2009 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 72nd Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held from March 18 to 24 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri
. The 72nd annual NAIA
basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The Heart of America Athletic Conference
was the host conference for the tournament . This was the Heart of America Athletic Conference's first year as a Division I conference.
The tournament got off to a surprising start, as five higher seeded teams lost on the opening day, including top-seeded Rogers State, who lost to William Jewell
, who had only qualified for the tournament by receiving the Heart of America Athletic Conference's host bid into the field.
In the end, two unseeded teams, Rocky Mountain College
of Montana and Columbia College of Missouri—neither of whom had ever won a game at the tournament prior to 2009—met in the championship game, having each disposed of three higher-ranked teams along the way. Rocky Mountain won the championship with a 77-61 victory, claiming Rocky's first national basketball title.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. The 72nd annual NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The Heart of America Athletic Conference
Heart of America Athletic Conference
The Heart of America Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in the United States....
was the host conference for the tournament . This was the Heart of America Athletic Conference's first year as a Division I conference.
The tournament got off to a surprising start, as five higher seeded teams lost on the opening day, including top-seeded Rogers State, who lost to William Jewell
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
, who had only qualified for the tournament by receiving the Heart of America Athletic Conference's host bid into the field.
In the end, two unseeded teams, Rocky Mountain College
Rocky Mountain College
Rocky Mountain College , located in Billings, Montana, is a private comprehensive college offering more than 25 liberal arts- and professionally oriented majors. In fall 2009, the college had 894 enrolled students...
of Montana and Columbia College of Missouri—neither of whom had ever won a game at the tournament prior to 2009—met in the championship game, having each disposed of three higher-ranked teams along the way. Rocky Mountain won the championship with a 77-61 victory, claiming Rocky's first national basketball title.
Awards and honors
- Leading scorer: Eric Palm, McKendree (Ill.)
- Leading rebounder: Devin Uskoski, Rocky Mountain
- Most consecutive tournament appearances: 18th, Georgetown (Ky.)
- Most tournament appearances: Georgetown (Ky.), 28th of 30, appearances to the NAIA Tournament
- Oklahoma Baptist won their 49th tournament game, tying them with Georgetown College (Ky.) for the most tournament wins all-time.
2009 NAIA bracket
- * denotes overtime.
See also
- 2009 NAIA Men’s Division II Basketball TournamentNAIA national men's basketball championshipThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1937 . The tournament was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for smaller colleges and universities...
- 2009 NAIA Women’s Division I Basketball TournamentNAIA national women's basketball championshipThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1981. It was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities. Since...
- 2009 NAIA Women’s Division II Basketball TournamentNAIA national women's basketball championshipThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1981. It was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities. Since...
- 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball TournamentThe first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
- 2009 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament2009 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball TournamentThe regionals, held in the city rather than the geographic area as a practice that has been used since 2005, were held there from March 28 to 31 at these sites:...
- 2009 National Invitation Tournament2009 National Invitation Tournament-Semifinals and finals:Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 31 and April 2* denotes each overtime played-NIT Championship:...
- 2009 CollegeInsider.com Tournament2009 CollegeInsider.com TournamentThe 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 16 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I teams that was won by...