NAIA Basketball Divisions Merger Signals Beginning of a New Era As the NAIA merges its basketball divisions from two down to one, its historic 32-team tournament format in Kansas City will also adjust. As things rapidly changed by the minute last March, a day into the NAIA Division II Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, it became increasingly clear as the hours went by that college basketball had seen its last champions crowned in the NAIA in its current format. The NAIA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments had been a staple in the world of college basketball since the late 1930’s. A simple concept for a tournament not seen anywhere else. A 32-team championship bracket, housed at one site, played over the course of six days. It sounds incredible for the college basketball enthusiast… eight games a day for the first three days with an early morning tip-off before 9:00 a.m. and an end to the day after midnight. The NAIA has been doing it this way for over 80 years, but as changes have occurred around it, the NAIA held strong to its approach. As with all things, however, change occurs and with it came the merger of its divisions and a new approach to the tournament format. 2020 was supposed to be the last tournament of the old format, which was designed by the NAIA to be a salute to its rich basketball history. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic response, the Division II tournaments halted and shut down play while the Division I tournaments were canceled. In 2021, the NAIA will, for the first time, have a 16-team tournament held over the course of five days to crown one champion on both the
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men’s and women’s side. To qualify for this final site championship bracket, teams will travel to an “Opening Round” tournament with four teams at various sites around the country. The winners of each of the 16 Opening Round tournaments will head to Sioux City, Iowa (Women’s) and Kansas City, Mo. (Men’s). Overall, the championship will be a field of 64. The final format comes after the NAIA Divisions in Basketball Task Force nearly two-year review and recommendation for a single basketball division with potential formats. The National Administrative Council (NAC) Championship sub-committee reviewed all information and data and presented the recommended format which was approved by the full NAC body. The rationale behind the NAC’s decision was that a 64 qualifier/16-team final site tournament will offer a superior student-athlete experience, as well as provide the best opportunity for cost savings and team travel reimbursement. This format also retains the same amount of national qualifiers as it did for the current two-division format. “This is a watershed moment for our organization,” said former NAC Chair Robert Cashell. “The membership owes a thank you to the original task force that came forward with recommendations and the NAC Championships Subcommittee for their deliberate and thoughtful approach to this change.” “I believe the format will provide a special student-athlete experience and continue the NAIA’s tradition of offering unique championship opportunities for both men’s and women’s basketball.”
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