The 2020–21 NAIA football national championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between April 17 and May 10, 2021. The tournament concluded with a single game, played as the 65th Annual NAIA Football National Championship.

The championship game was played at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana, between the 11–1 No. 6 Northwestern Red Raiders, representing Northwestern College from Orange City, Iowa, and the undefeated No. 3 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders, representing Lindsey Wilson College from Columbia, Kentucky. This was the second time the championship game was played at this venue with the previous year's game also taking place there. The game was played on May 10, 2021, with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. local CST).

Teams Northwestern (IA) The Northwestern Red Raiders, led by 5th-year head coach Matt McCarty, entered the national championship game as the No. 6 seed. They were seeking to win their third national championship overall and first non-NAIA Division II national championship, having won in 1973 and 1983. They entered the game 11–1, 8–1 in GPAC play. 2020 Northwestern (IA) FootballSep. 12at No. 1 *L 31–45Sep. 19*W 50–16Sep. 3at No. 18 *W 49–7Oct. 17*W 31–17Oct. 24at *W 35–14Oct. 31*W 43–14Nov. 7at *W 62–10Nov. 14*W 38–21Nov. 23*W 49–0NAIA Playoffs (No. 6 seed)Apr. 17No. 10 W 31–7Apr. 24at No. 2 W 27–24May 10at No. 1 W 44–41

Lindsey Wilson

The Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders, led by 11th-year head coach Chris Oliver, entered the national championship game as the No. 3 seed and were looking to win the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship. They entered the game 10–0, 7–0 in MSC Bluegrass Division play. 2020 Lindsey Wilson FootballFeb. 12*W 49–0Feb. 26No. 17 *W 45–10Mar. 5at No. 19 *W 35–14Mar. 12at *W 56–22Mar. 19*W 52–20Apr. 1at *W 49–21Apr. 9*W 49–7NAIA Playoffs (No. 3 seed)Apr. 17No. 14 W 42–10Apr. 24No. 5 W 49–27May 1No. 4 W 38–14

Series history This game was both teams' first time playing each other.

Game summary

Statistics Statistics NWC LWC First downs 16 17 Total yards 231 347 Rushes–yards 32–74 40–190 Passing yards 157 157 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 22–32–0 18–24–0 Time of possession 28:50 31:10 Team Category Player StatisticsNorthwestern (IA) Passing Blake Fryar 22/32, 157 yards, 2 TD Rushing Blake Fryar 18 carries, 38 yards Receiving Cade Moser 6 receptions, 54 yardsLindsey Wilson Passing Cameron Dukes 18/24, 157 yards Rushing Darius Clark 4 carries, 70 yards Receiving Jaylen Boyd 4 receptions, 50 yards

Postseason playoffs A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 17, 2019. The field included twelve conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2020 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on travel and geographic considerations. Each subsequent round also saw minor modifications based on travel and the geography of the remaining teams.

Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 23, after the first round results were known.

Semifinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 30, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.

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