2011 NAIA football season

2011 NAIA football season
National Championship	Barron Stadium Rome, GA December 17, 2011
Champion	Saint Xavier
Player of the Year	Chance Demarais (running back, Carroll (MT))

The 2011 NAIA football season was the component of the 2011 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on December 17, at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. The Saint Xavier Cougars defeated the Carroll Fighting Saints, 24–20, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.

Conference standings

2011 Central States Football League standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Southern Nazarene +^   4 – 1     9 – 3   No. 23 Langston +   4 – 1     7 – 3   Bacone   3 – 2     5 – 6   NW Oklahoma State   3 – 2     4 – 6   SAGU   1 – 4     4 – 6   Texas College   0 – 5     0 – 11   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 Dakota Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Valley City State $^   6 – 0     9 – 2   Dickinson State   3 – 3     4 – 6   Jamestown   2 – 4     3 – 7   Mayville State   1 – 5     5 – 6   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Carroll (MT) $^   9 – 1     13 – 2   No. 20 Eastern Oregon   8 – 2     8 – 3   Montana State–Northern   5 – 5     5 – 5   Rocky Mountain   4 – 6     5 – 6   Montana Tech   2 – 8     3 – 8   Montana Western   2 – 8     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2011 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Morningside $^   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 17 Northwestern (IA)   7 – 2     9 – 2   No. 19 Doane   7 – 2     8 – 2   Dakota Wesleyan   5 – 4     6 – 4   Hastings   5 – 4     6 – 4   Midland   5 – 4     6 – 4   Nebraska Wesleyan   4 – 5     5 – 5   Concordia (NE)   3 – 6     4 – 7   Briar Cliff   1 – 8     2 – 9   Dordt   0 – 9     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 MidAmerica Nazarene +^   8 – 1     10 – 2   No. 10 Missouri Valley +^   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 13 Benedictine (KS) ^   7 – 2     9 – 3   No. 21 Baker   6 – 3     7 – 3   Central Methodist   5 – 4     5 – 5   Avila   4 – 5     4 – 6   Evangel   3 – 6     3 – 7   Peru State   2 – 7     2 – 8   Graceland   1 – 8     1 – 9   Culver–Stockton   1 – 8     1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Ottawa $^   9 – 0     9 – 2   Saint Mary (KS)   7 – 2     7 – 4   Bethany (KS)   6 – 3     8 – 3   Friends   5 – 4     5 – 5   Kansas Wesleyan   5 – 4     5 – 6   Southwestern (KS)   4 – 5     5 – 6   McPherson   4 – 5     4 – 7   Tabor   2 – 7     3 – 7   Bethel (KS)   2 – 7     2 – 9   Sterling   1 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2011 Mid-South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 4 Georgetown (KY) x^   5 – 0     12 – 1   Lindsey Wilson   3 – 2     7 – 3   Campbellsville   3 – 2     7 – 5   Kentucky Christian   2 – 3     4 – 7   Virginia–Wise   1 – 4     5 – 6   Pikeville   1 – 4     4 – 6   West Division No. 14 Bethel (TN) x^   5 – 1     8 – 3   No. 25 Cumberland (TN)   4 – 2     7 – 3   No. 24 Cumberlands (KY)   4 – 2     7 – 3   Shorter   3 – 3     6 – 4   Belhaven   3 – 3     5 – 6   Faulkner   1 – 5     3 – 7   Union (KY)   1 – 5     2 – 9   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 Mid-States Football Association standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 3 Marian (IN) x^   5 – 0     12 – 1   No. 1 Saint Xavier ^   4 – 1     14 – 1   No. 7 Saint Francis (IN) ^   3 – 2     9 – 3   Taylor   2 – 3     5 – 5   Quincy   1 – 4     4 – 6   Concordia (MI)   0 – 5     0 – 11   Midwest League No. 8 St. Francis (IL) x^   6 – 1     10 – 3   No. 18 Grand View x^   6 – 1     8 – 4   No. 15 William Penn   5 – 2     9 – 2   No. 22 St. Ambrose   5 – 2     7 – 3   Olivet Nazarene   3 – 4     5 – 6   Iowa Wesleyan   2 – 5     3 – 7   Trinity International   1 – 6     2 – 8   Waldorf   0 – 7     2 – 9   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2011 NAIA independents football records Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Valley City State ^   –     9 – 2   No. 5 Azusa Pacific ^   –     9 – 3   Menlo   –     5 – 5   Southern Oregon   –     5 – 5   Mayville State   –     5 – 6   Walsh   –     5 – 6   Dickinson State   –     4 – 6   Edward Waters   –     4 – 6   Malone   –     4 – 7   Robert Morris (IL)   –     4 – 6   Webber International   –     4 – 6   Jamestown   –     3 – 7   Southern Virginia   –     2 – 7   West Virginia Tech   –     1 – 9   Dakota State   –     1 – 10   Ave Maria   –     0 – 9   Haskell   –     0 – 11   ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

Postseason

Main article: 2011 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2011 NAIA football rankings