The NAIA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, which tips off its 81st tournament on Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium, may look a lot different in the coming years.
The NAIA’s Council of Presidents will vote on April 15-16 in Kansas City to merge the Division I and Division II programs into a single classification, as it was before the nation’s oldest national tournament split into two divisions in 1991-92.
The change could take effect as soon as the 2021 tournament.
“It looks like there’s movement toward one division,” said NAIA president/CEO Jim Carr. “It’s a membership decision. My preference is to go back to one division. We’re one division in every other sport, so I think it makes sense.“
The NAIA has 94 Division I members and 135 Division II schools who compete in separate 32-team national tournaments. So with as many as 229 schools, the NAIA could sponsor one 32- 48- or a 64-team tournament.
“At this point, you would have 20 conference champions, and some get multiple berths, so we’re going to have to do some tweaking and work on the format on how people qualify,” Carr said.
A larger field could mean additional days to the tournament in Kansas City, or the NAIA could stage regionals leading to a 32-team or smaller bracket in Kansas City. The NAIA recently signed a one-year extension with Municipal Auditorium through the 2020 tournament, leaving time to negotiate future years, depending on the format of the one-division championships.
“Our every intention is to stay here,” Carr said, “but if we go to a different format, we’ll have to talk to Municipal about that.”
The NAIA Division I women’s tournament, which was staged in Independence in 2015 and 2016, is in the second of a three-year contract in Billings, Mont.
Carr said it will take a few years to phase in the new format as the proposal calls for current Division I schools to reduce their full athletic scholarship allotments from 11 to eight, and the Division II schools increase theirs from six to eight.
In 2010, the NAIA had 111 Division I members, but in recent years, tournament regulars such as Azusa Pacific (Calif.), McKendree (Ill.) University and two-time champions Concordia (Calif.) University (2003, 2012) and Oklahoma Baptist (1966, 2010) departed for NCAA Division II status, while some NAIA Division I conferences have been exploring the NAIA Division II level.
The single-division format could be a boon for attendance at the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City, which averages about 40,000 fans for the week.
“If you look at the geographic location of our Division II teams,” Carr said, “there are lot of schools within a few hours of here in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. A number of those schools could be in the tournament.”
5 Players to watch
Brian Egejuru, Central Methodist: Egejuru, a 6-foot senior, was the Heart of America Athletic Conference player of the year, ranking 10th in the NAIA at 20.8 points per game and was 11th in assists, 14th in steals and 18th in assists.
Carnilious Simmons, Dalton (Ga.) State: Simmons, a 6-8 senior, averaged 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game with 13 double-doubles. Simmons recorded 25 rebounds in a game this season, tying for the NAIA single-game high.
Stevie Clark, LSU Shreveport: Clark, a 5-11 senior transfer from Oakland University, was the Red River Conference Player of the Year after averaging 20.8 points per game. He tied an NAIA mark by making 21 free throws in a 38-point performance against Texas Wesleyan and scored 20 or more points 17 times in the regular season.
Shadell Millinghaus, Georgetown (Ky.): Millinghaus, a 6-2 guard and Texas Tech transfer, ranks sixth in the NAIA in scoring at 22.1 points per game and is sixth in rebounding at 8.3.
Timothy Soares, The Master’s (Calif.): Soares, a 6-10 sophomore, was the Golden State Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, averaging 14.4 points (on 58 percent shooting), 8.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. His 86 blocked shots were 30 more than any player in the league.
5 story lines
Breaking the color line: This year’s tournament marks the 70th anniversary of the NAIA’s breaking the color barrier in collegiate national championships. Clarence Walker, a reserve guard for head coach John Wooden's Indiana State Sycamores, became the first African-American to participate in a college basketball national championship at any level on March 9, 1948, at Municipal Auditorium. Two years later, Walker’s Indiana State team won the then-NAIB National Championship.
Defending the crown: Texas Wesleyan University, led by LSU transfer Branden Jenkins, will try to become the first repeat winner since Oklahoma City in 2007-08. Guard Ryan Harris scored 21 points with seven rebounds in last year’s title game against Life University. The Rams also won the championship in 2006.
Mid-Missouri magic: The closest schools to Kansas City are Central Methodist of Fayette, which is making its first appearance since 2010; and perennial participant Columbia College, which is appearing in the tournament for the eighth straight year. Central Methodist’s Jeff Sherman was recognized as the Heart of America Conference Coach of the Year after picking up his 600th career victory this season while Columbia coach and NAIA Hall of Famer Bob Burchard has won 773 games in 30 seasons with the Cougars.
Homecomings: Kansas City-area players participating in the tournament include Graceland’s Will Nelson of Raytown and Nick Coleman of Liberty North; Peru State’s Terry Moore Jr. of Kansas City, Kan., and Penn Valley Community College; and William Penn’s Isaac Sanders of Lexington, Mo.
Heavy hearts: William Penn (Iowa) will be dedicating the tournament to the memory of teammate Marquis Todd, who was stabbed to death in an off-campus fight stemming from a traffic crash fewer than 24 hours before the Statesmen played in the Heart of America semifinals. Just hours after his death, squad members agreed that being on the court against Peru State was what Marquis would want, and they donned black #22 TODD warmup shirts, and his jersey was draped on the bench.
3 favorites
LSU Alexandria: The Generals’ perfect season was spoiled by Life in the semifinals last year, and they have some unfinished business this week.
LSU Shreveport: The Pilots have a devastating 1-2 punch in guards Jamal Ray and Stevie Clark.
Georgetown (Ky.): Never count out the Tigers, who have played in more tournaments (37) and won more tournament games (66) than anyone.
3 sleepers
Graceland (Iowa): The Yellowjackets will make their NAIA Tournament debut after winning their first Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament title.
Harris Stowe (Mo.): The Hornets from St. Louis learned from losing a heart-breaker in their tournament debut in 2017.
Dillard (La.): The Devils became the first school to win three straight Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournaments since LSU Shreveport won five in a row in 2010.
NAIA Tournament schedule
[ Click here for the complete NAIA Tournament bracket ]
Naismith Bracket
First round, Wednesday, March 14
(1) The Master's (Calif.) (29-2) vs. (8) Peru State (Neb.) (21-13), 8:15 p.m.
(4) LSU Alexandria (La.) (25-7) vs. (5) Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (23-9), 10:45 a.m.
(3) Georgetown (Ky.) (25-6) vs. (6) Central Baptist (Ark.) (21-8), 1:15 p.m.
(2) Oklahoma City (23-8) vs. (7) Xavier (La.) (24-8), 3 p.m.
Second round, Friday, March 16
First two winners, 12:30 p.m.
Second two winners, 9 a.m.
Quarterfinal, Saturday, March 17
Second-round winners, noon
Cramer Bracket
First round, Thursday, March 15
(1) William Penn (Iowa) (27-4) vs. (8) Science & Arts (Okla.) (21-10), 7:30 p.m.
(4) Dalton State (Ga.) (24-8) vs. (5) Cumberlands (Ky.) (21-9), 9 a.m.
(3) Hope International (Calif.) (25-5) vs. (6) Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) (21-11), 9:15 p.m.
(2) Carroll (Mont.) (27-5) vs. (7) Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (23-8), 12:30 p.m.
Second round, Friday, March 16
First two winners, 7:30 p.m.
Second two winners, 9:15 p.m.
Quarterfinal, Saturday, March 17
Second-round winners, 7:30 p.m.
Duer Bracket
First round, Thursday, March 15
(1) Pikeville (Ky.) (28-4) vs. (8) Langston (Okla.) (20-11), 2:15 p.m.
(4) Texas Wesleyan (22-10) vs. (5) Graceland (Iowa) (24-10), 5:45 p.m.
(3) Montana Western (25-7) vs. (6) SAGU (Texas) (24-9), 10:45 a.m.
(2) Columbia (Mo.) (27-4) vs. (7) Campbellsville (Ky.) (23-9), 4 p.m.
Second round, Friday, March 16
First two winners, 5:45 p.m.
Second two winners, 4 p.m.
Quarterfinal, Saturday, March 17
Second-round winners, 5:30 p.m.
Liston Bracket
First round, Wednesday, March 14
(1) LSU Shreveport (La.) (27-4) vs. (8) Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) (23-10), 4:45 p.m.
(4) Westmont (Calif.) (24-7) vs. (5) Dillard (La.) (20-9), 10 p.m.
(3) William Carey (Miss.) (25-5) vs. (6) Life (Ga.) (20-11), 9 a.m.
(2) Central Methodist (Mo.) (27-5) vs. (7) Wayland Baptist (Texas) (23-9), 6:30 p.m.
Second round, Friday, March 16
First two winners, 10:45 a.m.
Second two winners, 2:15 p.m.
Quarterfinal, Saturday, March 17
Second-round winners, 2 p.m.
National semifinals, Monday, March 19
Duer champion vs. Liston champion, 6 p.m.
Naismith champion vs. Cramer champion, 8 p.m.
National championship, Tuesday, March 20
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.