KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Stillman College men’s basketball enters the NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll this week at No. 23, the national office announced Wednesday.

Stillman (8-1, 7-1 SSAC West) is the third among Southern States Athletic Conference teams behind No. 7 Faulkner University and No. 12 Loyola University (La.). Faulkner (16-1, 7-0) leads the SSAC East by three games. Stillman leads Loyola (10-2, 5-2) in the SSAC West standings by 1.5 games.

“We’re happy to be back in the Top 25. Anytime you can get recognized it is good for the team,” said John Teasley, Stillman head coach. “It’s been one of the craziest years. We’ve been fortunate to stay healthy so far, with us sitting out in the fall.  We knew we had to do a lot of work in a little bit of time. The guys are playing well together. The season is still early though, and we still have a lot of work to do.”

Due to COVID-19 precautions, Stillman did not practice until Dec. 28 and opened the 2020-21 season Jan. 5 with a road win at Rust College. The Tigers went on to sweep William Carey University and record a road win at the University of Mobile and a road sweep of Blue Mountain College before splitting at then-No. 5 Loyola in New Orleans, Jan. 22-23. Stillman moved to 8-1, 7-1 in the SSAC West on Jan. 26 with a home victory over Mobile. The Tigers will be off this weekend, Jan. 29-30, and will return to action Feb. 2 at Mobile.

Indiana Wesleyan (21-1) leads the national rankings with 14 first-place votes. LSU Shreveport is second with seven first-place votes. William Penn and Lewis-Clark State hold their spots at No. 3 and No. 4, while No. 5 Arizona Christian and No. 6 Shawnee State University each climbed one spot in the last two weeks. Following No. 7 Faulkner is No. 8 Science & Arts (Okla.), No. 9 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 10 Providence (Mont.), who each jumped multiple spots.

Stillman is one of three HBCUs in the Top 25. Talladega sits at No. 14 and Dillard is No. 24.

This is Stillman’s first national ranking since being ranked No. 17 on Dec. 11, 2019. The Tigers were ranked in the Top 20 for 10-straight polls from Dec. 4, 2018 until Dec. 11, 2019. The Tigers closed the 2019-2020 season receiving votes in the poll to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship prior to its cancelation. While it did not receive a vote in the 2020-2021 preseason, Stillman had three points in the Jan. 13, 2021 rankings.

Statistically, Stillman ranks Top 20 in five categories: assist/turnover ratio (2nd, 1.59), 3-point defense (11th, .277), offensive rebounds per game (13th, 14.0), assists per game (15th, 17.667) and 3-point field goal percentage (19th, .390).

The next NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll is scheduled for Feb. 10 with the final regular season poll scheduled Feb. 24.

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With just nine days of organized practice prior to the season opener, Petty led Stillman to a 3-0 week, averaging a double-double over the course of three contests on the week. He recorded a triple-double (38 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists) against Rust College.

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But a loss to Freed-Hardeman is the last thing voters have to look at on the Tornadoes schedule prior to voting in the first regular season poll.

Talladega droped one spot to No. 20 in the NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

Here is the complete poll:

NAIA WBB Top 25 Poll – 2020-2021 No. 1

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Here is that post:

• All sports except football: September 5 (providing 3 weeks of practice prior to competition)
• Football: September 12 (providing 4 weeks of practice prior to competition)

• Cross Country: 7 meets, down from 8
• Football: 9 games, down from 11
• Men’s and Women’s Soccer: 14 games, down from 18
• Women’s Volleyball: 22 dates, down from 28

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced it will extend championship agreements for seven of its championship host sites affected this past year by COVID-19.

The extensions were announced to assist further the relationship between the NAIA and its host cities. Women’s basketball (Sioux City, Iowa), women’s wrestling (University of Jamestown, Jamestown, N.D.), men’s and women’s bowling (Lawrence Tech University, Sterling Heights, Mich.), men’s and women’s tennis (Mobile, Ala.), baseball (Lewis-Clark State, Lewiston, Idaho), outdoor track and field (Gulf Shores, Ala.) and men’s golf (Mesa, Ariz.) came to an agreement on a one-year extension.

Of these sites, Lewiston, Idaho has second-longest run of consecutive championships hosted with the NAIA Baseball World Series (since 2000). “LC State is excited for the opportunity to host through 2025,” mentioned Brooke Henze, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) Athletics Director and World Series Tournament Director. Through the years, Henze has been at the forefront of one of the most successful championships in the NAIA. Sioux City, Iowa holds the distinction of the longest-consecutive championships hosted of the group as the host of the NAIA DII Women’s Basketball National Championship since 1998.

”Our host sites put in a tremendous amount of work executing NAIA championships and we value their dedication,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “Extending their host contracts an additional year is an effort to negate any impacts from the unforeseen cancellations last winter and spring due to COVID-19.”

Below is a full list of championships and hosts and the year that was added to their existing agreement.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After announcing the latest round of five institutions approved for membership, including one NCAA school, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has added a second membership cycle to attract additional NCAA prospects.

Among the new members to join in 2020-21, Oakland City University from Oakland City, Ind., became the sixth NCAA institution in recent years to return to the NAIA. The association is also in active membership discussions with nearly a dozen other NCAA members and inquiries are increasing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The NAIA offers the opportunity for institutions to be nationally competitive, while also reducing athletics expenditures,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “We also focus on the specific priorities of our member institutions through our Return on Athletics® (ROA) effort, providing our members analytics tools to drive enrollment, increase student success, and improve financial stability through athletics.”

The new application cycle will allow institutions more time to prepare for the NCAA to NAIA transition, as well as the additional visibility for coaches to recruit student-athletes under the NAIA brand. The cycle will begin in mid-summer, with a final decision in early October and membership beginning the following July.

In addition to those schools returning from the NCAA, others are seeking out the NAIA rather than NCAA for their first foray into collegiate athletics. These include Texas A&M-San Antonio and University of North Texas at Dallas, which have parent campuses in NCAA Division I.

A notable benefit for NCAA schools returning to the NAIA is that former members have immediate eligibility for NAIA postseason play.

Two institutions that recently returned – Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Thomas More (Ky.) – have both had immediate success in their first year returning to NAIA competition.

After returning to the NAIA in 2018, the Oklahoma Panhandle football team finished second in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 6-2 record.

Similarly, Thomas More qualified for the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship its first year as a returning NAIA member. The Saints qualified as a No. 5-seed in the national championship field and finished third in the Mid-South Conference..

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KANSAS CITY – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced today that it is cancelling the spring 2020 sports season, effective immediately.

“All possible scenarios that would have supported a spring sports season were seriously considered by multiple NAIA governance groups,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “However, the growing state of emergency due to COVID-19, as well as the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation yesterday to limit gatherings to fewer than 50 people for eight weeks, meant we could not in good conscience move forward with the spring sports season and championships.”

In an effort to provide relief, no spring sport student-athlete will be charged a season of competition. Any spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled full-time in 2020 will be awarded two additional semester terms of attendance or the equivalent.

The NAIA is continuing to address outstanding questions related to these unprecedented changes and will share new information as it becomes available.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced on Tuesday it has extended its partnership with Big Game USA as the “Official Football of the NAIA.”

The extension to the deal, which originated in 2017, will guarantee that Big Game footballs are the only ones used during NAIA Postseason play through the 2024 season.

Big Game USA is the leading manufacturer of official college and high school game balls. Its premium quality footballs, from regulation to commemorative, are all handmade at Big Game’s state-of-the-art facility in Dallas, Texas. The company is the largest American-owned football factory and builds more FBS collegiate footballs than any other company on the planet.

“Big Game has served as a great partner to the NAIA in its three years as our official football,” said Jim Carr, NAIA President and CEO. “We are excited to be renewing this deal for five years and to move forward with a company that creates such a quality product.”

Based in Dallas, Texas, Big Game USA produces about 70,000 footballs per year with over 100 college teams throughout the USA using their product. Currently Big Game USA has about 45 skilled craftsmen and women who create handmade footballs for not only the college level, but for high school, youth, junior and pee wee teams. Big Game, USA is proud to say that their product is 100 percent American made.

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