Six Independent NAIA Schools to Play for Invitational Bid
Six independent NAIA flag football programs from four conferences will vie for one of the four automatic qualifying berths to the NAIA Invitational in May. Campbellsville University (KY), Cumberland University (TN), Lindsey Wilson University (KY), Milligan University (TN), Siena Heights University (MI), and the University of Saint Francis (IN) are the six programs that will vie for a spot in Columbus, Indiana, on Thursday, April 23, and Friday, April 24.
Campbellsville, Cumberland, and Lindsey Wilson are full members of the Mid-South Conference. Milligan is from the Appalachian Athletic Conference, Saint Francis is from the Crossroads League, and Siena Heights is from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. None of those four conferences currently sponsors flag football.
The six teams will be separated into two groups of three, as determined by the NAIA's ARC ratings that are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 22. The teams that are ranked 1st, 4th, and 5th will be in Pool A and teams ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 4th will be assigned to Pool B.
A round robin schedule will be used to rank the six teams for the single elimination bracket. The round robin games will take place on Thursday, April 23. Games will take place starting at 9 AM Eastern Time. The top two seeds will receive byes to the semifinals, while the remaining four teams will advance to the quarterfinals. The bracket games will take place on Friday, April 24, starting at 9 AM Eastern Time.
The NAIA is holding its first flag football Invitational this year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, from Wednesday, May 6, through Saturday, May 9. The 8-team event will feature a double-elimination format. Four teams will earn automatic bids by winning their respective conference: Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC), Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), Sun Conference, and the six teams from the four aforementioned conferences. The remaining four bids will be determined by the NAIA’s selection committee.
Ottawa University (KS) has won the first five editions of the NAIA's flag football championship. Ottawa has defeated Keiser University (FL) three of those times: in 2021, 2024, and 2025. The Braves have also defeated Thomas University (GA) twice in 2022 and 2023. Both Keiser and Thomas compete in the Sun Conference. The 2026 Invitational is the first time the championship event will be held in Florida. The 2021 through 2024 editions were in Atlanta, Georgia, while last year's edition was in Riverside, Missouri, just outside Kansas City.