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20 unusual facts about National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics


Andy Stokes

In 2004, Stokes was awarded third-team NAIA All-America and first-team All-MSFA honors.

Ashley Martin

Liz Heaston had previously kicked two extra points for NAIA Willamette University on October 18, 1997 in a game against Linfield College.

The only earlier female player to score in a college football game was Liz Heaston, who kicked for Willamette University, an National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school, in 1997.

Bob Bass

Bass served as the head basketball coach at Oklahoma Baptist for 15 years and was named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 1966, when his team won the NAIA national title.

Brian Zbydniewski

Ranks fourth all time in NAIA single-season passing yards per game.

Cameron Beckman

Beckman was the 1991 NAIA individual champion.

Clint Longley

Longley finished the year guiding his team to 11 straight victories and the NAIA championship.

He would also receive Small College All-America honors and was named along with teammate Wilbert Montgomery, to the 1973 NAIA football All Star team, which backfield included Walter Payton.

D. W. Rutledge

A native of Houston, Texas, Rutledge attended Sam Houston High School and later the Texas Lutheran University, where he captained the school's 1974 NAIA Division II National Championship team and was a Kodak All-American linebacker for head coach Jim Wacker.

Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana

Member of Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jamie Mueller

Mueller played college football at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas where he was a two-time NAIA All-American.

Joel Dolinski

Dolinski served as the offensive line coach as well as the compliance coordinator for all sports (NAIA).

Katie Hnida

Hnida is the third woman to have scored in a college football game, after Liz Heaston, who played for NAIA Willamette University in 1997, and Ashley Martin, who played for NCAA Division I-AA Jacksonville State University in 2001.

Mike Avery

He was honored with two honorable mention NAIA All-American selections and was a four times All-Conference player.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The tournament has awarded the Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player award since 1939, as well as the Charles Stevenson Hustle Award ("Charlie Hustle"), which was the basis for Pete Rose's nickname, given to him by Whitey Ford.

In 1997, Liz Heaston became the first female college athlete to play and score in a college football game when she kicked two extra points during the 1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game.

Petrana Petkova

In track, Petkova earned eight NAIA All American honors, while winning the 2007 Indoor 5K and 2007 Outdoor 10K National Championships.

Richard Benigno

In 1989, his senior season, Benigno was a Third Team NAIA All American.

Ron Wells

He earned first team All-RMAC, first team All-NAIA District VII; and Associated Press Little All-America honorable mention as a senior outside linebacker in 1982.

Walt Schmotolocha

In 1962, Pratt lost to East Stroudsbourg in the NAIA championship game.


1956 college football season

Unbeaten Montana State University met Saint Joseph's College, Indiana in the Aluminum Bowl at Little Rock in the first playoff to determine the NAIA small college championship, and played to a scoreless tie.

2011–12 Detroit Titans men's basketball team

Detroit played host to the Madonna University Crusaders, an NAIA school in the Titans' first exhibition game of the season.

College of Charleston Cougars

The men's basketball team won the NAIA national title in 1983 and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament (1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999) under the leadership of former head coach John Kresse.

Corn Palace

Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers (NAIA Basketball)

Damian Miller

Miller attended Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and as a junior was named the NAIA District 14 Player of the Year and helped lead his team to the NAIA seminifinals.

Desmond Armstrong

In 1999, he became the head coach of the Montreat College Cavaliers in Montreat, North Carolina which play in the NAIA.

Dillon Baxter

In May 2012, Baxter enrolled at Baker University, a small NAIA school in Baldwin City, Kansas.

Elon Phoenix

The football team won NAIA national titles in 1980 and 1981 under Coach Jerry Tolley, who was named national coach of the year for the 1980 season.

Fort Wayne Freedom

He had worked previously as an assistant coach at the University of St. Francis, an NAIA institution, and NCAA Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Georgetown Tigers football

Kevin Donley has been one of the most successful coaches in NAIA football.

Manuel Narvaez

He has played in the NBDL, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Santurce Crabbers, Coamo Marathon Runners, Ponce Lions, Bayamón Cowboys, Morovis Titans, and the Isabela Gallitos.

Northwest Nazarene Crusaders

Along with the Eastern Nazarene College, it is one of only two Nazarene colleges to compete in the NCAA; the other six compete in the NAIA.

Oakland County Cruisers

College baseball remains popular in Ypsilanti: Eastern Michigan University won a NAIA national championship in 1971 and made it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA College World Series in 1976 before losing to Arizona.

Pete Shinnick

Shinnick previously served as the head coach of UNC Pembroke in Pembroke, North Carolina between 2005 and 2014 as well as the NAIA's Azusa Pacific Cougars between 1999 and 2005.

Peter Guarasci

Guarasci then transferred to Simon Fraser University where he played in 1995 and 1996 and was named 1996 NAIA conference player of the year.

Rick Pietri

He then spent four years as an assistant with the men's team at Spring Hill College in Mobile before moving to Birmingham and one season as an assistant for Birmingham-Southern College's successful men's NAIA program.

Shaun Pendleton

In 1991, he moved to Lynn University which played in the NAIA.

The Helmet Project

The Helmet Project began in 1999 covering NCAA college football, and has since expanded to cover the NAIA, National Football League and NFL Europe, Canadian Football League, Arena Football League and af2, the United Football League, and Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

University of Michigan-Dearborn Fieldhouse

The facility houses a 2,500-seat multi-purpose gymnasium that is the home to the Michigan-Dearborn Men's and Women's basketball teams, and UMD Women's Volleyball team competing at the NAIA Division II level in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC).

Youngstown State Penguins

Historically, YSU is associated with longtime coach Dwight "Dike" Beede, who, after noticing on-field confusion due to officials using whistles to signal a penalty, invented the penalty flag during a game in 1941 against now-NAIA member Oklahoma City.