NAIA women's basketball championship
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball national championship has been held annually since 1981. The NAIA Women's Tournament was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities. From 1992 to 2020, the NAIA sponsored a women's division II championship tournament. The entire tournament is played in Sioux City, Iowa. Prior to the merger of D-I and D-II, a separate Division I tournament was held in Billings, Montana, while the Division II tournament was in Sioux City. Contracts for host cities for both divisions initially expired in 2017. Following renewals, the 2018 and 2019 tournaments were held in the same cities, but in 2020, the tournaments were called off due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Current season, competition or edition: 2022 NAIA Women's Basketball Tournament | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Motto | Passion. Tradition. History. |
| Divisions | 1 2 (1992–2020) |
| No. of teams | 64 32 (1992–2020) |
| Country | United States |
| Venue(s) | Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark; Tyson Events Center (2004–2022) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Clarke |
| Most titles | D-I: Oklahoma City (9) D-II: Northwestern (IA) (5) Single division: Southwestern Oklahoma State (6) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN 3 (national) |
| Related competitions | NAIA Men's Basketball Championships |
| Official website | naia.org/sports/wbkb |
Results
Single division (1981–1991)
For the first eleven years that the NAIA sponsored women's basketball, it held a single national championship for all programs across its entire membership. The tournament field was initially set at eight before later expansions to 16 and 32 teams.
| NAIA Women's Basketball Championship | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Third-place game | ||||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 1981 Details |
Kansas City, Missouri | Venue Unknown | Kentucky State | 73–67 | Texas Southern | Northern State | 74–65 | Azusa Pacific | ||
| 1982 Details |
SW Oklahoma State | 80–45 | Missouri Southern State | Saginaw Valley State | 71–61 | Berry | ||||
| 1983 Details |
SW Oklahoma State (2) | 80–68 | Alabama–Huntsville | UMKC | 85–65 | Portland | ||||
| 1984 Details |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa | UNC Asheville | 72–70 (OT) | Portland | Dillard | 70–66 | Berry | |||
| 1985 Details |
SW Oklahoma State (3) | 55–54 | Saginaw Valley State | Wayland Baptist | 70–64 | Midland Lutheran | ||||
| 1986 Details |
Kansas City, Missouri | Francis Marion | 75–65 | Wayland Baptist | Louisiana College | 85–78 | Georgia Southwestern | |||
| 1987 Details |
SW Oklahoma State (4) | 60–58 | North Georgia | Wisconsin–Green Bay | 82–56 | Arkansas Tech | ||||
| 1988 Details |
Oklahoma City | 113–95 | Claflin | Arkansas Tech | 86–81 (OT) | Wingate | ||||
| 1989 Details |
Southern Nazarene | 98–96 | Claflin | Arkansas Tech & St. Ambrose | ||||||
| 1990 Details |
Jackson, Tennessee | Oman Arena | SW Oklahoma State (5) | 82–75 | Arkansas–Monticello | Claflin & St. Ambrose | ||||
| 1991 Details |
Fort Hays State | 57–53 | SW Oklahoma State | Claflin & IUPUI | ||||||
Division I (1992–2020)
The NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament was most recently held at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings, Montana, which hosted from 2017 until the return to a single division after the 2019–20 season.[1] The NAIA was the only international intercollegiate athletic association in North America; the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship was the first championship to feature a college from outside the United States in the championship game. Former member Simon Fraser University was the national DI runner-up in 1996 and 1997. Oklahoma City University has the most tournament championships with 9, and most championship game appearances with 11.
| NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Semifinalists | ||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||||||
| 1992 Details |
Oman Arena | Jackson, Tennessee | Arkansas Tech | 84–68 | Wayland Baptist | St. Edward's (TX) & SW Oklahoma State | ||
| 1993 Details |
Arkansas Tech (2) | 76–75 | Union (TN) | Southern Nazarene & SW Oklahoma State | ||||
| 1994 Details |
Southern Nazarene (2) | 97–74 | David Lipscomb | Auburn Montgomery & Montevallo | ||||
| 1995 Details |
Southern Nazarene (3) | 78–77 | SE Oklahoma State | Lipscomb & SW Oklahoma State | ||||
| 1996 Details |
Southern Nazarene (4) | 80–79 | SE Oklahoma State | Lipscomb & Union (TN) | ||||
| 1997 Details |
Southern Nazarene (5) | 78–73 | Union (TN) | Arkansas Tech & SW Oklahoma State | ||||
| 1998 Details |
Union (TN) | 73–70 | Southern Nazarene | Findlay & Simon Fraser | ||||
| 1999 Details |
Oklahoma City (2) | 72–55 | Simon Fraser | Freed-Hardeman & Southern Nazarene | ||||
| 2000 Details |
Oklahoma City (3) | 64–55 | Simon Fraser (B.C.) | Findlay & Southern Nazarene | ||||
| 2001 Details |
Oklahoma City (4) | 69–52 | Auburn Montgomery | Lewis–Clark State & Southern Nazarene | ||||
| 2002 Details |
Oklahoma City (5) | 82–73 | Southern Nazarene | Central State (OH) & Union (TN) | ||||
| 2003 Details |
Southern Nazarene (6) | 71–70 | Oklahoma City | USAO & Vanguard | ||||
| 2004 Details |
Southern Nazarene (7) | 77–61 | Oklahoma City | Brescia & Houston Baptist | ||||
| 2005 Details |
Union (TN) (2) | 67–63 | Oklahoma City | Houston Baptist & Point Loma Nazarene | ||||
| 2006 Details |
Union (TN) (3) | 79–62 | Lubbock Christian | The Master's & Vanguard | ||||
| 2007 Details |
Lambuth | 63–50 | Cumberland | Union (TN) & Vanguard | ||||
| 2008 Details |
Vanguard | 72–59 | Trevecca Nazarene | Freed-Hardeman & Union (TN) | ||||
| 2009 Details |
Union (TN) (4) | 73–63 | Lambuth | Oklahoma Baptist & Oklahoma City | ||||
| 2010 Details |
Union (TN) (5) | 73–65 | Azusa Pacific | Lee (TN) & Oklahoma City | ||||
| 2011 Details |
Azusa Pacific | 65–59 | Union (TN) | Freed-Hardeman & Shawnee State | ||||
| 2012 Details |
Frankfort Convention Center | Frankfort, Kentucky | Oklahoma City (6) | 69–48 | Union (TN) | Georgetown (KY) & Lubbock Christian | ||
| 2013 Details |
Westmont | 71–65 | Lee (TN) | Cumberland & Freed-Hardeman | ||||
| 2014 Details |
Oklahoma City (7) | 80–76 | Freed-Hardeman[2] | John Brown & Wiley | ||||
| 2015 Details |
Independence Events Center | Independence, Missouri[3] | Oklahoma City (8) | 80–63 | Campbellsville | Freed-Hardeman & Westmont | ||
| 2016 Details |
MidAmerica Nazarene | 49–35 | Baker[4] | Benedictine (KS) & Pikeville | ||||
| 2017 Details |
Rimrock Auto Arena | Billings, Montana | Oklahoma City (9) | 73–66 | Lewis-Clark State | Campbellsville & Vanguard | ||
| 2018 Details |
Freed-Hardeman | 76–64 | Westmont[5] | Montana Western & Wayland Baptist | ||||
| 2019 Details |
Montana Western | 75–59 | Oklahoma City | Our Lady of the Lake & Freed-Hardeman | ||||
| 2020 Details |
No tournament due to COVID-19. | |||||||
Single division (2021–present)
In 2018, the NAIA announced a new format for the 2021 tournament after the merger of Divisions I and II.
| NAIA Women's Basketball Championship | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Semifinalists | ||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||||||
| 2021 Details |
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa[6] | Westmont (2) | 72–61 | Thomas More | Indiana Wesleyan & Morningside | ||
| 2022 Details |
Thomas More | 77–65 | Dordt | Central Methodist & Southeastern (FL) | ||||
| 2023 Details |
Clarke | 63–52 | Thomas More | Central Methodist & Dakota State | ||||
| 2024 Details |
To be played | |||||||
Champions
- Division II titles are not included in this list. Schools in italics are no longer in the NAIA.
| Team | Championships | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City | 9 | 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 |
| Southern Nazarene | 7 | 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004 |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State | 5 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990 |
| Union (TN) | 5 | 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| Westmont | 2 | 2013, 2021 |
| Arkansas Tech | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
| Kentucky State | 1 | 1981 |
| UNC Asheville | 1 | 1984 |
| Francis Marion | 1 | 1986 |
| Fort Hays State | 1 | 1991 |
| Lambuth | 1 | 2007 |
| Vanguard | 1 | 2008 |
| Azusa Pacific | 1 | 2011 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene | 1 | 2016 |
| Freed–Hardeman | 1 | 2018 |
| Montana Western | 1 | 2019 |
| Thomas More | 1 | 2022 |
| Clarke | 1 | 2023 |
- Schools highlighted in pink are closed or no longer sponsor athletics.
- Schools highlight in yellow have reclassified athletics from the NAIA.
See also
- NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Championship
- AIAW women's basketball tournament
- NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
- NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
- NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
- NAIA Men's Basketball Championships
- NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship
References
- NAIA Women's DI History
- "Oklahoma City Wins Seventh NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship". NAIA. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Oklahoma City Wins Back-to-Back Titles". NAIA. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- "MidAmerica Nazarene wins its first ever National Championship". NAIA. March 22, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- "After 21 Trips, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) Wins National Championship". NAIA. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- "Sioux City selected to host 2021 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship". KTIV.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
External links
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| Sports and championships |
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