KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Marian (Ind.) closes the regular-season as the No. 1 team in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Monday. The Knights were the unanimous pick, collecting all 15 first-place votes and 340 total points. The postseason installment is scheduled to release on Monday, Dec. 19.

Poll Methodology
• The poll 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.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter 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.”
• Teams must be ranked in the Top 20 in order to be eligible for the Football Championship Series.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.