NAIA Bracket Selection Show

03/03/10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the field of 32 teams for the 19th Annual Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship, held March 10-16 in Point Lookout, Mo. The College of the Ozarks (Mo.) serves as host for the 11th straight year and receives an automatic bid as the host qualifier.
 
College Fanz Sports Network, the world's largest online college sports community launched by ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, will offer live video streaming broadcasts of the tournament selections starting Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CST. This broadcast will be available, live, free and on-demand, at http://www.CollegeFanz.com.
 
Ozarks is making its 14th Championship appearance, a best among the 32-team field. The Bobcats are playing in their 11th straight postseason and are 22-12 overall in the tournament. Oregon Tech, national champions in 2008, sports the most Championship wins among all the current teams with a 26-9 mark. This Championship is the Hustlin’ Owls’ 12th overall trip and eighth straight.
 
Bethel (Ind.), the At-Large #3 team, is 25-5 in the postseason in its ninth appearance. The defending national champion, Oklahoma Wesleyan, heads to its third straight Championship. Two conferences will send four representatives each to Point Lookout. The Cascade Collegiate Conference has Eastern Oregon, Evergreen State (Wash.), Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific (Ore.) while the Mid-Central College Conference has Bethel, Indiana Wesleyan, St. Francis (Ind.) and Spring Arbor (Mich.).
 
Of the 32 teams, there are four teams appearing in their first Championship. Davenport (Mich.), Maine-Fort Kent, McPherson (Kan.) and William Jessup (Calif.) are breaking the seal to their postseason. Five other programs are searching for victory No. 1 in Championship action.
 
The 32-team field is comprised of 20 automatic qualifiers from NAIA affiliated conferences and association of independents, plus the host and 11 at-large selections, which are determined using the final Top 25 rating released on Feb. 22.

 

Thirty-one games will be played out in Point Lookout. The first 30 games will be video-streamed by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. Three different subscription plans for basketball (Men’s and Women’s Division I; Men’s and Women’s Division II) will be available for tournament coverage. Users can purchase the All-Tournament pass, which includes every event offered on College Sports Direct from all four basketball tournaments for $39.95. Each of the four basketball tournaments can be purchased separately for $24.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95. In order to view the streaming, click here.
 
The Championship final on March 16 will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports Television with tip-off at 7 p.m. CST.

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