KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) revealed the 16-team National Championship qualifying field this evening. The No. 4-seed Northwestern College football team (10-1, 9-1 GPAC) clinched an at-large bid to this year’s playoffs.
The Raiders were selected to host No. 13-seed Central Methodist University (Mo.) out of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Eagles enter the postseason with a 9-2 overall mark and a perfect 5-0 record in HAAC play. CMU picked up their first Heart South Division title for the first time since 1975 and earning their first trip to the NAIA Football Championship Series for the first time in school history.
“We’re excited to reach this point and have the opportunity to compete for a national championship,” said head coach Matt McCarty after the pairings were announced. “We look forward to playing at home in front of our fans in a great atmosphere!”
Northwestern holds steady in the final regular season poll of the season at No. 4, while the Eagles move up six spots from No. 22 last week to No. 16 entering the playoffs.
It marks the fourth-consecutive year the Raiders have been chosen to host an opening round contest in the NAIA Football Championship series, prevailing 31-7 over Dickinson State (N.D.) a season ago.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (noon) from Korver Field at De Valois Stadium on the campus of Northwestern College.
The 66th Annual NAIA Football National Championship will culminate on December 18th at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C.
2021 NAIA Football Championship Series – First Round Schedule
| Seed | School (Home) | Record | Seed | School (Road) | Record | |||
| Game 1 | No. 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 10-0 | vs | No. 16 | Montana Western | 9-2 | |
| Game 2 | No. 2 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-0 | vs | No. 15 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 8-1 | |
| Game 3 | No. 3 | Grand View (Iowa) | 11-0 | vs | No. 14 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-2 | |
| Game 4 | No. 4 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 10-1 | vs | No. 13 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 9-2 | |
| Game 5 | No. 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 9-2 | vs | No. 10 | Kansas Wesleyan | 10-1 | |
| Game 6 | No. 6 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 9-2 | vs | No. 12 | Keiser (Fla.) | 7-2 | |
| Game 7 | No. 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 8-2 | vs | No. 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 9-1 | |
| Game 8 | No. 8 | Concordia (Mich.) | 8-1 | vs. | No. 11 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 8-2 |
