Transition Steps for New Members
Welcome New NAIA Member Institutions!
The NAIA National Office staff will host a new member orientation conference call with your staff to review the required next steps.
If new member institutions need assistance completing the required documentation, please contact Nick Davidson at 816.595.8177, ndavidson@naia.org.
TRANSITION TO THE NAIA
1. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION DUE IMMEDIATELY AFTER APPROVAL
Upon membership approval the following documents are due. Please submit these through the NAIAHelp online reporting system. Access was set up during the application process. See Setting Up and Using NAIA Help for instructions. If assistance is needed, contact Scott Harold.
- Roster of administrative, athletics and coaching staff
- Declaration of Intent to Participate Men and Women's Programs (informational PPT) – Due immediately
- Sunday Competition Declaration (bottom of the Declaration of Intent form) – Due immediately
- Declaration of Inter-term (available at NAIA forms) – Due by September 1
2. MANDATORY INSURANCE ENROLLMENT
- Enroll in the mandatory NAIA catastrophic insurance plan (details and enrollment form).
- A separate email will be sent to all institutions with instructions in May. Due July 15.
3. REGISTER STUDENT-ATHLETES
- PlayNAIA (The NAIA Eligibility Center)
- Access to PlayNAIA.org, NAIA’s Eligibility Center, is behind a portal gateway. Give permission to athletics department staff through NAIAHelp to enable access. Your staff can then start building their short lists. Download the instructions.
- PlayNAIA Overview Webinar
- Eligibility Center Resources:
On the portal administrator homepage find the “Resources” tab to:- Explore each staff role
- Access the Membership Guide to the NAIA Eligibility Center, a comprehensive introduction to Eligibility Center policies and procedure.
- Find other resources such as Fee Waivers, Appeals, EC fees and more.
- Learn which student-athletes need to register. See CFAR Policy III of the handbook.
- New Member Grandfather Provision. If the new member was a member of the NCAA, NJCAA, NCCAA or USCAA during the application year, an exception to the requirement that its current student-athletes register in the eligibility center may be available. See if this provision applies.
- REQUIRED STUDENT-ATHLETE ELGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
The following forms are due prior to competition in each sport, unless otherwise noted. The certification process can be found in the ECP portal on NAIAHelp.
- ECP manual and how-to guides for the forms can be found here.
- Certificate of Clearance
- A decision of eligible from the Eligibility Center for any first-time competitors, as required by CFAR policy
- Official Eligibility Certificate
- Transfer Player Eligibility Statement
- Competitive Experience Outside Intercollegiate Athletics
- TOOLS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETES
All NAIA members are required to register and determine eligibility of international student-athletes through InCred. To get started, contact InCred@naia.org.
4. ADD NAIA LOGO TO YOUR INSTITUTION'S WEBSITE, ATHLETICS AND ADMISSIONS MATERIALS
Your communications and web staff can find the official NAIA bridge logo and the guidelines for its use on the website under Marketing Tools along with videos, radio spots and PA announcements.
5. SPORTS INFORMATION STATISTICAL AND SCORE REPORTING
For Sports Information Director, Athletics Director and Coaches
- PrestoStats is the official statistical provider of the NAIA.
- PrestoSports will contact school SID/AD with specific info on downloading and utilizing PrestoStats software.
- Host schools are responsible for statistics for both the home and visiting team in every game and tournament hosted by your institution. All stats are required to be synced within 72 hours of the conclusion of the contest. For all rules and regulations, please closely review the National Statistical Service section of the NAIA Official Policy Handbook (National Administrative Council, XXV – National Statistical Service).
- For information about PrestoStats go to: https://www.naia.org/sports-information-directors/prestostats
- SIDHelp provides access to the NAIA Scoreboard, the score reporting dashboard at NAIASports.org.
- Upon membership approval (but no later than July 1), your Sports Information Director (or the person serving in this role for each sport), should go to www.naiasports.org/admin to register for access to the SIDHelp system. They will receive an email once their registration has been accepted by the NAIA National Office. Load all schedules and rosters for your school here. All results for games are required to be entered in this system within 24 hours of the conclusion of each contest.
For questions specific to the role of sports information on your campus, please contact Brad Cygan, Director of Athletics Communications at bcygan@naia.org.
6. GETTING STARTED WITH CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER®
- Champions of Character is the NAIA’s flagship character program.
- Campus Character Liaison: Each NAIA Institution should designate one or more individuals as the Champions of Character Liaison. The Champions of Character Liaison page serves as a roadmap the institution’s Champions of Character activities.
- Become familiar with the Champions of Character Scorecard
- Character-Driven Coaching Course: NAIA Bylaws require all NAIA coaches (full time, part time, volunteer, graduate assistant) to complete our online coaches’ course within 60 days of hire, or for new institutional members, by September 1 during the first year of membership.
Contact Ty Dean to get started with Champions of Character.
7. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
The NAIA maintains business relationships with a variety of sponsors and partners who support the mission of the NAIA and offer benefits to NAIA members. Please check out the NAIA National Partners for the official vendor list and consider these partners for services you need.
Take a look at our Partner Connect Page to learn about products and services for NAIA members, NAIA special pricing, and NAIA point of contacts.
8. MEMBERSHIP DUES PAYMENT
Annual membership and football dues invoices are mailed to the institution's accounting department with email notifications to the President and Athletics Director by May 1. Dues payment is due by July 1.
View the full list of membership costs.
9. CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIP
View the list of athletics conferences affiliated with the NAIA. If an institution does not join a conference, by default the new member is required to join the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
10. MEMBER EDUCATION
- NAIA Learning Center
- Log in to NAIA Digitell Inc. and select “On-Campus Staff Training.”
- The Learning Center Guide can be found in the “My Account” tab.
- NAIA 101 – Watch short videos about how the NAIA works. Suggestions for staff included.
