2023 NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 - Preseason (August 21)
Aug 21, 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Reigning NAIA National Champions Northwestern (Iowa) leads the pack in the preseason NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 presented by FirstDown PlayBook, receiving 17 first-place votes. Last year's runner-up Keiser (Fla.) takes the final vote and sits second, followed by Grand View (Iowa), Morningside (Iowa), and Indiana Wesleyan.
Rating Methodology
- The ranking was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
- Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league or division.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Northwestern (Iowa) [17] | 13-1 | 418 |
| 2 | 12 | Keiser (Fla.) [1] | 10-4 | 383 |
| 3 | 2 | Grand View (Iowa) | 13-1 | 379 |
| 4 | 1 | Morningside (Iowa) | 11-1 | 375 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 11-2 | 340 |
| 6 | 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 9-2 | 335 |
| 7 | 6 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 11-2 | 317 |
| 8 | 4 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 13-1 | 311 |
| 9 | 8 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 10-2 | 294 |
| 10 | 9 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 8-2 | 286 |
| 11 | 10 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 9-2 | 238 |
| 12 | 18 | College of Idaho | 8-2 | 237 |
| 13 | 11 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 9-3 | 231 |
| 14 | 15 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 9-2 | 209 |
| 15 | 16 | Carroll (Mont.) | 8-3 | 144 |
| 16 | 24 | Montana Tech | 7-3 | 130 |
| 17 | 19 | OUAZ (Ariz.) | 7-2 | 125 |
| 18 | 13 | Avila (Mo.) | 10-2 | 122 |
| 19 | 17 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-3 | 118 |
| 20 | NR | Kansas Wesleyan | 8-3 | 115 |
| 21 | 22 | Texas Wesleyan | 9-2 | 113 |
| 21 | 21 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-3 | 113 |
| 23 | 14 | Bethel (Kan.) | 9-1 | 75 |
| 24 | 23 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 7-3 | 70 |
| 25 | 25 | Dordt (Iowa) | 7-3 | 33 |
Receiving Votes: Arizona Christian 30; Evangel (Mo.) 23; Concordia (Mich.) 20; Bluefield (Va.) 13; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 10; Montana Western 6; Southeastern (Fla.) 4; Louisiana Christian 3
