2011 NAIA football national championship
| 2011 Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 17, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Barron Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Rome, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Stephen Hammer, Saint Xavier (Offense), Patrick Appino Saint Xavier (Defense) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 5,917 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS College Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Andy Demetra (Play By Play) Doug Chapman (Color Analysis) Peter Young (Sideline Report) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2011 NAIA football national championship was played on December 17, 2011, as the 56th Annual Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship.
The championship game was played at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. The game featured the Saint Xavier Cougars, playing in the title match for the first time. Their opponent was the Carroll Fighting Saints, the defending national champion who was appearing in the title game for the 8th time in the past 10 years. Carroll was attempting to win a record-tying 7th national title. In a tightly played contest, Saint Xavier prevailed, 24–20.
A total of sixteen teams participated in a single-elimination tournament from across the country. Placement in the tournament was based on the final edition of the NAIA Coaches' Poll with the exception of #16 William Penn and #17 Northwestern (IA) being passed over for #18 Grand View, who qualified by winning the Mid-States Football Association Division Championship.
Two teams represented schools named for "Saint Francis"—one team from St. Francis (IL) and the other from Saint Francis (IN).