NAIA Tournament

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brewcrew1000
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NAIA Tournament

Post by brewcrew1000 »

Saw this NY Times article pop up, i think Visit KC linked it or something but never really knew about the NAIA tournament before, i didn't realize it was so crazy. I really need to check out this tournament sometime. Seems like a cool event but something not really talked about or supported by the local community.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/spor ... 1-gym.html
kcjak
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by kcjak »

Sad that this gets overshadowed by the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments - wish it got more coverage by the local media or at least better signage in the CBD.
aknowledgeableperson
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

The NBA use to have 7 or 8 rounds in its annual college draft. At the NAIA tournament one could usually see one, two, or even three players who would be drafted playing for one of the schools. So many people would take a week's worth of vacation to come and see the games.
Of course many of the top schools in the NAIA back then have switched to DII of the NCAA.
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FangKC
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by FangKC »

This explains all the drunk people I saw stumbling around Westport in the middle of the day Thursday. :D
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StL_Dan
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by StL_Dan »

When the the Heart of America Athletic Conference's (re-named Heart of America Conference or "HAC") teams moved to Division I from NAIA Division II for the 2008-09 season (can't belive it's been almost10 years already), the NAIA granted the HAC three auto bids to the national tournament. All other conferences receive two. This was done to increase visibility, attendance and overall support of the tournament by "local" teams. MNU, Baker, Benedictine, Missouri Valley, Evangel and Graceland to name a few. (Jewell transitioned into NCAA DIII a few years before).

At the time, MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe was the perennial power having won the Division II national championship at CofO in Point Lookout (Branson) in 2007. The NAIA was almost immediately rewarded when MNU went on to three Final Four appearances at Municipal between 2009 and 2016. Other teams have also made deep runs during that time, as well.

Being an MNU grad, I've been to every session and game MNU was a part of during those years, plus additional sessions.

The vibe is awesome. If you are a college backetball junkie - Municipal is THE place for you. Tickets are inexpensive and an all tournament pass can be had for around $100. That gets you into a 32 team tournament in which a champion is crowned within 7 calendar days.

NAIA DI Men's Basketball Championship LINK
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normalthings
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by normalthings »

StL_Dan wrote:When the the Heart of America Athletic Conference's (re-named Heart of America Conference or "HAC") teams moved to Division I from NAIA Division II for the 2008-09 season (can't belive it's been almost10 years already), the NAIA granted the HAC three auto bids to the national tournament. All other conferences receive two. This was done to increase visibility, attendance and overall support of the tournament by "local" teams. MNU, Baker, Benedictine, Missouri Valley, Evangel and Graceland to name a few. (Jewell transitioned into NCAA DIII a few years before).

At the time, MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe was the perennial power having won the Division II national championship at CofO in Point Lookout (Branson) in 2007. The NAIA was almost immediately rewarded when MNU went on to three Final Four appearances at Municipal between 2009 and 2016. Other teams have also made deep runs during that time, as well.

Being an MNU grad, I've been to every session and game MNU was a part of during those years, plus additional sessions.

The vibe is awesome. If you are a college backetball junkie - Municipal is THE place for you. Tickets are inexpensive and an all tournament pass can be had for around $100. That gets you into a 32 team tournament in which a champion is crowned within 7 calendar days.

NAIA DI Men's Basketball Championship LINK
What is the benefit of NCAA D3 or even D2 over NAIA D1?
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StL_Dan
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by StL_Dan »

The NAIA and Heart of America Athletic Conference have reached a four-year agreement to keep the NAIA men’s basketball tournament in Kansas City through 2024.

As previously reported, the extension will encompass the NAIA merging its 94 Division I members and 138 Division II members into a single classification and creating a 64-team national tournament in 2021. The 64-team men’s tournament will commence with 16 four-team regionals and conclude with the 16 winners advancing to Municipal Auditorium, replacing the traditional 32-team Division I tournament.
kansascity.com article
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WSPanic
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by WSPanic »

I haven't been in years, but it's a blast if you can get down there for a few games. If memory serves, there's some sort of running clock situation, so the games are like an hour long. At most.

It's a great place to see players that, for whatever reason, didn't go D1/D2. There's usually some sort of inexperienced seven-footer that towers over players but hasn't been playing that long. Or some good point guards that just weren't tall enough to get looks from bigger schools. Or maybe 6'3" wing player that looks really good, but couldn't cut it around much bigger/stronger players. Just a ton of fun.

You also can't beat Municipal as a venue for college hoops. If you haven't been, you need to.
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wahoowa
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Re: NAIA Tournament

Post by wahoowa »

normalthings wrote: Thu May 03, 2018 2:06 pm
StL_Dan wrote:When the the Heart of America Athletic Conference's (re-named Heart of America Conference or "HAC") teams moved to Division I from NAIA Division II for the 2008-09 season (can't belive it's been almost10 years already), the NAIA granted the HAC three auto bids to the national tournament. All other conferences receive two. This was done to increase visibility, attendance and overall support of the tournament by "local" teams. MNU, Baker, Benedictine, Missouri Valley, Evangel and Graceland to name a few. (Jewell transitioned into NCAA DIII a few years before).

At the time, MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe was the perennial power having won the Division II national championship at CofO in Point Lookout (Branson) in 2007. The NAIA was almost immediately rewarded when MNU went on to three Final Four appearances at Municipal between 2009 and 2016. Other teams have also made deep runs during that time, as well.

Being an MNU grad, I've been to every session and game MNU was a part of during those years, plus additional sessions.

The vibe is awesome. If you are a college backetball junkie - Municipal is THE place for you. Tickets are inexpensive and an all tournament pass can be had for around $100. That gets you into a 32 team tournament in which a champion is crowned within 7 calendar days.

NAIA DI Men's Basketball Championship LINK
What is the benefit of NCAA D3 or even D2 over NAIA D1?
the way i've heard it explained is that differing scholarship levels wag the tail of this dog, and scholarship availability/level roughly goes, in increasing order, D3 -> NAIA(D1) -> D2 -> D1. players/coaches/teams will want higher scholarship levels, administrations will want to cut that budget.
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