Mustangs reach NAIA Football postseason for 20th consecutive season, move to no. 10 in final poll

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics released its 2023 Football Championship Series qualifiers this evening, naming Morningside to the postseason field for the 20th consecutive season. The Mustangs will have a bye in the NAIA Football Championship Series First Round, grabbing the no. 10 seed as they also moved into the no. 10 spot in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll.

Morningside has been included in the NAIA's postseason field every season since 2004.

The NAIA expanded its playoff field for 2023, with 20 teams reaching the postseason rather than the previous 16. Under the new model, eight teams will play a first round game on Nov. 18 at campus sites. The winners of those four games will advance to the second round.

The Mustangs will await their pairing and game location following next weekend's games. Matchups between Reinhardt and St. Thomas, Dickinson State and Montana Tech, Ottawa and Dordt, and Louisiana Christian and Baker will round out the remaining four spots as teams vie for a spot alongside the top 12 seeds, Northwestern, Grand View, Keiser, Georgetown, Marian, Indiana Wesleyan, Bethel, Montana Western, Evangel, Morningside, College of Idaho, and Saint Xavier.