Hello Again, We’re the NAIA!

Hello Again, We’re the NAIA!

May 4, 2015

By Chris LeGates, Tackling College Sports Co-Host

The Tackling College Sports podcast recently welcomed into the TCS studios, Kelly Buikus, head women’s lacrosse coach of Ave Maria University in Florida – listen here. In getting to know a little bit about Ave Maria, we learned that the University competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or, NAIA as it is better known. The NAIA for those of you who have never heard of it is a second governing body for collegiate sports primarily in the United States and actually has member schools in Canada as well. It is an organization that was created to govern athletic programs for smaller institutions.

The NAIA has a rich history and was founded in 1937 by the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith. The idea was to create a national basketball championship for smaller schools in the United States to participate in. Originally called the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball, it changed its’ name to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1952 as more sports were added for sponsorship at that time. 

The NAIA has been at the forefront of equality in sports. In 1948, the NAIB was the first to open their intercollegiate postseason to African-American student-athletes. That same year, Indiana State coach John Wooden, later to become a coaching legend at UCLA, brought the first African-American student-athlete to play at the national tournament. In 1953, the NAIA was the first intercollegiate body to offer memberships to traditional African-American schools. 1980 saw the NAIA become the first governing body of four-year institutions to begin sponsoring intercollegiate championships for women.

These institutions gave out over $500 million in athletic scholarship money in the 2013-14 school year and that number continues to grow. 

Today the NAIA is located in Kansas City, Mo and has 60,000 student-athletes participating in 13 sports that have 23 national championships. 260 colleges and universities in the United States call the NAIA home for their sports. These institutions gave out over $500 million in athletic scholarship money in the 2013-14 school year and that number continues to grow. 

The NAIA is an excellent option for student-athletes who are looking to compete at a high level while getting a top-notch education. The membership of the NAIA is predominately outside of the Northeast and New England thus giving student-athletes in those regions an opportunity to go to school in parts of the country they may have never visited. To find a list of NAIA member schools, please follow this link.

It would be worth your while to investigate NAIA schools when compiling your college lists. This may open doors to admissions to fine colleges and universities as well as academic scholarship chances. The more options…the better. Do your homework!  TCS is always here to help.  f you have any questions, please contact me at info@tacklingcollegesports.com

Good luck and always BE YOUR BEST,

Chris