2022 Men’s Basketball National Championship Opening Round Field Announced
KANSAS CITY, Mo. –The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 64-team field and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Opening Rounds, presented by Ballogy. The second annual opening round events take place March 11-12 at 16 sites throughout the nation.
The winners at each of these sites will advance to the 2022 NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., at the 84th 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 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. If a conference has 15 or more schools, they receive three automatic berths.
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 president of the NAIA-Men’s Basketball Coaches Association and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
For more information on NAIA Men’s Basketball, click here.
Opening Round Notes
• Overall, there are 37 repeat qualifiers from the both the 2021 field.
• Loyola (La.) and Oklahoma Wesleyan boast the highest win total in the field with 31 victories each on the year. William Penn (Iowa) is just behind with 30.
• Georgetown (Ky.) leads the field with its 41st appearance in the men’s basketball championship field. Cumberlands (Ky.) checks-in at second on that list with its 30th while Briar Cliff (Iowa) is third in its 25th.
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 Saint Katherine (Calif.), Indiana Northwest, Ottawa (Ariz.) and Florida College.
• The Mid-South Conference and Crossroads League lead all conferences with six teams in the field.
| Institution | Qualifying Method | 2022 Record | Last Time | Consecutive | Appearances | Championship Record | Conference | Titles |
| Arizona Christian (Ariz.) | 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 Athletic Association | 0 |
| Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) | Cal Pac Tournament Runner-Up | 13-16 | 2021 | 2 | 2 | 1-1 | California Pacific Conference | 0 |
| Bethel (Kan.) | KCAC Tournament No. 2-seed | 26-7 | 2021 | 2 | 3 | 2-2 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Briar Cliff (Iowa) | GPAC Regular Season Champion | 19-11 | 2019 | 1 | 25 | 16-24 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Carroll (Mont.) | At-Large | 28-4 | 2021 | 7 | 16 | 19-14 | Frontier Conference | 0 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) | At-Large | 22-10 | 2010 | 1 | 9 | 8-8 | Heart of America 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 (Tenn.) | At-Large | 21-8 | 2009 | 1 | 4 | 1-3 | Mid-South Conference | 0 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large | 20-12 | 2021 | 9 | 30 | 17-28 | Mid-South Conference | 0 |
| Dordt (Iowa) | At-Large | 20-10 | 2014 | 1 | 6 | 6-5 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Evangel (Mo.) | Heart Regular Season Runner-Up | 22-9 | 2015 | 1 | 14 | 13-12 | Heart of America Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Faulkner (Ala.) | At-Large | 24-6 | 2021 | 3 | 13 | 12-10 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Florida College (Fla.) | CAC Tournament Champion | 30-3 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | Continental Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Florida Memorial (Fla.) | The Sun Tournament Champion | 17-10 | 2007 | 1 | 3 | 2-2 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | At-Large | 19-12 | 2016 | 1 | 7 | 2-6 | Mid-South Conference | 0 |
| Georgetown (Ky.) | Mid-South Tournament Champion | 25-7 | 2021 | 31 | 41 | 73-38 | Mid-South Conference | 3 |
| Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads Tournament Champion | 25-8 | 2020 | 1 | 11 | 13-8 | The Crossroads League | 1 |
| Grand View (Iowa) | Heart Host Berth | 17-10 | 2010 | 1 | 5 | 3-4 | Heart of America Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Hope International (Calif.) | 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 |
| Indiana Northwest (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 Runner-Up | 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 (N.D.) | 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 | Red River Athletic Conference | 0 |
| LSU Shreveport (La.) | Red River Tournament Champion | 23-7 | 2021 | 18 | 18 | 12-16 | Red River Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Marian (Ind.) | At-Large | 25-5 | 2021 | 5 | 9 | 11-6 | Crossroads League | 0 |
| Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | At-Large | 20-12 | 2021 | 4 | 6 | 9-3 | Sooner Athleric 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 |
| Montreat (N.C.) | AAC Regular Season Runner-Up | 21-9 | 2020 | 1 | 5 | 1-4 | Appalachian Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | At-Large | 20-10 | 2019 | 1 | 10 | 7-9 | Crossroads League | 0 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) | At-Large | 21-10 | 2021 | 3 | 24 | 31-21 | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 2 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan (Okla.) | KCAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 31-2 | 2021 | 5 | 10 | 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 Tech | 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) | Sooner Tournament Champion | 22-8 | 2021 | 3 | 10 | 8-8 | Sooner Athleric Conference | 0 |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | At-Large | 23-8 | 2021 | 3 | 14 | 28-10 | Crossroads League | 1 |
| Saint Katherine (Calif.) | Cal Pac Tournament Champion | 18-8 | N/A | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | California Pacific Conference | 0 |
| Science & Arts (Okla.) | Sooner Regular Season Champion | 25-6 | 2021 | 3 | 11 | 12-9 | Sooner Athleric Conference | 1 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | At-Large | 22-7 | 2020 | 1 | 5 | 3-3 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Southwestern (Kan.) | At-Large | 25-7 | 2019 | 1 | 12 | 14-10 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Stillman (Ala.) | At-Large | 20-8 | 2021 | 5 | 5 | 1-2 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Talladega (Ala.) | SSAC Tournament Runner-Up | 27-5 | 2021 | 4 | 9 | 6-7 | Southern States Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Tennessee Southern (Tenn.) | At-Large | 21-10 | 2017 | 1 | 11 | 9-10 | Mid-South Conference | 0 |
| Thomas More (Ky.) | Mid-South Regular Season Champion | 27-4 | 2021 | 3 | 5 | 3-3 | Mid-South Conference | 0 |
| Tougaloo (Miss.) | GCAC Tournament Champion | 21-8 | 2020 | 1 | 8 | 2-6 | Gulf Coast Athletic Conference | 0 |
| Union (Ky.) | AAC Regular Season/Tournement Champion | 25-8 | 2021 | 2 | 10 | 6-8 | Appalachian Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | At-Large | 18-12 | 2021 | 3 | 6 | 6-4 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 1 |
| Warner (Fla.) | At-Large | 18-11 | 2021 | 2 | 9 | 11-8 | The Sun Conference | 0 |
| Washington Adventist (Md.) | CAC Tournament Runner-Up | 19-10 | 2020 | 1 | 6 | 0-5 | Continental Athletic Conference | 0 |
| William Jessup (Calif.) | At-Large | 27-6 | 2019 | 1 | 4 | 1-3 | Golden State Athletic Conference | 0 |
| William Penn (Iowa) | Heart Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 30-1 | 2021 | 7 | 12 | 16-10 | Heart of America Athletic Conference | 0 |
| WVU Tech (W.Va.) | 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 | Red River Athletic Conference | 0 |
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