2018-2019 NAIA DII Women’s Basketball Qualifier and Bracket Announced
32 teams qualify for national championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 32 qualifiers for the 28th annual NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The event will be held March 6-12 at the Tyson Event Center.
This year’s field consists of 23 automatic berths and 9 at-large spots. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up depending on the league. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released today.
The NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com) – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast the first 30 games leading up to the championship final on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available at $34.95.
Qualifier Notes
• Concordia (Neb.) is the No. 1 overall seed entering the tournament with a 30-3 record overall and record of 19-3 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
• The defending national champions, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) also return to Sioux City as the No. 3 overall seed. The Tigers have an overall season record of 28-5 and a tournament record 16-4.
• The Great Plains Athletic Conference is home to three of the top four seeded teams (Concordia, Northwestern, and Dakota Wesleyan).
• Twenty teams return to the championship from the 2018 field
• Eleven teams have made at least 10 appearances at the national championship. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) has the most appearances with 25 including this year’s appearance. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) follows closely with 23 appearances.
• Seven different institutions in this year’s tournament have won at least one national title. Northwestern leads with five national titles (2001, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012). Morningside follows with four national titles (2004, 2005, 2009, 2015)
• Wilberforce (Ohio) and Bellevue (Neb.) are making their first-ever trip to the national championship.
School Qualification Record Appearances Last Time Tournament Record Titles
Alice Lloyd (Ky.) River States Conference West Division Champion 19-8 1 2018 0-1 0
Antelope Valley (Calif.) California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion 25-5 1 2018 0-1 0
Aquinas (Mich.) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champion 28-8 7 2010 4-7 0
Bellevue (Neb.) North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion 23-9 0 0 0 0
Bryan (Tenn.) Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion 31-1 7 2018 1-6 0
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) At-Large 23-9 22 2018 16-22 0
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) AII Tournament Champion 29-3 24 2018 43-24 0
Concordia (Neb.) Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion 30-3 17 2018 28-17 0
Corban (Ore.) Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion 24-9 5 2012 1-5 0
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up 28-5 6 2018 16-4 1
Dordt (Iowa) At-Large 20-11 0 0 0 0
Eastern Oregon Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular Season Champion 28-3 11 2018 8-11 0
Hastings (Neb.) At-Large 19-12 18 2018 38-15 3
Indiana Northwest (Ind.) AII Tournament Runner-Up 26-7 3 2017 0-2 0
Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion 30-3 15 2018 5-6 0
Indiana Wesleyan At-Large 20-12 15 2018 28-13 2
Kansas Wesleyan At-Large 21-11 3 2011 2-3 0
Marian (Ind.) Crossroads League Tournament Champion 27-6 5 2018 11-3 1
Milligan (Tenn.) Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion 26-6 7 2017 2-6 0
Morningside (Iowa) At-Large 19-12 16 2018 35-12 4
Northwestern (Iowa) At-Large 26-4 16 2018 52-11 5
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion 21-11 7 2018 5-7 0
Oregon Tech At-Large 23-9 5 2017 1-4 0
Saint Francis (Ind.) At-Large 20-12 17 2017 34-15 1
Southeastern (Fla.) The Sun Conference Regular Season Champion 27-2 4 2018 2-4 0
St. Francis (Ill.) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion 23-8 3 2018 2-3 0
St. Thomas (Fla.) The Sun Conference Regular Season Runner-Up 21-9 5 2018 2-7 0
Sterling (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion 27-5 16 2012 16-16 0
Tabor (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion 28-3 7 2018 7-9 0
Taylor (Ind.) Crossroads League Regular Season Champion 28-4 7 2018 4-7 0
Wilberforce AII Tournament Third Place 14-12 0 0 0-0 0
WVU Tech (W.Va.) River States Conference Tournament Champion 24-9 0 0 0-0 0