The 2021 NAIA football national championship was a sixteen-team, single-elimination tournament that concluded with the 66th annual NAIA Football National Championship Game on December 18, 2021. The championship game was played at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, between the Grand View Vikings and the Morningside Mustangs. Morningside defeated Grand View, 38–28, to win its third national championship in four seasons and finish with a 14–0 record.
The game featured two previously undefeated teams from Iowa: Grand View University in Des Moines and Morningside University in Sioux City. Kickoff was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST, with coverage on ESPN3.
Teams Grand View The Grand View Vikings, led by head coach Joe Woodley, entered the tournament as the third seed. Grand View won its first eleven games before defeating Dickinson State, Concordia (Michigan), and defending national champion Lindsey Wilson in the playoffs to reach the championship game at 14–0. The Vikings were seeking their second national championship, having won their first in 2013.
Morningside
The Morningside Mustangs, led by head coach Steve Ryan, entered the tournament as the second seed with a 10–0 record. They defeated Ottawa (Arizona), Kansas Wesleyan, and Northwestern (Iowa) to advance to the championship game at 13–0. Morningside was seeking its third national championship, following titles in 2018 and 2019.
Series history The teams had met twice before the championship game, both times in the NAIA semifinals. Grand View won the 2013 meeting, 35–0, while Morningside won the 2019 meeting, 21–16.
Road to the championship The tournament began on November 20, with sixteen teams competing for the national championship. The finalists' playoff results were:
Round Date Grand View Morningside First round November 20 W 38–13 vs. Dickinson State W 63–38 vs. Ottawa (AZ) Quarterfinals November 27 W 31–16 vs. Concordia (MI) W 58–21 vs. Kansas Wesleyan Semifinals December 4 W 34–28 at Lindsey Wilson W 28–19 vs. Northwestern (IA)
Game summary Grand View scored first on a touchdown pass from Johnny Sullivan to Anthony Turner. Morningside answered with two rushing touchdowns by Anthony Sims to lead 14–7 after the first quarter. Grand View regained the lead in the second quarter before a touchdown pass from Joe Dolincheck to Austin Johnson tied the game at 21–21 shortly before halftime.
Ali Scott's second rushing touchdown put Grand View ahead in the third quarter. Sims then scored his third touchdown to tie the game at 28–28. Morningside scored the only points of the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass to Reid Jurgensmeier and a Chase Carter field goal, securing a 38–28 victory.
Sims was named Offensive Player of the Game after rushing for 161 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Morningside linebacker Jalen Portis received Defensive Player of the Game honors after recording five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Statistics Statistic Grand View Morningside First downs 19 31 Total yards 324 563 Rushes–yards 27–41 38–158 Passing yards 283 405 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–40–2 29–45–2 Fumbles–lost 1–0 1–1 Penalties–yards 4–20 4–21 Source:
Postseason playoffs Sixteen teams were selected for the single-elimination tournament, with the field and first-round pairings announced on November 14, 2021. The field consisted of twelve automatic qualifiers and four at-large selections. Pairings were determined for each round rather than following a fixed bracket, with geographic considerations influencing the matchups.
The first round was held on November 20, followed by the quarterfinals on November 27 and semifinals on December 4. The championship game was played on December 18 at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
Indiana Wesleyan was withdrawn from the tournament after the university reported that it had used an academically ineligible player during the regular season. Kansas Wesleyan advanced to the quarterfinals by forfeit.
Bracket Numbers indicate tournament seeds. Records shown are those entering each round; the bracket follows the matchups as played.
References
External links Morningside box score Grand View box score