Contact: Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services, cwaller@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After winning the 2010 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship, Carroll (Mont.) was awarded with the No. 1 ranking in the Football Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Monday. The Fighting Saints defeated previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Sioux Falls by a score of 10-7 on Dec. 18. The title was Carroll’s sixth in the last nine years and the program now holds the second-most (tie) National Championships all-time.

There were five teams that held their rank from the final regular season poll, which was announced on Nov. 14. No. 3 Saint Xavier (Ill.) and No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), coupled with the final three teams in the Top 25, all clung to their spots. There were no newcomers that slipped into the Top 25.

After a 26-week stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking, Sioux Falls was knocked off by Carroll. The win by Carroll in the 55^th annual National Championship also halted an NAIA-record tying 42-game Sioux Falls’ winning streak. Carroll finished the season with a 14-0 record under the direction of head coach Mike Van Diest.  The perfect season record is the fourth in 12 seasons under Van Diest. The Fighting Saints gathered all 14 first-place votes in the Top 25 and totaled 314 points.

No. 2 Sioux Falls earned 302 total points after a runner-up season. The National Championship game appearance was the Cougars fifth-consecutive and seventh overall. Sioux Falls now has been ranked in the top-five in the last 117-straight polls, dating back to 2001. With a 13-1 overall record, the Cougars rattled off their fifth-straight perfect regular season.

Checking in at No. 3 is St. Xavier with 290 total points. The Cougars lost to Carroll, 27-5, in the semifinals on Dec. 4. St. Xavier finished with a 13-1 record. The No. 3 ranking is the ninth-straight such spot for the Cougars. The 13 wins marked the fourth season in the last five years that St. Xavier has reached 10-plus victories.

No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene, who posted 278 total points, sits in the fourth spot for the sixth-consecutive poll. The Pioneers reached the semifinals against Sioux Falls, but dropped a 38-0 decision. MidAmerica Nazarene has been ranked in the top-10 for the last 19-consecutive polls.

Making a leap four spots is No. 5 Saint Francis (Ind.). The Cougars landed with 259 total points. St. Francis advanced to the quarterfinals where it lost 40-21 against St. Xavier. The Cougars finished with a 10-2 record. The top-five ranking is a first for St. Francis since Oct. 19, 2009 (No. 4).

The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) claims four schools in the Top 25: Sioux Falls, No. 6 Morningside (Iowa), No. 18 Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 21 Midland (Neb.). The Mid-States Football Association Mideast lands a trio of schools in the poll.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The 2011 Spring Coaches’ Top 25 is scheduled to be announced on April 18. For the entire schedule of the 2010 Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, click here.

For more information on NAIA football, please click here. 

NOTES: Prior to the No. 1 ranking this week, Carroll (Mont.) had owned the second spot for eight-straight polls… Carroll earned its sixth No. 1 ranking in the Postseason Top 25 Poll since 2000, which marked the first time for this poll… Since 2000, Sioux Falls (S.D.) has been ranked at the No. 1 position on 55 occasions, the most of any team during that time -- Carroll is next with 54 mentions at No. 1, Georgetown (Ky.) is third with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and St. Francis (Ind.) with three… Sioux Falls holds the record (since 1997 when both divisions merged) for consecutive No. 1 rankings at 26 straight polls, accomplished from Jan. 12, 2009 (2008 Postseason) through Nov. 14, 2010 (Final Regular Season)… Overall, Sioux Falls has been ranked in the top-five spots in the last 117 straight polls dating back to the 2001 season… Sioux Falls has now been ranked No. 1 in 38 out of the last 52 polls dating back to 2007… Carroll and Sioux Falls have dominated the top of the polls with either team being ranked No. 1 since the 2006 Postseason Top 25 Poll (Jan. 18, 2007) – Saint Francis was the last team outside of those two programs to earn the No. 1 spot back on Nov. 12, 2006 – a streak of 54 polls… Carroll has now been ranked in the top five in the last 77 straight polls dating back to Jan. 17, 2005 (2004 Postseason Top 25 Poll)… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – 141 straight mentions – the last time St. Francis was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… After St. Francis, Carroll is the next team in line with 128 straight Top-25 rankings, while Sioux Falls stands at 127 straight mentions.

2010 NAIA Football Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll – (Jan. 10, 2011)

Others receiving votes:

Walsh University (Ohio) 12; Sterling College (Kan.) 8; University of St. Francis (Ill.) 7; Baker University (Kan.) 6; Benedictine College (Kan.) 4; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 1; Union College (Ky.) 1

^ Ranking indicated in Top 25 Poll (Nov. 14, 2010)
* Record reflects the school submission of their statistics in DakStats