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The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. For the 2023-24 season, it had 241 member institutions, of which two are in British Columbia, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the rest in the continental United States, with over 83,000 student-athletes participating. The NAIA, whose headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsors 28 national championships. CBS Sports Network, formerly called CSTV, serves as the national media outlet for the NAIA. In 2014, ESPNU began carrying the NAIA Football National Championship.
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur athlete from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-America team for their sport. Some sports will have multiple All-America teams and will list the honorees as members of a first team, second team, or third team. As such, All-America teams are composed of outstanding US amateur players. Individuals falling short of qualifying for the honor may receive All-America honorable mention. The designation is typically used at the collegiate level, although, beginning in 1957, high school athletes in football began being honored with All-American status, which then carried over to other sports like basketball and cross-country running. The selection criteria vary by sport. Athletes at the high school and college level placed on All-America teams are referred to as All-Americans.
Rawlings Sporting Goods is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Town and Country, Missouri. Founded in 1887, Rawlings currently specializes in baseball and softball clothing and equipment, producing gloves, bats, balls, protective gear, batting helmets, uniforms, bags. Footwear includes sneakers, and sandals. The company also sells other accessories such as belts, wallets, and sunglasses. Former products manufactured by Rawlings included American football, basketball, soccer, and volleyball balls.
Michael Norman Gardner is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, a position he held from 2004 to 2005 and resumed in 2010. Gardner served as the head football coach at Malone University in Canton, Ohio from 2006 to 2009. He was chosen to replace Mike Gottsch after Tabor's winless 2009 season. Gardner's teams achieved postseason play in each of his first five years as a head coach at the college level—the first two years qualifying for the NAIA Football National Championship playoffs and the next three years appearing in the Victory Bowl.
The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest amateur baseball coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Now, the ABCA is composed of over 13,000 baseball coaches from all levels of amateur baseball, including youth, high school, travel ball, NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, and NCAA Divisions I, II and III, among others.
The Saint Francis Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Crossroads League for most of its sports since the 1994–95 academic year ; while its football team competes in the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA).
The 2009 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 18th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.
The NAIA Division II Football National Championship was a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA Division II college football teams in the United States. It was played annually between 1970 and 1996 when NAIA football play was divided into two divisions ; the NAIA Division I Football National Championship was played separately. It was typically held at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The championship was discontinued in 1997 after the two divisions were consolidated once again. The singular NAIA Football National Championship has been held every year since.
The 1971 NAIA Division II football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played on December 11, 1971 in Thousand Oaks, California, on the campus of California Lutheran University.
The 1998 NAIA football season, as part of the 1998 college football season in the United States, was the 43rd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA.
The 2016 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 25th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats of Marion, Indiana over the Saint Francis Cougars of Fort Wayne, Indiana by a score of 69 to 66.
The 2016 NAIA Football National Championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 19 and December 17 of 2016. The tournament concluded on December 17 with a single game, played as the 61st Annual NAIA Football National Championship Presented by Waste Pro. Waste Pro became the newest title game sponsor in an announcement made October 31, 2015. The game featured two teams that had never before won a national championship, the undefeated #2 Baker Wildcats facing the once-beaten #4 Saint Francis Cougars.
The 2017 NAIA Football National Championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 18 and December 16 of 2017. The tournament will conclude on December 16 with a single game, played as the 62nd Annual NAIA Football National Championship. The game featured two undefeated teams that met in the semifinal round of the 2016 tournament, including the defending national champions, the #1-ranked Saint Francis Cougars. Their opponent was the #2-ranked Reinhardt Eagles, in only the 5th year of the program's existence. In the end, it was Saint Francis that prevailed by a final score of 24–13. This was only the 5th time a team has managed back-to-back championships in the history of NAIA football.
The 2018 NAIA Football National Championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 17 and December 15 of 2018. The tournament concluded on December 15 with a single game, played as the 63rd Annual NAIA Football National Championship.
Tim Albin is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Ohio University, a position he has held since the 2021 season. He served as the head football coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 1997 through 1999. He led the 1999 Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers football team to an undefeated 13–0 record, with the season culminating in a NAIA National Championship.
The 2003 Carroll Fighting Saints football team was an American football team that represented Carroll College as a member of the Frontier Conference during the 2003 NAIA football season. In their fifth season under head coach Mike Van Diest, the Saints compiled a perfect 15–0 record and won the NAIA national championship, defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State, 41–28, in the NAIA National Championship Game.
The 1999 Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers football team was an American football team that represented the Northwestern Oklahoma State University as an independent during the 1999 NAIA football season. In their third season under head coach Tim Albin, the Rangers compiled a perfect 13–0 record and won the NAIA national championship.
The 1965 Saint John's Johnnies football team was an American football team that represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1965 NAIA football season. In their 13th season under head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies compiled an 11–0 record and won the MIAC championship. The team advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoff and won the NAIA national championship with a 33–0 victory over Linfield Wildcats in the Champion Bowl. It was the second of four national championships for the Saint John's Johnnies football program under head coach John Gagliardi.
References
- ↑ "NAIA National Football Player of the Year Announced". NAIA. December 17, 2016.
- ↑ "Saint Francis' Ferrer Named National Player of the Year". NAIA. December 16, 2017.
- ↑ "Joe Dolincheck Named Back-To-Back National Player of the Year". naia.org. December 16, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2023.