KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule | Bracket Reveal | Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 64-team field and pairings for the opening rounds of the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Ballogy. The second annual Opening Round events take place March 11-12 at 16 venues across the country.
Winners from each of these sites will advance to the final site of the 2022 NAIA National Championship in Kansas City, Mo., at 84and Annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, March 17-22. For more information on the national championship, click here.
The field consists of 38 automatic qualifiers and one host berth – given to conference regular season champions, regular season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up, depending on the league. The number of teams in each league determines the number of autobids in each conference. Leagues with 10 or more schools receive two automatic spots, while conferences with fewer than 10 institutions receive one. If a conference has 15 or more schools, they automatically receive three spots.
Overall teams were determined by the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC is comprised of one representative from each geographic area, one representative from the National Board of Directors, the president of the NAIA-Men’s Basketball Coaches Association, and three at-large members. The committee evaluated the teams throughout the year according to various criteria.
For more information on NAIA Men’s Basketball, click here.
Opening Round Notes
• Overall, there are 37 repeat qualifiers at a time on the 2021 pitch.
• Loyola (La.) and Oklahoma Wesleyan have the highest win totals in the peloton with 31 wins each on the year. William Penn (Iowa) is close behind with 30.
• Georgetown (Ky.) leads the pack with 41st appearance in the field of the men’s basketball championship. Cumberlands (Ky.) registers second on this list with its 30and while Briar Cliff (Iowa) is third of his 25and.
Northwestern (Iowa), College of Idaho, Bellevue (Neb.), Oregon Tech, Xavier (La.) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) all have at least 20 appearances each.
• There are four newcomers to the opening round in this year’s field in St. Katherine (California), Indiana Northwest, Ottawa (Arizona) and Florida College.
• The Mid-South Conference and Crossroads League lead all conferences with six teams on the field.
| Institution | Qualification method | Record 2022 | Last time | Consecutive | Appearances | Championship record | Conference | Securities |
| Arizona Christian (Arizona) | GSAC Regular Season Champion | 27-4 | 2021 | 4 | 8 | 4-6 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Bellevue (Neb.) | North Star Tournament Champion | 20-12 | 2021 | 2 | 21 | 24-20 | North Star Sports Association | 0 |
| Benedictine-Mesa (Arizona) | Cal Pac Tournament Finalist | 13-16 | 2021 | 2 | 2 | 1-1 | California Pacific Conference | 0 |
| Bethel (Kan.) | KCAC Tournament #2 | 26-7 | 2021 | 2 | 3 | 2-2 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Heather Cliff (Iowa) | GPAC Regular Season Champion | 19-11 | 2019 | 1 | 25 | 16-24 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Carroll (Montreal) | At Large | 28-4 | 2021 | 7 | 16 | 19-14 | Frontier Conference | 0 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) | At Large | 22-10 | 2010 | 1 | 9 | 8-8 | America’s Heart Athletic Conference | 0 |
| College of Idaho (Idaho) | Cascade Regular Season Champion | 29-4 | 2020 | 1 | 24 | 25-21 | Cascade Collegiate Conference | 1 |
| Concordia (Neb.) | GPAC Tournament Champion | 25-6 | 2020 | 1 | 11 | 11-10 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Cumberland (Tennis) | At Large | 21-8 | 2009 | 1 | 4 | 1-3 | Center-South Conference | 0 |
| Cumberland (Ky.) | At Large | 20-12 | 2021 | 9 | 30 | 17-28 | Center-South Conference | 0 |
| Dordt, Iowa | At Large | 20-10 | 2014 | 1 | 6 | 6-5 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Gospel (Mo.) | Heart Regular Season Finalist | 22-9 | 2015 | 1 | 14 | 13-12 | America’s Heart Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Faulkner (Alabama) | At Large | 24-6 | 2021 | 3 | 13 | 12-10 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Florida College (Florida) | CAC Tournament Champion | 30-3 | N / A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | Continental Athletics Conference | 0 |
| Florida Memorial (Florida) | The Sun Tournament Champion | 17-10 | 2007 | 1 | 3 | 2-2 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Freed Hardeman (Tennis) | At Large | 19-12 | 2016 | 1 | 7 | 2-6 | Center-South Conference | 0 |
| Georgetown (Ky.) | Mid-South Tournament Champion | 25-7 | 2021 | 31 | 41 | 73-38 | Center-South Conference | 3 |
| Grace (ind.) | Crossroads Tournament Champion | 25-8 | 2020 | 1 | 11 | 13-8 | The Carrefour League | 1 |
| Grand View (Iowa) | Heart host berth | 17-10 | 2010 | 1 | 5 | 3-4 | America’s Heart Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Hope International (California) | At Large | 23-7 | 2020 | 1 | 8 | 6-6 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Huntington (Ind.) | At Large | 22-10 | 2014 | 1 | 9 | 11-8 | Crossroads League | 0 |
| Northwest Indiana (Ind.) | CCAC Regular Season Third Place | 23-7 | N / A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Indiana South Bend (Ind.) | CCAC Regular Season Finalist | 25-6 | 2021 | 3 | 3 | 1-1 | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Indiana Tech (Ind.) | WHAC Regular Season Champion | 25-7 | 2021 | 5 | 13 | 5-12 | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan (Ind.) | Crossroads Regular Season Champion | 26-6 | 2021 | 14 | 15 | 32-10 | Crossroads League | 3 |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) | River States Tournament Champion | 29-3 | 2020 | 1 | 3 | 2-1 | River States Conference | 0 |
| Jamestown (ND) | At Large | 24-9 | 2021 | 2 | 12 | 9-11 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Kansas Wesleyan (Kan.) | At Large | 22-10 | 2007 | 1 | 6 | 3-5 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | At Large | 22-10 | 2021 | 8 | 17 | 10-15 | Frontier Conference | 0 |
| Lourdes (Ohio) | WHAC Tournament Champion | 24-7 | 2013 | 1 | 3 | 0-2 | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Loyola (La.) | SSAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 31-1 | 2021 | 4 | 8 | 9-6 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 1 |
| LSU Alexandria (La.) | At Large | 20-6 | 2021 | 8 | 8 | 10-6 | Rouge River Athletic Conference | 0 |
| LSU Shreveport, La. | Red River Tournament Champion | 23-7 | 2021 | 18 | 18 | 12-16 | Rouge River Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Marianne (Ind.) | At Large | 25-5 | 2021 | 5 | 9 | 11-6 | Crossroads League | 0 |
| Central American Christian (Okla.) | At Large | 20-12 | 2021 | 4 | 6 | 9-3 | Earlier Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Missouri Baptist (Mo.) | AMC Tournament Champion | 26-5 | 2019 | 1 | 5 | 0-4 | American Midwest Conference | 0 |
| Montana Tech | Frontier Tournament Champion | 26-6 | 1999 | 1 | 3 | 0-2 | Frontier Conference | 0 |
| Montreal (NC) | AAC Regular Season Finalist | 21-9 | 2020 | 1 | 5 | 1-4 | Appalachian Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | At Large | 20-10 | 2019 | 1 | ten | 7-9 | Crossroads League | 0 |
| Northwest (Iowa) | At Large | 21-10 | 2021 | 3 | 24 | 31-21 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 2 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan (Oklahoma) | Regular Season/KCAC Tournament Champion | 31-2 | 2021 | 5 | ten | 16-7 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | CCAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 30-3 | 2019 | 1 | 21 | 12-20 | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Oregon Technology | Cascade Tournament No. 2 Seed | 21-10 | 2020 | 1 | 21 | 38-17 | Cascade Collegiate Conference | 4 |
| Ottawa, Ariz. | GSAC Tournament Champion | 23-9 | N / A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | California Pacific Conference | 0 |
| SAGU (Texas) | Earlier Tournament Champion | 22-8 | 2021 | 3 | ten | 8-8 | Earlier Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | At Large | 23-8 | 2021 | 3 | 14 | 28-10 | Crossroads League | 1 |
| Saint Katherine (California) | Cal Pac Tournament Champion | 18-8 | N / A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | California Pacific Conference | 0 |
| Science and Arts (Oklahoma) | Earlier regular season champion | 25-6 | 2021 | 3 | 11 | 12-9 | Earlier Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Southeast (Florida) | At Large | 22-7 | 2020 | 1 | 5 | 3-3 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Southwest (Kan.) | At Large | 25-7 | 2019 | 1 | 12 | 14-10 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Stillman (Alabama) | At Large | 20-8 | 2021 | 5 | 5 | 1-2 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Talladega, Alabama | SSAC Tournament Finalist | 27-5 | 2021 | 4 | 9 | 6-7 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 0 |
| South Tennessee (Tennis) | At Large | 21-10 | 2017 | 1 | 11 | 9-10 | Center-South Conference | 0 |
| Thomas More (K.) | Mid-South Regular Season Champion | 27-4 | 2021 | 3 | 5 | 3-3 | Center-South Conference | 0 |
| Tougaloo (Ms.) | GCAC Tournament Champion | 21-8 | 2020 | 1 | 8 | 2-6 | Gulf Coast Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Union (Ky.) | AAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 25-8 | 2021 | 2 | ten | 6-8 | Appalachian Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Vanguard (California) | At Large | 18-12 | 2021 | 3 | 6 | 6-4 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Warner (Florida) | At Large | 18-11 | 2021 | 2 | 9 | 11-8 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Washington Adventist (Md.) | CAC Tournament Finalist | 19-10 | 2020 | 1 | 6 | 0-5 | Continental Athletics Conference | 0 |
| William Jessup (California) | At Large | 27-6 | 2019 | 1 | 4 | 1-3 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 0 |
| William Penn (Iowa) | Regular Season/Heart Tournament Champion | 30-1 | 2021 | 7 | 12 | 16-10 | America’s Heart Athletic Conference | 0 |
| WVU Tech (WVA) | River States East Division Champion | 26-5 | 2021 | 6 | 6 | 2-4 | River States Conference | 0 |
| Xavier University (La.) | Red River Highest ARC Finisher | 22-6 | 2021 | 5 | 21 | 5-19 | Rouge River Athletic Conference | 0 |
