NAIA Women's Basketball Championships
Current season, competition or edition: | |
| 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 (2004–2019) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Westmont College |
| Most titles | D-I: Oklahoma City University (9) D-II: Northwestern (Iowa) (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN 3 (national) |
| Related competitions | NAIA Men's Basketball Championships |
| Official website | NAIA.org NAIA Women's Basketball |
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 (Sioux City, Iowa in one division and previously D-II, and formerly Billings, Montana in D-I). 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.
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.
| Year | Arena | Location | Champion | Score | Runner-Up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Details |
Kansas City, Missouri | Unknown venue | 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 | ||||
Two divisions (1992–2020)[]
Division I[]
The NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament was 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 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.
| Year | Arena | Location | Champion | Score | Runner-Up | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Southern Nazarene (5) | 78–73 | Union (TN) | Arkansas Tech & SW Oklahoma State | ||
| 1998 |
Union (TN) | 73–70 | Southern Nazarene | Findlay & Simon Fraser | ||
| 1999 |
Oklahoma City (2) | 72–55 | Simon Fraser | Freed-Hardeman & Southern Nazarene | ||
| 2000 |
Oklahoma City (3) | 64–55 | Simon Fraser (B.C.) | Findlay & Southern Nazarene | ||
| 2001 |
Oklahoma City (4) | 69–52 | Auburn Montgomery | Lewis–Clark State & Southern Nazarene | ||
| 2002 |
Oklahoma City (5) | 82–73 | Southern Nazarene | Central State (OH) & Union (TN) | ||
| 2003 |
Southern Nazarene (6) | 71–70 | Oklahoma City | USAO & Vanguard | ||
| 2004 |
Southern Nazarene (7) | 77–61 | Oklahoma City | Brescia & Houston Baptist | ||
| 2005 |
Union (TN) (2) | 67–63 | Oklahoma City | Houston Baptist & Point Loma Nazarene | ||
| 2006 |
Union (TN) (3) | 79–62 | Lubbock Christian | The Master's & Vanguard | ||
| 2007 |
Lambuth | 63���50 | Cumberland | Union (TN) & Vanguard | ||
| 2008 |
Vanguard | 72–59 | Trevecca Nazarene | Freed-Hardeman & Union (TN) | ||
| 2009 |
Union (TN) (4) | 73–63 | Lambuth | Oklahoma Baptist & Oklahoma City | ||
| 2010 |
Union (TN) (5) | 73–65 | Azusa Pacific | Lee (TN) & Oklahoma City | ||
| 2011 |
Azusa Pacific | 65–59 | Union (TN) | Freed-Hardeman & Shawnee State | ||
| 2012 |
Frankfort Convention Center | Frankfort, Kentucky | Oklahoma City (6) | 69–48 | Union (TN) | Georgetown (KY) & Lubbock Christian |
| 2013 |
Westmont | 71–65 | Lee (TN) | Cumberland & Freed-Hardeman | ||
| 2014 |
Oklahoma City (7) | 80–76 | Freed-Hardeman[2] | John Brown & Wiley | ||
| 2015 |
Independence Events Center | Independence, Missouri[3] | Oklahoma City (8) | 80–63 | Campbellsville | Freed-Hardeman & Westmont |
| 2016 |
MidAmerica Nazarene | 49–35 | Baker[4] | Benedictine (KS) & Pikeville | ||
| 2017 |
Rimrock Auto Arena | Billings, Montana | Oklahoma City (9) | 73–66 | Lewis-Clark State | Campbellsville & Vanguard |
| 2018 |
Freed-Hardeman | 76–64 | Westmont[5] | Montana Western & Wayland Baptist | ||
| 2019 |
Montana Western | 75–59 | Oklahoma City | Our Lady of the Lake & Freed-Hardeman | ||
| 2020 |
No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||||
|} # 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.[6] 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.[7] 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 |
| Northern State (S.D.) | 73–56 | Tarleton State (Texas) | Monmouth, Oregon | ||
| Northern Montana | 71–68 | Northern State (S.D.) | |||
| Northern State (S.D.) | 48–45 | Western Oregon | |||
| Western Oregon | 75–67 | Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) | |||
| Western Oregon | 80–77 | Huron (S.D.) | Angola, Indiana | ||
| Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) | 64–46 | Black Hills State (S.D.) | |||
| Walsh (Ohio) | 73–66 | Mary Hardin–Baylor (Texas) | Sioux City Auditorium | Sioux City, Iowa | |
| Shawnee State (Ohio) | 80–65 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | |||
| Mary (N.D.) | 59–49 | Northwestern (Iowa) | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | 77–50 | Albertson (Idaho) | |||
| Hastings (Neb.) | 73–69 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | |||
| Hastings (Neb.) | 59–53 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | |||
| Morningside (Iowa) | 87–74 | Cedarville (Ohio) | Tyson Events Center / Gateway Arena | ||
| Morningside (Iowa) | 75–65 | Cedarville (Ohio) | |||
| Hastings (Neb.) | 58–39 | Ozarks (Mo.) | |||
| Indiana Wesleyan* | 48–34 | Ozarks (Mo.) | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | 82–75 | Ozarks (Mo.) | |||
| Morningside (Iowa)* | 68–62 | Hastings (Neb.) | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | 85–66 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | 88–83 | Davenport (Mich.) | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | 75–62 | Ozarks (Mo.) | |||
| Indiana Wesleyan | 61–43 | Davenport (MI) | |||
| Saint Francis (Ind.)* | 75–68 | Ozarks (Mo.)[8] | |||
| Morningside (Iowa) | 59–57 | Concordia (Neb.)[9] | |||
| Marian (Ind.) | 59–48 | Southern Oregon[10] | |||
| Marian (Ind.) | 66–52 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | |||
| Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 82–59 | Concordia (Neb.)[11] | |||
| Concordia (Neb.) | 67–59 | Southeastern (Fla.) | |||
| 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.
Single division (2021–present)[]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westmont (Calif.) | 72–61 | Thomas More (Ky.) | Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa[12] | |
| 2022 | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
| 2023 | |||||
| 2024 |
Championships by school[]
Division I/Single Division[]
- 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 | 5 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990 |
| Union (Tenn.) | 5 | 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| Westmont (Calif.) | 2 | 2013, 2021 |
| 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 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 1 | 2016 |
| Freed–Hardeman | 1 | 2018 |
| Montana Western | 1 | 2019 |
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 |
See also[]
- 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
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sioux City selected to host 2021 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship". KTIV.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- NAIA championships
- NAIA Women's Basketball Championships
- College women's basketball competitions in the United States
- Postseason college basketball competitions in the United States
- NAIA basketball