NAIA Division II men's basketball championship

NAIA Division II men's basketball championship
SportCollege basketball
Founded1992
Ceased2020
No. of teams20 (1992–93)
24 (1994)
32 (1995–2019)
Venue(s)Stephenville, Texas
Nampa, Idaho
Point Lookout, Missouri
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Most titlesBethel (IN) (3)
Cornerstone (3)
Indiana Wesleyan (3)
Oregon Tech (3)

The NAIA Division II men's basketball championship is the former tournament held by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to determine the national champion of men's college basketball among its Division II members in the United States and Canada. The tournament was held annually from 1992 to 2019, after which the NAIA consolidated its two divisions, returning to the single national championship for men's and women's basketball that it held between the event's establishment in 1937 and the division split in 1992.[1]

Over its twenty-eight year history, the tournament was played in four different cities and at five different venues. Unlike the NCAA's annual basketball tournaments, where games are played at an assortment of regional sites over the course of several weeks, all NAIA tournament games were played at a single, centralized arena.[2][3][4][5]

Bethel (IN), Cornerstone, Indiana Wesleyan, and Oregon Tech won the most NAIA Division II national titles, with three each.

Results

NAIA Division II men's basketball championship
Year Arena Location Championship Semifinalists
Champion Score Runner-up
1992
Details
Wisdom Gym Stephenville, Texas Grace 85–79 (OT) Northwestern (IA) Concordia (NE) & Dakota State
1993
Details
Montgomery Fieldhouse Nampa, Idaho Willamette 63–56 Northern State (SD) Northwest Nazarene & William Jewell
1994
Details
Eureka 98–95 (OT) Northern State (SD) Lewis & Clark & Northwest Nazarene
1995
Details
Bethel (IN) 103–95 (OT) Northwest Nazarene Northern State & William Jewell
1996
Details
Albertson 81–72 (OT) Whitworth Walsh & William Jewell
1997
Details
Bethel (IN) (2) 95–94 Siena Heights Tabor & William Jewell
1998
Details
Idaho Center Bethel (IN) (3) 89–87 Oregon Tech Mount Marty & Northwest Nazarene
1999
Details
Cornerstone 113–109 Bethel (IN) Berea & Mount Senario
2000
Details
Keeter Gymnasium Point Lookout, Missouri Embry–Riddle (FL) 75–63 College of the Ozarks Huntington & Siena Heights
2001
Details
Northwestern (IA) 82–78 MidAmerica Nazarene Cornerstone & Rio Grande
2002
Details
Evangel 84–61 Robert Morris (IL) Cornerstone & Northwestern (IA)
2003
Details
Northwestern (IA) (2) 77–57 Bethany (KS) Cornerstone & Warner Southern
2004
Details
Oregon Tech 81–72 Bellevue St. Ambrose & Sioux Falls
2005
Details
Walsh 81–70 Concordia (NE) Cedarville & Oregon Tech
2006
Details
College of the Ozarks 74–56 Huntington Lindenwood & MidAmerica Nazarene
2007
Details
MidAmerica Nazarene 78–60 Mayville State Northwest & Northwestern (IA)
2008
Details
Oregon Tech (2) 63–56 Bellevue MidAmerican Nazarene & Northwestern (IA)
2009
Details
Oklahoma Wesleyan 60–53 College of the Ozarks Bethel (IN) & Black Hills State
2010
Details
Saint Francis (IN) 67–66 Walsh Bellevue & Oklahoma Wesleyan
2011
Details
Cornerstone (2) 80–71 Saint Francis (IN) College of the Ozarks & Northwood
2012
Details
Oregon Tech (3) 63–46 Northwood Davenport & McPherson
2013
Details
Cardinal Stritch 73–59 William Penn Indiana–Southeast & Grace
2014
Details
Indiana Wesleyan 78–68 Midland Robert Morris (IL) & Southeastern (FL)
2015
Details
Cornerstone (3) 66–45 Dakota Wesleyan Davenport & Embry-Riddle (FL)
2016
Details
Indiana Wesleyan (2) 69–66 Saint Francis (IN) Indiana–East & Warner
2017
Details
Union (KY) 72–69 Cornerstone Bellevue & Indiana Wesleyan
2018
Details
Sanford Pentagon Sioux Falls, South Dakota Indiana Wesleyan (3) 84–71 Saint Francis (IN) Indiana–East & College of Idaho
2019
Details
Spring Arbor 82–76 Oregon Tech College of Idaho & Marian
2020
Details
No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Champions

School Finals
record
Finals
appearances
Years
Indiana Wesleyan 3–0 3 2014, 2016, 2018
Cornerstone 3–1 4 1999, 2011, 2015
Oregon Tech 3–2 5 2004, 2008, 2012
Bethel (IN) 3–1 4 1995, 1997, 1998
Northwestern (IA) 2–1 3 2001, 2003
Spring Arbor 1–0 1 2019
Union (KY) 1–0 1 2017
Cardinal Stritch 1–0 1 2013
Saint Francis (IN) 1–3 4 2010
Oklahoma Wesleyan 1–0 1 2009
MidAmerica Nazarene 1–1 2 2007
College of the Ozarks 1–2 3 2006
Walsh 1–1 2 2005
Evangel 1–0 1 2002
Embry–Riddle 1–0 1 2000
College of Idaho 1–0 1 1996
Eureka 1–0 1 1994
Willamette 1–0 1 1993
Grace 1–0 1 1992
  • Schools highlighted in yellow have reclassified athletics from the NAIA.

See also

References

  1. ^ "NAIA to Combine Basketball Divisions" (Press release). NAIA. April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. ^ NAIA Men's Division II Championship History
  4. ^ "Anthem protest policy moves NAIA basketball tournament away from College of the Ozarks". Springfield News-Leader. October 27, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Awarded to Sioux Falls, S.D." NAIA. November 17, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.