25. The 20-team field starts the NAIA National Championship with 12 teams earning first round byes and eight teams squaring off at four sites around the country on November 23rd.
The Raiders have become a mainstay in the national playoffs, making it to the FCS for the eighth consecutive season. They have advanced to the semifinals in each of the last four seasons and to the national championship in three of the last four.
Northwestern is one of two GPAC teams to be selected to the field, joining No. 6 Morningside. Matt McCarty’s squad will take on an opponent to be named later in the second round on Saturday, November 30.
In its storied history, Northwestern holds a 33-25 record in 25 NAIA playoff appearances, winning three national titles (1973, 1983, 2022).
