Kansas City, Missouri — Northwestern College is one of the 16 teams to earn a spot in the NAIA Football Championship Series announced by the national office Sunday.
Ranked sixth in the final coaches’ poll released earlier this evening, Northwestern earned an at-large bid and will host 10th-ranked Dickinson State on Saturday, April 17 at 1pm at DeValois Stadium, Korver Field.
The full field features 12 automatic qualifiers (teams that win their conference regular-season title) and four at-large berths, determined by the NAIA Football National Selection Committee. Teams earning an at-large berth must be ranked in the Top 20 of the final NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll.
Northwestern is one three teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship field, joining Morningside and Dordt.
Northwestern is making its fourth straight and 22nd overall appearance in the football championship series, tied for the second most among this year’s field (Carroll-Montana has 23). The Raiders four consecutive appearances is tied for the longest streak in program history (1982-85). Head Coach Matt McCarty’s squad is one of 10 teams that return from the 2019 FCS field.
The Raiders hold a 21-19 overall record in the postseason, winning two titles (1973, 83) and reaching the quarterfinals six times, most recently in 2017.
Northwestern is 1-2 all-time against Dickinson State with all three match-ups taking place since the 2016 season. This will be the second time the teams have played in the NAIA FCS; the Raiders lost to Dickinson State 14-6 in the first round of the 2018 postseason.
First look at Dickinson State:
The Blue Hawks qualified by winning the North Star Athletic Association regular season title. They own a perfect 9-0 record and are ranked 10th in the final coaches poll. This will be the program’s 21st appearance in the postseason, owning a 7-20 overall record; the 2020 playoff appearance is the Blue Hawks sixth straight. The program’s best finish in postseason was in 1991 where they reached the semifinals. Pete Stanton is in his 7th season as head coach and 21st as a coach within the program
