KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket | Schedule | Tickets] The 86^th Annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship is scheduled to tip-off for the 78^th time in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m. CT. The single-elimination championship runs through March 26. Coined college basketball’s toughest tournament, the national champion must win four games in a six-day span.

The first 14 games of the national championship will be video-streamed live at www.NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming platform. The championship final will air on ESPN3 for the seventh-straight season on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m.

The championship tips off with No. 1-seeded Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) playing in the 1:00 p.m. start on Thursday afternoon, squaring off against No. 5-seeded The Master’s (Calif.) in the Cramer Quadrant. Freed-Hardeman made its ninth all-time appearance overall and is looking for its seventh win in National Championship play. The Lions earned their spot at the final site with a win over Point Park (Pa.) in Henderson, Tenn. The Master’s, which has made its 14^th trip to the national championship, will also be in search of its first national title in team history. The Mustangs emerged out of the Miani Gardens, Fla., with a win over the No. 4-seeded St. Thomas (Fla.). In the win, the Mustangs recorded 122 points, the most in a championship game this season and 10 shy of the NAIA record set in 1966 by Norfolk State (Va.) (132).

Game two of day one will feature the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan facing off against upstart No. 14-seeded Central Baptist (Ark.). Oklahoma Wesleyan punched its ticket with a 76-58 win over No. 10-seeded Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in Wichita, Kan. The Eagles are making their 12^th appearance in the championship field. Central Baptist, on the other hand, has made its fifth appearance in the championship field and earned its first two victories in championship play over the weekend with wins over No. 3-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 11-seeded Bethel (Ind.)

The top seed overall will head into action in the 5:00 p.m. tilt as the Grace (Ind.) will square-off against No. 5-seeded Northwestern (Iowa). The Lancers enter final site play tied for the best overall record in the nation at 32-1. The only loss came on Valentine’s Day to Huntington (Ind.). The Red Raiders, led by Kris Korver, have had one of the most storied basketball histories in the NAIA. Coach Korver led the team to a 25-7 record on the year and a win over No. 4-seeded Oregon Tech in the title game in Orange City, Iowa.

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) will take the court in the nightcap as Coach Austin Johnson has once again led a team into the fray in Kansas City. The Warriors enter final site play with a 24-8 mark and are playing their best basketball at the right time. The team from Lewiston, Idaho earned its spot with an 85-77 win over No. 3-seeded Montana Tech in the second round. They will face a team that has been the talk of the tournament thus far, No. 15-seeded Evangel (Mo.). The Valor defeated No. 2-seeded Florida Memorial in the first round before earning a win over No. 10-seeded Baker (Kan.) by 22.

Of the teams in the 2024 field, six have won a national title in their history. Indiana Wesleyan leads the field with three red banners. College of Idaho and Northwestern both have two, while Evangel, Grace, and Oklahoma Wesleyan have one to call their own.

For more information on the National Championship, go to NAIAHoops.com

Championship Nuggets

• The 86^th NAIA National Championship this year continues the event’s distinction as the oldest national championship basketball tournament in the country. Founded in 1937, the tournament preceded both the National Invitation Tournament (founded in 1938), as well as the NCAA Tournament (founded in 1939), and has produced national champions from 23 states, spanning the nation from Maryland to Hawaii. This year marks the 78^th time the tournament has been contested in Kansas City, including 58 years at historic Municipal Auditorium, extending the city’s long tradition of hosting outstanding championship basketball on all collegiate levels.
• Since the national championship came back to Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium in 2002 (from Tulsa), the national champion teams have been diverse. In that time frame, five unseeded teams won the title while the No. 1 seed only took home the red banner three times – Mountain State (W.Va.) in 2004, Loyola (La.) in 2022 and College of Idaho in 2023. Pikeville (Ky.) was the last unseeded program in 2011 to win the national championship. Overall since 1967, there have been nine No. 1 seeds to win the national championship.
• 2024 is the third year of the true 64-team bracket with teams seeded 1-16 in four quadrants (Naismith, Cramer, Duer and Liston).
• The last team to enter the championship with an undefeated season record was Columbia (Mo.) in 2013. The 33-0 Cougars ended up losing in the Quarterfinal round to LSU Shreveport (La.). Overall, two previous programs have won the championship title with a perfect record, with Oklahoma City in 1992 and Central State (Ohio) in 1965.
• Recent NAIA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame honorees have included legends such as Scottie Pippen (player), Terry Porter (player), Travis Grant (player), Clarence “Bevo” Francis (player), Bob Burchard (coach), Steve Jenkins (coach) and Rocky Lamar (coach).
• The state of Oklahoma claims the most championship titles with 11 followed by Missouri with eight. Oklahoma City University has won six national championships, the most of any institution. The Stars won consecutive titles on two occasions (1991-92 and 2007-08).
• There have been 48 states represented in the national championship -- Alaska and Wyoming are two states not represented.
• Seed Records by the numbers in 2024

• • No. 1: 8-0
  • No. 2: 6-1
  • No. 3: 5-2
  • No. 4: 3-4
  • No. 5: 6-1
  • No. 6: 1-4
  • No. 7: 2-4
  • No. 8: 3-4
  • No. 9: 1-4
  • No. 10: 2-4
  • No. 11: 4-3
  • No. 12: 2-3
  • No. 13: 1-4
  • No. 14: 2-3
  • No. 15: 2-3
  • No. 16: 0-4