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NAIA women's basketball championship
College basketball tournament
College basketball tournament
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| current_season | 2025 NAIA women's basketball tournament |
| logo | National_Association_of_Intercollegiate_Athletics_logo.svg |
| logo_size | 200 |
| country | United States |
| last_season | 2024 |
| upcoming_season | 2025 |
| sport | Basketball |
| founded | 1981 |
| motto | Passion. Tradition. History. |
| divisions | 1 |
| 2 (1992–2020) | |
| teams | 64 |
| 32 (1992–2020) | |
| venue | Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark; Tyson Events Center (2004–2022) |
| champion | Dordt (2nd) |
| most_champs | D-I: Oklahoma City (9) |
| D-II: Northwestern (IA) (5) | |
| Single division: Southwestern Oklahoma State (6) | |
| tv | ESPN 3 (national) |
| related_comps | NAIA Men's Basketball Championships |
| website |
2 (1992–2020) 32 (1992–2020) D-II: Northwestern (IA) (5) Single division: Southwestern Oklahoma State (6)
The NAIA women's basketball tournament has been held annually by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics since 1981 to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its members in the United States and Canada.
The tournament was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities, debuting one year before the first NCAA women's basketball tournament in 1982.
From 1992 to 2020, the NAIA sponsored two championships, one for its Division I members and another for those in its Division II. Both tournaments moved venues several times during the existences, with the final locations ultimately being Billings, Montana for Division I and Sioux City, Iowa for Division II. During this time, the NAIA tournaments featured 32 teams with the entire events contested at a single arena over the course of one week. Following renewals, the 2018 and 2019 tournaments were held in those same cities, but the 2020 tournaments were called off due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
From 2021, the two tournaments were merged back into a single event, which initially featured 48 teams in 2021 before expanding to 64 teams in 2022. Since the expansion of the tournament to its current size, the format of the event has featured teams beginning play at one of sixteen regional sites with the winners of those regionals advancing to play in a final, four-round national tournament in Sioux City.
Dordt are the defending champions, winning their first national title in 2024, and again in 2025.
Results
Single division (1981–1991)
For the first eleven years that the NAIA sponsored women's basketball, it held a single national championship for all programs across its entire membership. The tournament field was initially set at eight before later expansions to 16 and 32 teams.
| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics | color=white}} colspan=11 | NAIA Women's Basketball Championship | Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Third-place game | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Kansas City, Missouri | Venue Unknown | Kentucky State | 73–67 | Texas Southern | Northern State | 74–65 | Azusa Pacific | |||||
| 1982 | |||||||||||||
| Details | SW Oklahoma State | 80–45 | Missouri Southern State | Saginaw Valley State | 71–61 | Berry | |||||||
| 1983 | |||||||||||||
| Details | SW Oklahoma State (2) | 80–68 | Alabama–Huntsville | UMKC | 85–65 | Portland | |||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | UNC Asheville | 72–70 (OT) | Portland | Dillard | 70–66 | Berry | ||||||
| 1985 | |||||||||||||
| Details | SW Oklahoma State (3) | 55–54 | Saginaw Valley State | Wayland Baptist | 70–64 | Midland Lutheran | |||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Kansas City, Missouri | Francis Marion | 75–65 | Wayland Baptist | Louisiana College | 85–78 | Georgia Southwestern | ||||||
| 1987 | |||||||||||||
| Details | SW Oklahoma State (4) | 60–58 | North Georgia | Wisconsin–Green Bay | 82–56 | Arkansas Tech | |||||||
| 1988 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City | 113–95 | Claflin | Arkansas Tech | 86–81 | ||||||||
| (OT) | Wingate | ||||||||||||
| 1989 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene | 98–96 | Claflin | Arkansas Tech & St. Ambrose | |||||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Jackson, Tennessee | Oman Arena | SW Oklahoma State (5) | 82–75 | Arkansas–Monticello | Claflin & St. Ambrose | |||||||
| 1991 | |||||||||||||
| Details | Fort Hays State | 57–53 | SW Oklahoma State | Claflin & IUPUI |
Division I (1992–2020)
The NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament was most recently held at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings, Montana, which hosted from 2017 until the return to a single division after the 2019–20 season. The NAIA was the only international intercollegiate athletic association in North America; the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship was the first championship to feature a college from outside the United States in the championship game. Former member Simon Fraser University was the national DI runner-up in 1996 and 1997. Oklahoma City University has the most tournament championships with 9, and most championship game appearances with 11.
| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics | color=white}} colspan=9 | NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship | Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Semifinalists | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oman Arena | Jackson, Tennessee | Arkansas Tech | 84–68 | Wayland Baptist | St. Edward's (TX) & SW Oklahoma State | ||||
| 1993 | ||||||||||
| Details | Arkansas Tech (2) | 76–75 | Union (TN) | Southern Nazarene & SW Oklahoma State | ||||||
| 1994 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (2) | 97–74 | David Lipscomb | Auburn Montgomery & Montevallo | ||||||
| 1995 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (3) | 78–77 | SE Oklahoma State | Lipscomb & SW Oklahoma State | ||||||
| 1996 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (4) | 80–79 | SE Oklahoma State | Lipscomb & Union (TN) | ||||||
| 1997 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (5) | 78–73 | Union (TN) | Arkansas Tech & SW Oklahoma State | ||||||
| 1998 | ||||||||||
| Details | Union (TN) | 73–70 | Southern Nazarene | Findlay & Simon Fraser | ||||||
| 1999 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City (2) | 72–55 | Simon Fraser | Freed-Hardeman & Southern Nazarene | ||||||
| 2000 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City (3) | 64–55 | Simon Fraser (B.C.) | Findlay & Southern Nazarene | ||||||
| 2001 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City (4) | 69–52 | Auburn Montgomery | Lewis–Clark State & Southern Nazarene | ||||||
| 2002 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City (5) | 82–73 | Southern Nazarene | Central State (OH) & Union (TN) | ||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (6) | 71–70 | Oklahoma City | USAO & Vanguard | ||||||
| 2004 | ||||||||||
| Details | Southern Nazarene (7) | 77–61 | Oklahoma City | Brescia & Houston Baptist | ||||||
| 2005 | ||||||||||
| Details | Union (TN) (2) | 67–63 | Oklahoma City | Houston Baptist & Point Loma Nazarene | ||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||||
| Details | Union (TN) (3) | 79–62 | Lubbock Christian | The Master's & Vanguard | ||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||||
| Details | Lambuth | 63–50 | Cumberland | Union (TN) & Vanguard | ||||||
| 2008 | ||||||||||
| Details | Vanguard | 72–59 | Trevecca Nazarene | Freed-Hardeman & Union (TN) | ||||||
| 2009 | ||||||||||
| Details | Union (TN) (4) | 73–63 | Lambuth | Oklahoma Baptist & Oklahoma City | ||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||||
| Details | Union (TN) (5) | 73–65 | Azusa Pacific | Lee (TN) & Oklahoma City | ||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||||
| Details | Azusa Pacific | 65–59 | Union (TN) | Freed-Hardeman & Shawnee State | ||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||||
| Details | Frankfort Convention Center | Frankfort, Kentucky | Oklahoma City (6) | 69–48 | Union (TN) | Georgetown (KY) & Lubbock Christian | ||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||
| Details | Westmont | 71–65 | Lee (TN) | Cumberland & Freed-Hardeman | ||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||
| Details | Oklahoma City (7) | 80–76 | Freed-Hardeman | John Brown & Wiley | ||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||
| Details | Independence Events Center | Independence, Missouri | Oklahoma City (8) | 80–63 | Campbellsville | Freed-Hardeman & Westmont | ||||
| 2016 | ||||||||||
| Details | MidAmerica Nazarene | 49–35 | Baker | Benedictine (KS) & Pikeville | ||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||
| Details | Rimrock Auto Arena | Billings, Montana | Oklahoma City (9) | 73–66 | Lewis-Clark State | Campbellsville & Vanguard | ||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||
| Details | Freed-Hardeman | 76–64 | Westmont | Montana Western & Wayland Baptist | ||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||
| Details | Montana Western | 75–59 | Oklahoma City | Our Lady of the Lake & Freed-Hardeman | ||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||
| Details | No tournament due to COVID-19. |
Single division (2021–present)
In 2018, the NAIA announced a new format for the 2021 tournament after the merger of Divisions I and II.
| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics | color=white}} colspan=9 | NAIA Women's Basketball Championship | Year | Arena | Location | Championship | Semifinalists | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ||||||||||
| Details | Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa | Westmont (2) | 72–61 | Thomas More | Indiana Wesleyan & Morningside | ||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||
| Details | Thomas More | 77–65 | Dordt | Central Methodist & Southeastern (FL) | ||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||
| Details | Clarke | 63–52 | Thomas More | Central Methodist & Dakota State | ||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||
| Details | Dordt | 57–53 | Providence (MT) | Carroll & Cumberlands | ||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||
| Details | Dordt | 82-73 | Indiana Wesleyan | Bethel (TN) & Briar Cliff (IA) |
Champions
- Division II titles are not included in this list. Schools in italics are no longer in the NAIA.
Active programs
| Team | Titles | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Stars | border=0}} | [](oklahoma-city-stars) | 9 | 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 |
| Dordt Defenders | border=0}} | [](dordt-defenders) | 2 | 2024, 2025 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers | border=0}} | [](midamerica-nazarene-pioneers) | 1 | 2016 |
| Freed–Hardeman Lions | border=0}} | [](freed-hardeman-lions) | 1 | 2018 |
| Montana Western Bulldogs | border=0}} | [](montana-western-bulldogs) | 1 | 2019 |
| Clarke Pride | border=0}} | [](clarke-pride) | 1 | 2023 |
Former programs
| Team | Titles | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm | border=0}} | [](southern-nazarene-crimson-storm) | 7 | 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004 |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs | border=0}} | [](southwestern-oklahoma-state-bulldogs) | 5 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990 |
| Union Bulldogs | border=0}} | [](union-university-bulldogs) | 5 | 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| Westmont Warriors | border=0}} | [](westmont-warriors) | 2 | 2013, 2021 |
| Arkansas Tech Golden Suns | border=0}} | [](arkansas-tech-golden-suns) | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
| Kentucky State Thorobrettes | border=0}} | [](kentucky-state-thorobrettes) | 1 | 1981 |
| UNC Asheville Bulldogs | border=0}} | [](unc-asheville-bulldogs-women-s-basketball) | 1 | 1984 |
| Francis Marion Patriots | border=0}} | [](francis-marion-patriots) | 1 | 1986 |
| Fort Hays State Tigers | border=0}} | [](fort-hays-state-tigers) | 1 | 1991 |
| Lambuth Eagles | border=0}} | [](lambuth-eagles) | 1 | 2007 |
| Vanguard Lions | border=0}} | [](vanguard-lions) | 1 | 2008 |
| Azusa Pacific Cougars | border=0}} | [](azusa-pacific-cougars) | 1 | 2011 |
| Thomas More Saints | border=0}} | [](thomas-more-saints) | 1 | 2022 |
References
References
- [https://www.naia.org/sports/wbkb/Records/DIWBB_Championship.pdf NAIA Women's DI History] {{Archive url. link. (2022-07-05)
- (March 25, 2014). "Oklahoma City Wins Seventh NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship". NAIA.
- (March 24, 2015). "Oklahoma City Wins Back-to-Back Titles". NAIA.
- (March 22, 2016). "MidAmerica Nazarene wins its first ever National Championship". NAIA.
- (March 21, 2018). "After 21 Trips, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) Wins National Championship". NAIA.
- (February 7, 2019). "Sioux City selected to host 2021 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship". KTIV.com.
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