NAIA Women's Basketball Championships
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. Also the entire tournament is played in one city (Billings, Montana DI, and Sioux City, Iowa DII). 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: 2020 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament 2020 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament | |
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 1981 |
Motto | Passion. Tradition. History. |
Divisions | 1 2 (1992–2020) |
No. of teams | 32 64 (2021–future) |
Country | United States |
Venue(s) | Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark; Tyson Events Center (2004–2019) |
Most recent champion(s) | DI: University of Montana Western DII: Concordia University |
Most titles | DI: Oklahoma City University (9) DII: Northwestern (Iowa) (5) |
TV partner(s) | ESPN 3 (national) |
Related competitions | NAIA Men's Basketball Championships |
Official website | NAIA.org NAIA Division I NAIA Division II |
Division I
The NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament is held at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings, Montana and has been played there since in 2012.[1] The NAIA was the only international intercollegiate athletic association in North America; the NAIA DI 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. In 2018, the NAIA announced a new format for the 2021 tournament after the merger of Divisions I and II.
Year | Champion | Score | Defeated | Arena | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Kentucky State | 73–67 | Texas Southern | Unknown venue | Kansas City, Missouri |
1982 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 80–45 | Missouri Southern State | ||
1983 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 80–68 | Alabama-Huntsville | ||
1984 | UNC Asheville | 72–70# | Portland (Ore.) | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | |
1985 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 55–54 | Saginaw Valley (Mich.) | ||
1986 | Francis Marion (S.C.) | 75–65 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | Kansas City, Missouri | |
1987 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 60–58 | North Georgia | ||
1988 | Oklahoma City | 113–95 | Claflin (S.C.) | ||
1989 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 98–96 | Claflin (S.C.) | ||
1990 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 82–75 | Arkansas–Monticello | Oman Arena | Jackson, Tennessee |
1991 | Fort Hays State (Kan.) | 57–53 | Southwestern Oklahoma | ||
1992 | Arkansas Tech | 84–68 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | ||
1993 | Arkansas Tech | 76–75 | Union (Tenn.) | ||
1994 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 97–74 | David Lipscomb (Tenn.) | ||
1995 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 78–77 | Southeastern Oklahoma | ||
1996 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 80–79 | Southeastern Oklahoma | ||
1997 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 78–73 | Union (Tenn.) | ||
1998 | Union (Tenn.) | 73–70 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | ||
1999 | Oklahoma City | 72–55 | Simon Fraser (B.C.) | ||
2000 | Oklahoma City | 64–55 | Simon Fraser (B.C.) | ||
2001 | Oklahoma City | 69–52 | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | ||
2002 | Oklahoma City | 82–73 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | ||
2003 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 71–70 | Oklahoma City | ||
2004 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 77–61 | Oklahoma City | ||
2005 | Union (Tenn.) | 67–63 | Oklahoma City | ||
2006 | Union (Tenn.) | 79–62 | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | ||
2007 | Lambuth (Tenn.) | 63–50 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | ||
2008 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 72–59 | Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) | ||
2009 | Union (Tenn.) | 73–63 | Lambuth (Tenn.) | ||
2010 | Union (Tenn.) | 73–65 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | ||
2011 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 65–59 | Union (Tenn.) | ||
2012 | Oklahoma City | 69–48 | Union (Tenn.) | Frankfort Convention Center | Frankfort, Kentucky |
2013 | Westmont (Calif.). | 71–65 | Lee (Tenn.) | ||
2014 | Oklahoma City | 80–76 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)[2] | ||
2015 | Oklahoma City | 80–63 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | Independence Events Center | Independence, Missouri[3] |
2016 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 49–35 | Baker (Kan.)[4] | ||
2017 | Oklahoma City | 73–66 | Lewis-Clark State | Rimrock Auto Arena | Billings, Montana |
2018 | Freed-Hardeman | 76–64 | Westmont (Calif.)[5] | ||
2019 | Montana Western | 75–59 | Oklahoma City | ||
2020 | No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||
2021 | TBD | TBD | TBD | Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa[6] |
2022 | |||||
2023 | |||||
2024 |
# Overtime
Division II
The NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament was held annually, at the Tyson Events Center and Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.[7] Northwestern College had the most national titles with five. 2015 champion Morningside College had the second most national titles with three. Northwestern College also had the most tournament championship game appearances with six.
The NAIA announced in April 2018 that it would discontinue its Division II basketball championships for both men and women after the 2019–20 season.[8] The DII women's basketball schools will merge into the DI under a new championship tournament format in 2021.
Year | Champion | Score | Defeated | Arena | Location |
1992 | Northern State (S.D.) | 73–56 | Tarleton State (Texas) | New PE Building | Monmouth, Oregon |
1993 | Northern Montana | 71–68 | Northern State (S.D.) | ||
1994 | Northern State (S.D.) | 48–45 | Western Oregon | ||
1995 | Western Oregon | 75–67 | Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) | ||
1996 | Western Oregon | 80–77 | Huron (S.D.) | Hershey Hall | Angola, Indiana |
1997 | Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) | 64–46 | Black Hills State (S.D.) | ||
1998 | Walsh (Ohio) | 73–66 | Mary Hardin–Baylor (Texas) | Sioux City Auditorium | Sioux City, Iowa |
1999 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 80–65 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | ||
2000 | Mary (N.D.) | 59–49 | Northwestern (Iowa) | ||
2001 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 77–50 | Albertson (Idaho) | ||
2002 | Hastings (Neb.) | 73–69 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | ||
2003 | Hastings (Neb.) | 59–53 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | ||
2004 | Morningside (Iowa) | 87–74 | Cedarville (Ohio) | Tyson Events Center / Gateway Arena | |
2005 | Morningside (Iowa) | 75–65 | Cedarville (Ohio) | ||
2006 | Hastings (Neb.) | 58–39 | Ozarks (Mo.) | ||
2007 | Indiana Wesleyan* | 48–34 | Ozarks (Mo.) | ||
2008 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 82–75 | Ozarks (Mo.) | ||
2009 | Morningside (Iowa)* | 68–62 | Hastings (Neb.) | ||
2010 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 85–66 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | ||
2011 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 88–83 | Davenport (Mich.) | ||
2012 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 75–62 | Ozarks (Mo.) | ||
2013 | Indiana Wesleyan | 61–43 | Davenport (MI) | ||
2014 | Saint Francis (Ind.)* | 75–68 | Ozarks (Mo.)[9] | ||
2015 | Morningside (Iowa) | 59–57 | Concordia (Neb.)[10] | ||
2016 | Marian (Ind.) | 59–48 | Southern Oregon[11] | ||
2017 | Marian (Ind.) | 66–52 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | ||
2018 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 82–59 | Concordia (Neb.)[12] | ||
2019 | Concordia (Neb.) | 67–59 | Southeastern (Fla.) | ||
2020 | No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
* Season record of 38–0; Only three teams have done this in NAIA Women's Basketball history.
Championships by school - Division I
- 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 (Okla.) | 7 | 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004 |
Southwestern Oklahoma | 5 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990 |
Union (Tenn.) | 5 | 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
Arkansas Tech | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
Kentucky State | 1 | 1981 |
UNC Asheville | 1 | 1984 |
Francis Marion (S.C.) | 1 | 1986 |
Fort Hays State (Kan.) | 1 | 1991 |
Lambuth (Tenn.); defunct | 1 | 2007 |
Vanguard (Calif.) | 1 | 2008 |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 1 | 2011 |
Westmont (Calif.) | 1 | 2013 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 1 | 2016 |
Freed–Hardeman | 1 | 2018 |
Montana Western | 1 | 2019 |
Championships by school - Division II
- Division I titles are not included in this list. Schools in italics are no longer in the NAIA.
Team | Championships | Winning years |
---|---|---|
Northwestern (Iowa) | 5 | 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
Morningside (Iowa) | 4 | 2004, 2005, 2009, 2015 |
Hastings (Neb.) | 3 | 2002, 2003, 2006 |
Northern State (S.D.) | 2 | 1992, 1994 |
Western Oregon | 2 | 1995, 1996 |
Indiana Wesleyan | 2 | 2007, 2013 |
Marian (Ind.) | 2 | 2016, 2017 |
Northern Montana | 1 | 1993 |
Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) | 1 | 1997 |
Walsh (Ohio) | 1 | 1998 |
Shawnee State (Ohio) | 1 | 1999 |
Mary (N.D.) | 1 | 2000 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 2014 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 1 | 2018 |
Concordia (Neb.) | 1 | 2019 |
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.
- NAIA Women's DII History
- "NAIA to Combine Basketball Divisions" (Press release). NAIA. April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- Smith, Ben (March 19, 2014). "Saint Francis Cougars finish unbeaten, win 1st NAIA Division II title". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Driven Mustangs Will Their Way to National Title, 59-57, Over Concordia". NAIA. March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- "Marian (Ind.) wins first ever national championship". NAIA. March 15, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- "Dakota Wesleyan wins their program's first National Championship". NAIA. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.