Dalton State Earns First Ever Bid in NAIA Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NAIA announced the 32-team national championship field for the 78th annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship Wednesday. For the 14th straight-year, the event will be held at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo., from March 18-24. 

Three Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) teams received national championship berths.

SSAC regular-season champion Dalton State (Ga.) and SSAC tournament champion Martin Methodist (Tenn.) received the conference’s automatic berths to Kansas City, Mo. The Roadrunners and RedHawks will be joined by one at-large selection in the national championship field—SSAC tournament semifinalist Bethel (Tenn.).

Dalton State (27-4), the No. 6-ranked team in the final regular-season NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, earns the No. 6-seed and will take on Wiley College (21-11) from Marshall, Texas at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18.

As a second-year NAIA member, the Roadrunners will be making their first-ever appearance at the national championship in their first-year of postseason eligibility. Coach Tony Ingle praised his coaching staff after receiving the information.

“Before I could take a serious look at the brackets Tony Jr texted me and said he is down loading two game tapes on Wiley for prep tomorrow (Thursday,” said Ingle. “I had a copy of the brackets quickly thanks to Coach Redman’s computer skills. I have two of the best assistant coaches in the world.”

“We are very excited to participate in such a prestigious tournament and play in the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City,” Ingle added. “I hope we can play well and make our college and community proud.”