KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship qualifiers for the 55th annual event. The National Championship Opening Round will kick off the 32-team tournament at 16 campus sites on Nov. 23, with the 16 winners advancing to the national championship final site in Montgomery, Ala. The 15 final site contests will take place Dec. 2-7 at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex and will be video-streamed live on NAIA.org.
The Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round pairings and bracket will be unveiled via a live graphical show on Monday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. CST.
The 32 teams are comprised of 23 automatic qualifiers—which earned berths by winning conference, independent and unaffiliated grouping tournament or regular-season titles—and nine at-large teams—selected by the final Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI), announced today.
Defending national champion Belhaven (Miss.) earned an at-large bid after falling 1-0 in double-overtime to Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament. The Blazers are one of 19 teams making back-to-back national championship appearances.
The 32-team field accounts for 13 of the 54 men’s soccer national championships. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) boasts the most national titles among the field with nine and also leads all qualifiers in championship appearances (21) and championship wins (48). The Blue Raiders’ 21 championship appearances are the second-most all-time behind former-member Simon Fraser (B.C.) (23), while their 48 championship victories lead the NAIA.
Four teams will be competing in their first national championship: Corban (Ore.), Georgia Gwinnett, Indiana Wesleyan and Thomas (Ga.). Georgia Gwinnett, which earned an automatic berth by winning the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Tournament, will be making its first national championship appearance in any sport in just its second year of intercollegiate athletic competition.
The nine at-large berths were awarded based on the final NAIA Men’s Soccer MRPI. The MRPI consists of the team’s modified winning percentage, their opponent’s winning percentage and the cumulative ratings points from the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Each of the three values has a weighted percentage calculated in the MRPI. The MRPI modifies the value of home/away/neutral results and adds more value for games against opponents ranked in their respective national poll. To view the final MRPI, click here.
NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video-streaming company of select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting all 15 matches of the 2013 Men’s Soccer National Championship in Montgomery, Ala. Don't miss any of the action that runs from Dec. 2 - 7. Single day packages can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament pass is available for $29.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here.
2013 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Qualifiers
|
School |
Qualification |
Record |
Appearances |
Last Time |
NC Record |
Titles |
|
Ashford (Iowa) |
At-Large No. 3 |
13-4-1 |
3rd |
2012 |
1-2-0 |
0 |
|
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion |
13-6-0 |
12th |
2012 |
17-9-3 |
0 |
|
Baker (Kan.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
14-5-2 |
6th |
2011 |
4-4-1 |
0 |
|
Belhaven (Miss.) |
At-Large No. 6 |
14-6-1 |
10th |
2012 |
14-8-4 |
2 |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
9-8-0 |
3rd |
2009 |
1-2-0 |
0 |
|
Benedictine (Kan.) |
At-Large No. 4 |
11-4-1 |
5th |
2012 |
4-4-0 |
0 |
|
Bryan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
15-3-0 |
3rd |
2010 |
1-2-0 |
0 |
|
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion |
12-5-2 |
2nd |
2012 |
0-0-1 |
0 |
|
Concordia (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
14-4-0 |
6th |
2012 |
5-4-1 |
0 |
|
Corban (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion |
16-1-2 |
1st |
— |
0-0-0 |
0 |
|
Davenport (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
19-2-0 |
2nd |
2010 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion |
14-4-1 |
2nd |
2012 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
At-Large No. 9 |
13-3-0 |
9th |
2011 |
6-8-0 |
0 |
|
Georgia Gwinnett |
Association of Independent Institutions Tournament Champion |
15-4-0 |
1st |
— |
0-0-0 |
0 |
|
Grand View (Iowa) |
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
18-2-0 |
9th |
2012 |
5-8-0 |
0 |
|
Hastings (Neb.) |
At-Large No. 5 |
18-3-0 |
10th |
2012 |
16-6-3 |
1 |
|
Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads League Tournament Champion |
14-3-3 |
1st |
— |
0-0-0 |
0 |
|
Kansas Wesleyan |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
13-4-2 |
5th |
2012 |
0-4-0 |
0 |
|
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
At-Large No. 1 |
14-3-2 |
21st |
2012 |
48-11-4 |
9 |
|
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
14-3-1 |
2nd |
2009 |
2-1-0 |
0 |
|
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
At-Large No. 8 |
14-4-2 |
4th |
2012 |
2-3-3 |
0 |
|
Midland (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
18-1-2 |
2nd |
2009 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Missouri Valley |
At-Large No. 7 |
12-4-4 |
4th |
2012 |
0-3-0 |
0 |
|
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
At-Large No. 2 |
17-3-0 |
3rd |
2012 |
0-2-0 |
0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
15-5-1 |
3rd |
2012 |
1-1-1 |
0 |
|
Park (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion |
11-5-1 |
10th |
2008 |
2-9-3 |
0 |
|
Point Park (Pa.) |
Unaffiliated Grouping: GCAC/KIAC Tournament Champion |
12-6-1 |
2nd |
2012 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion |
15-2-2 |
13th |
2012 |
20-9-2 |
1 |
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
Unaffiliated Grouping: A.I.I./Frontier/North Star Tournament Champion |
14-3-1 |
2nd |
2012 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
15-4-0 |
5th |
2012 |
5-4-0 |
0 |
|
St. Thomas (Texas) |
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
13-3-2 |
2nd |
2010 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
|
Thomas (Ga.) |
The Sun Conference Tournament Champion |
15-3-2 |
1st |
— |
0-0-0 |
0 |