Men's Basketball - Grace College
Courtesy: Grace (Ind.) Athletics/Crossroads League

2024 Men’s Basketball National Championship National Championship Field Announced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [First/Second Round Schedule | Bracket Reveal | Official Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 64-team field and pairings for the 2024 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship. The tournament will begin with the 2024 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy, on March 15 at host sites throughout the country.

The 16 winners at each of these sites will advance to the 2024 NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., at the 86th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, March 21-26. For more information on the national championship, click here.

The field consists of 36 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular season champions, regular season runners-up, tournament champions, or tournament runners-up, depending on the league. The number teams in each league determines the number of automatic bids in each conference. Leagues with 10 or more schools receive two automatic berths, while conferences with less than 10 institutions receive one.

At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the past president of the NAIA-Men’s Basketball Coaches Association and four at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.

For more information on NAIA Men’s Basketball, click here.

 

First & Second Round Notes

• Overall, there are 37 repeat qualifiers from the 2023 field.

• Grace (Ind.) and Langston (Okla.) boasts the highest win total in the field with 30 victories each on the year.

• Georgetown (Ky.) leads the field with its 43rd appearance in the men’s basketball championship field. Northwestern (Iowa) and College of Idaho both have 26 appearances while both Columbia (Mo.) checks-in with 24. Overall, there are 10 institutions with at least 20 appearances.

• There are two newcomers to the National Championship in this year’s field in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) and Texas College.

• There are four conferences with five representatives in the field (Crossroads League, Golden State Athletic Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference, The Sun Conference).

• 10 teams of the 64 in the field have captured a red banner in their history. Bethel (Ind.), Cornerstone (Mich.), Georgetown (Ky.), Indiana Wesleyan and Oregon Tech lead those with three national titles each.

Institution Qualifying Method 2024 Record Last Time Consecutive Appearances Championship Record Conference
Antelope Valley (Calif.) Cal Pac Regular Season/Tournament Champion 26-4 2023 2 5 2-3 California Pacific Conference
Arizona Christian Golden State Tournament Champion 23-7 2023 6 10 11-8 Golden State Athletic Conference
Ave Maria (Fla.) At-Large 21-9 2019 1 2 0-1 The Sun Conference
Baker (Kan.) At-Large 22-9 2023 2 6 0-5 Heart of America Athletic Conference
Bellevue (Neb.) North Star Tournament Champion 15-15 2022 1 22 24-21 North Star Athletic Association
Bethel (Ind.) At-Large 19-10 2023 2 19 35-15 Crossroads League
Carroll (Mont.) At-Large 19-11 2022 1 17 20-15 Frontier Conference
Central Baptist (Ark.) AMC Tournament Champion 25-6 2021 1 5 0-3 American Midwest Conference
College of Idaho Cascade Regular Season Champion 28-3 2023 3 26 34-22 Cascade Collegiate Conference
Columbia (Mo.) At-Large 24-6 2023 2 24 13-23 American Midwest Conference
Concordia (Neb.) At-Large 23-7 2022 1 13 14-12 Great Plains Athletic Conference
Cornerstone (Mich.) WHAC Tournament Champion 24-7 2019 1 18 40-14 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
Cumberlands (Ky.) At-Large 26-4 2022 1 31 17-29 Mid-South Conference
Dordt (Iowa) At-Large 19-10 2023 3 8 7-8 Great Plains Athletic Conference
Evangel (Mo.) At-Large 18-10 2023 3 16 14-14 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Florida College Continental Tournament Champion 27-4 2023 3 3 2-2 Continental Athletic Conference
Florida Memorial The Sun Tournament Champion 24-6 2022 1 4 2-3 The Sun Conference
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) Mid-South Tournament Champion 26-4 2023 3 9 4-8 Mid-South Conference
Georgetown (Ky.) At-Large 23-7 2023 33 43 77-40 Mid-South Conference
Grace (Ind.) Crossroads Regular Season/Tournament Champion 30-1 2023 3 13 18-10 Crossroads League
Hastings (Neb.) GPAC Tournament Champion 23-8 2010 1 15 9-14 Great Plains Athletic Conference
Hope International (Calif.) At-Large 21-9 2023 2 10 6-8 Golden State Athletic Conference
Huntington (Ind.) At-Large 21-9 2023 3 11 12-10 Crossroads League
Indiana Northwest Chicagoland Tournament Champion 21-10 2022 1 2 0-1 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads Regular Season Runner-Up 26-5 2023 16 17 35-12 Crossroads League
Jessup (Calif.) At-Large 18-11 2022 1 5 4-4 Golden State Athletic Conference
Kansas Wesleyan KCAC Tournament No. 2-seed 23-8 2023 3 8 5-7 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Keiser (Fla.) At-Large 18-10 2021 1 13 13-12 The Sun Conference
Langston (Okla.) Sooner Regular Season/Tournament Champion 30-1 2023 2 8 5-7 Sooner Athletic Conference
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) At-Large 22-8 2022 1 18 10-16 Cascade Collegiate Conference
Lourdes (Ohio) At-Large 22-6 2023 3 5 0-4 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
Loyola (La.) SSAC Tournament Champion 14-17 2023 6 10 15-7 Southern States Athletic Conference
LSU Alexandria (La.) RRAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion 24-6 2022 1 9 10-7 Red River Athletic Conference
LSU Shreveport (La.) At-Large 22-8 2023 19 19 16-18 Red River Athletic Conference
Madonna (Mich.) WHAC Regular Season Champion 25-6 2023 2 5 1-4 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
Marian (Ind.) At-Large 23-7 2023 7 11 12-8 Crossroads League
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) Sooner Tournament Runner-Up 23-8 2022 1 7 9-4 Sooner Athletic Conference
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) Heart Regular Season Champion 25-5 2023 2 21 34-18 Heart of America Athletic Conference
Montana Tech Frontier Tournament Champion 26-4 2023 3 5 4-4 Frontier Conference
Morningside (Iowa) At-Large 21-9 2023 2 20 18-18 Great Plains Athletic Conference
Northwestern (Iowa) GPAC Regular Season Champion 23-7 2022 1 26 31-23 Great Plains Athletic Conference
Oklahoma Wesleyan KCAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion 29-2 2023 7 12 20-9 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) At-Large 22-8 2023 4 23 13-22 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Oregon Tech Cascade Tournament Champion 26-5 2022 1 22 39-18 Cascade Collegiate Conference
OUAZ (Ariz.) At-Large 19-10 2023 2 3 5-2 Golden State Athletic Conference
Peru State (Neb.) Heart Tournament Champion 20-11 2023 2 20 9-20 Heart of America Athletic Conference
Philander Smith (Ark.) GCAC Tournament Champion 21-8 2015 1 4 0-3 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
Pikeville (Ky.) AAC Regular Season Second Place 23-7 2023 2 16 16-13 Appalachian Athletic Conference
Point Park (Pa.) RSC Overall No. 1-seed/Tournament Champion 29-2 2007 1 6 4-5 River States Conference
Roosevelt (Ill.) Chicagoland Regular Season Champion 25-4 2018 1 2 0-1 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
SAGU (Texas) At-Large 20-9 2022 1 11 10-9 Sooner Athletic Conference
Saint Katherine (Calif.) Cal Pac Tournament Runner-Up 23-8 2022 1 2 0-1 California Pacific Conference
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) RSC Tournament Runner-Up 25-6 N/A 1 1 0-0 River States Conference
Shawnee State (Ohio) At-Large 20-9 2023 2 4 5-1 River States Conference
Southwestern (Kan.) At-Large 24-5 2023 3 14 15-12 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
St. Thomas (Fla.) At-Large 21-8 2023 2 10 6-9 The Sun Conference
Tennessee Southern SSAC Regular Season Champion 26-5 2022 1 12 9-11 Southern States Athletic Conference
Texas College RRAC Second-Highest ARC Ranked Team 22-8 N/A 1 1 0-0 Red River Athletic Conference
The Master's (Calif.) At-Large 22-8 2023 2 13 7-11 Golden State Athletic Conference
Tougaloo (Miss.) GCAC Regular Season Champion 23-6 2023 2 10 5-8 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
Union (Ky.) AAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion 25-6 2023 11 13 6-11 Appalachian Athletic Conference
Washington Adventist (Md.) Continental Tournament Runner-Up 18-10 2022 1 7 0-6 Continental Athletic Conference (Independents)
Wayland Baptist (Texas) At-Large 21-9 2023 2 22 11-20 Sooner Athletic Conference
Webber International (Fla.) At-Large 20-10 1995 1 4 0-3 The Sun Conference