Firehawks Earn No. 7 Seed, UT Southern Meets Tougaloo in NAIA First Round
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 | 4 | 12 | 6-10 | 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 |