NAIA Relocates to New Downtown Location
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time since 2007, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) will not call 1200 Grand home. The 'Experts in Small College Athletics' announced its official move to 12th and Wyandotte in the Twelve Wyandotte Plaza, where it will occupy the seventh floor.
The NAIA has been a longstanding resident of the Kansas City region, with the exception of a brief tenure in Tulsa, Okla. (1993-2001). Prior to and since that point, the collegiate association has called the Kansas City region home. Beginning in 1957, the association established its first stand-alone offices in Kansas City at the Aladdin Hotel, moving from then Pepperdine College in Los Angeles where its executive offices held residence on-campus.
From 1957 through 1993, downtown Kansas City was home to the NAIA, until its eight-year stint in Tulsa, Okla. The association returned in 2001 when it moved to offices in Olathe, Kan. After six years there, it returned to downtown at 1200 Grand in 2007.
Over the course of time since moving to its space at 1200 Grand, the NAIA has seen exponential growth, adding the NAIA Eligibility Center in that time, which employs nearly half of the staff at the association. Additions have included its international credentials wing InCred, and one of the first eSports collegiate athletics associations, the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). All housed under the umbrella of the NAIA. For a virtual tour, click HERE.
The NAIA is the governing collegiate athletics association for 250 small colleges and universities throughout the country. The association sponsors 27 national championships to date.
ABOUT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS (NAIA) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 77,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $800 million in scholarships and compete in 27 national championships. naia.org | @NAIA