2002 NAIA football season

2002 NAIA football season
2002 NAIA football season
National Championship	Jim Carroll Stadium; Savannah, TN; December 21, 2002
Champion	Carroll (MT)
Player of the Year	Nick Kortan (running back, Sioux Falls)
	← 2001; NAIA football season; 2003 →;

The 2002 NAIA football season was the component of the 2002 college football season organized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the United States. The season's playoffs, known as the NAIA Football National Championship, culminated with the championship game on December 21, at Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tennessee. The Carroll Fighting Saints defeated the Georgetown Tigers, 28–7, in the title game to win the program's first NAIA championship.^[1]

Conference standings

2002 Central States Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 NW Oklahoma State $^	4	–	0	11	–	1
Bacone	3	–	1	6	–	5
Langston	2	–	2	2	–	9
Peru State	1	–	3	2	–	8
Haskell	0	–	4	2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Dakota Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Dickinson State +^	8	–	1	9	–	2
No. 7 Mary +^	8	–	1	9	–	2
No. 13 Minot State +^	8	–	1	9	–	2
Valley City State	6	–	3	7	–	3
Jamestown	5	–	4	5	–	5
Huron	3	–	6	3	–	7
Mayville State	2	–	7	3	–	7
Black Hills State	2	–	7	2	–	8
South Dakota Mines	2	–	7	2	–	8
Dakota State	1	–	8	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Frontier Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Carroll (MT) $^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 15 Montana Western ^	7	–	1	9	–	3
Montana Tech	3	–	5	4	–	7
Rocky Mountain	2	–	6	2	–	8
Montana State–Northern	1	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Sioux Falls $^	8	–	0	12	–	1
No. 17 Doane	6	–	2	7	–	3
No. 24 Hastings	5	–	3	7	–	3
Concordia (NE)	5	–	3	5	–	5
Northwestern (IA)	4	–	4	6	–	4
Nebraska Wesleyan	4	–	4	6	–	4
Midland Lutheran	3	–	5	4	–	7
Dakota Wesleyan	1	–	7	3	–	7
Dana	0	–	8	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene $^	9	–	1	9	–	2
No. 12 Benedictine (KS) ^	8	–	2	9	–	3
No. 19 Evangel	8	–	2	8	–	2
No. 20 Missouri Valley	8	–	2	8	–	2
William Jewell	6	–	4	6	–	5
Central Methodist	4	–	6	5	–	6
Avila	4	–	6	4	–	6
Culver–Stockton	4	–	6	4	–	7
Baker	3	–	7	3	–	8
Lindenwood	1	–	9	1	–	10
Graceland	0	–	10	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Kansas Wesleyan $^	8	–	1	8	–	2
Bethany (KS)	6	–	3	6	–	3
McPherson	5	–	4	6	–	4
Tabor	5	–	4	6	–	4
Friends	5	–	4	5	–	4
Saint Mary (KS)	5	–	4	5	–	4
Ottawa	5	–	4	5	–	5
Southwestern (KS)	5	–	4	5	–	5
Bethel (KS)	1	–	8	1	–	8
Sterling	0	–	9	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Mid-South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Georgetown (KY) $^	8	–	0	12	–	2
No. 23 Cumberland (TN)	6	–	2	6	–	4
Lambuth	5	–	3	6	–	4
Pikeville	4	–	4	6	–	4
Belhaven	4	–	4	5	–	5
Campbellsville	3	–	5	4	–	6
Cumberland (KY)	3	–	5	4	–	6
Virginia–Wise	2	–	6	3	–	7
Union (KY)	1	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Mid-States Football Association standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mideast League
No. 8 Saint Francis (IN) x^	6	–	0	11	–	1
No. 21 Tri-State	5	–	1	6	–	3
No. 22 Walsh	4	–	2	8	–	3
Geneva	3	–	3	7	–	5
Malone	2	–	4	4	–	6
Taylor	1	–	5	3	–	7
Urbana	1	–	5	1	–	10
Midwest League
No. 4 McKendree x^	6	–	1	11	–	2
No. 11 Saint Xavier x^	6	–	1	9	–	3
No. 14 St. Ambrose x^	6	–	1	8	–	3
Olivet Nazarene	4	–	3	4	–	6
Trinity International	3	–	4	6	–	5
William Penn	2	–	5	4	–	7
St. Francis (IL)	1	–	6	2	–	8
Iowa Wesleyan	0	–	7	1	–	9

x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

2002 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North
Northwestern (MN) x	3	–	0	8	–	2
Martin Luther	2	–	1	6	–	3
Crown	1	–	2	2	–	7
Trinity Bible	0	–	3	0	–	9
South
Maranatha Baptist x	4	–	0	6	–	3
Westminster (MO)	3	–	1	7	–	2
Principia	2	–	2	5	–	4
Rockford	1	–	3	4	–	6
Blackburn	0	–	4	1	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions

2002 NAIA independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 Azusa Pacific		–		9	–	1
No. 6 Southern Oregon ^		–		8	–	3
Paul Quinn		–		7	–	4
Edward Waters		–		6	–	4
Morningside		–		5	–	5
Allen		–		0	–	7

^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

^ "Tigers title try tackled". The Jackson Sun. December 22, 2002. p. 10B – via Newspapers.com.