2018 NAIA football season

The 2018 NAIA football season was the component of the 2018 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 15, at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Morningside Mustangs defeated the Benedictine Ravens, 35–28, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.

2018 NAIA football season
National Championship	Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, FL December 15, 2018
Champion	Morningside
Player of the Year	Trent Solsma (quarterback, Morningside)

Conference standings

2018 Frontier Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Rocky Mountain $^   7 – 3     8 – 4   No. 24 Eastern Oregon   6 – 4     6 – 4   Montana Western   6 – 4     6 – 4   Southern Oregon   6 – 4     6 – 4   No. 22 College of Idaho   6 – 4     6 – 5   Montana Tech   5 – 5     5 – 5   Carroll (MT)   4 – 6     5 – 6   Montana State–Northern   0 – 10     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Morningside $^   9 – 0     15 – 0   No. 12 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 – 1     9 – 2   No. 23 Dordt   6 – 3     7 – 3   Midland   5 – 4     7 – 4   Doane   5 – 4     6 – 4   Briar Cliff   4 – 5     6 – 5   Hastings   3 – 6     5 – 6   Concordia (NE)   2 – 7     3 – 7   Jamestown   2 – 7     3 – 8   Dakota Wesleyan   1 – 8     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North No. 2 Benedictine (KS) x^   5 – 0     13 – 2   No. 15 Grand View ^   4 – 1     8 – 3   Culver–Stockton   2 – 3     4 – 7   William Penn   2 – 3     4 – 7   Peru State   1 – 4     3 – 8   Graceland   1 – 4     1 – 10   South No. 5 Baker x^   4 – 0     9 – 3   No. 17 Evangel   2 – 2     9 – 2   MidAmerica Nazarene   2 – 2     4 – 7   Central Methodist   1 – 3     4 – 6   Missouri Valley   1 – 3     3 – 7   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2018 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Kansas Wesleyan $^   10 – 0     12 – 1   No. 20 Ottawa (KS)   8 – 2     8 – 2   Avila   7 – 3     7 – 3   Tabor   6 – 4     6 – 4   Southwestern (KS)   5 – 5     6 – 5   Saint Mary (KS)   4 – 6     4 – 6   Sterling   4 – 6     4 – 6   Bethel (KS)   3 – 7     3 – 7   McPherson   3 – 7     3 – 7   Friends   3 – 7     3 – 8   Bethany (KS)   2 – 8     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 Mid-South Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Appalachian Division No. 11 Reinhardt x^   6 – 0     9 – 2   No. 12 Cumberlands (KY) ^   5 – 1     10 – 2   Pikeville   4 – 2     6 – 5   Point   2 – 4     3 – 8   Bluefield   1 – 4     4 – 7   St. Andrews   1 – 4     2 – 7   Union (KY)   1 – 5     2 – 8   Bluegrass Division No. 10 Bethel (TN) x^   6 – 0     10 – 1   No. 19 Georgetown (KY)   4 – 2     7 – 3   No. 18 Lindsey Wilson   4 – 2     7 – 3   Cumberland (TN)   3 – 3     5 – 6   Campbellsville   3 – 3     4 – 6   Kentucky Christian   1 – 5     2 – 9   Cincinnati Christian   0 – 6     0 – 11   Sun Division No. 21 Southeastern x   5 – 1     7 – 3   Ave Maria x   5 – 1     6 – 4   Keiser   4 – 2     6 – 4   Webber International   3 – 3     7 – 3   Edward Waters   2 – 4     4 – 7   Faulkner   1 – 5     4 – 6   Warner   1 – 5     1 – 9   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 Mid-States Football Association standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Mideast League No. 9 Marian (IN) x^   6 – 0     10 – 1   No. 6 Concordia (MI) ^   5 – 1     10 – 3   No. 3 Saint Francis (IN) ^   4 – 2     10 – 3   No. 25 Siena Heights   3 – 3     7 – 3   Missouri Baptist   2 – 4     4 – 7   Taylor   1 – 5     3 – 7   Lindenwood–Belleville   0 – 6     0 – 11   Midwest League No. 7 Saint Xavier x^   5 – 0     9 – 4   Olivet Nazarene   4 – 1     5 – 5   St. Ambrose   3 – 2     6 – 4   St. Francis (IL)   2 – 3     4 – 7   Robert Morris (IL)   1 – 4     2 – 9   Trinity International   0 – 5     1 – 9   x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll
2018 North Star Athletic Association football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 Dickinson State $^   6 – 1     9 – 3   Valley City State   5 – 2     6 – 4   Waldorf   5 – 2     5 – 5   Presentation   3 – 4     5 – 5   Dakota State   2 – 5     3 – 8   Mayville State   0 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 Sooner Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Langston $^   8 – 0     9 – 2   OK Panhandle State   6 – 2     6 – 5   Arizona Christian   5 – 3     8 – 3   Ottawa (AZ)   5 – 3     7 – 4   SAGU   4 – 4     5 – 5   Wayland Baptist   3 – 5     5 – 5   Lyon   2 – 6     4 – 7   Texas Wesleyan   2 – 6     2 – 8   Texas College   1 – 7     1 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll	2018 NAIA independents football records Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Indiana Wesleyan   –     7 – 3   Lawrence Tech   –     5 – 3   Allen   –     2 – 6

Postseason

Main article: 2018 NAIA Football National Championship

Rankings

Main article: 2018 NAIA football rankings