November 16, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dakota State (S.D.) cracked inside the NAIA's Top 25 national poll Sunday evening, the final edition of the Netting Professional Top 25 poll of 2025 was announced by the national office. The Trojans return inside the Top 25 national poll for the first time since the 2018 preseason national poll.
The NAIA also announced the field of 20 teams to the Football Championships Series (FCS) Sunday evening. Unfortunately, Dakota State was one of the teams selected to the national playoffs and ended their stellar season with an overall record of 8-2 and 5-1 record in the Frontier East Division.
Dakota State, who ended their season with a five-game winning streak and their 7
th win in the last eight games, is ranked No. 24 with 102 points. The Trojans matched their most wins (8 wins) since 2017 season when they finished with an overall record of 8-3.
DSU finished their 2025 season with a perfect 5-0 record at Brian Kern Family Stadium, raising their all-time record of 8-2 since the stadium debut in 2024. The Trojans scored their most points at Brian Kern Family Stadium history after rolling past Montana State University-Northern 50-3 in the regular season finale on Nov. 15.
DSU averaged 39.8 points per game during their five-game winning streak, while holding their opponents to 11.2 points per game.
Three Frontier Conference schools had advanced to the NAIA FCS playoffs – national seed No. 3 Montana Tech, No. 8 seed College of Idaho, and No. 14 seed Carroll (Mont.). Montana Western, along with DSU, missed the postseason bid.
Below is the final Netting Professional NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 national poll:
| Trend |
Rank |
Last |
|
Institution [1st-Place Votes] |
Record |
Points |
| ? |
1 |
1 |
|
Grand View (Iowa) [15] |
10-0 |
435 |
| ? |
2 |
2 |
|
Keiser (Fla.) [1] |
10-0 |
421 |
| ? |
3 |
3 |
|
Benedictine (Kan.) |
10-1 |
404 |
| ? |
4 |
T-4 |
|
Montana Tech |
11-0 |
388 |
| ? |
5 |
T-4 |
|
Friends (Kan.) |
11-0 |
384 |
| ? |
6 |
7 |
|
Marian (Ind.) |
10-1 |
363 |
| ? |
7 |
8 |
|
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
9-1 |
344 |
| ? |
8 |
9 |
|
Morningside (Iowa) |
9-2 |
337 |
| ? |
9 |
13 |
|
College of Idaho |
9-1 |
308 |
| ? |
10 |
T-11 |
|
Indiana Wesleyan |
9-2 |
305 |
| ? |
11 |
6 |
|
Dordt (Iowa) |
9-1 |
298 |
| ? |
12 |
15 |
|
Southeastern (Fla.) |
8-2 |
261 |
| ? |
13 |
14 |
|
Carroll (Mont.) |
8-2 |
251 |
| ? |
14 |
16 |
|
William Penn (Iowa) |
10-1 |
244 |
| ? |
15 |
10 |
|
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
8-2 |
234 |
| ? |
16 |
17 |
|
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
7-3 |
222 |
| ? |
17 |
18 |
|
Montana Western |
7-3 |
219 |
| ? |
18 |
20 |
|
Georgetown (Ky.) |
7-3 |
205 |
| ? |
19 |
21 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
9-2 |
174 |
| ? |
20 |
T-11 |
|
OUAZ (Ariz.) |
8-1 |
170 |
| ? |
21 |
22 |
|
Evangel (Mo.) |
9-2 |
154 |
| ? |
T-22 |
23 |
|
Southwestern (Kan.) |
8-3 |
138 |
| ? |
T-22 |
24 |
|
McPherson (Kan.) |
9-2 |
137 |
| ? |
24 |
RV |
|
Dakota State (S.D.) |
8-2 |
102 |
| ? |
25 |
RV |
|
Texas Wesleyan |
7-4 |
84 |
| Dropped From Top 25: Saint Xavier (Ill.), Northwestern (Iowa) |
| Receiving Votes: Reinhardt (Ga.) 73; Cumberland (Tenn.) 65; Concordia (Neb.) 59; Tylor (Ind.) 50; Northwestern (Iowa) 36; Louisiana Christian 23; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 19; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 7; Baker (Kan.) 5; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 5. |
