Important Dates

June 15, 2023

• Deadline for Champions of Character® Scorecards via NAIAHelp.
• Award nominations due to conferences. See below for details.

June 19, 2023

• The NAIA national office, eligibility center, and InCred offices are closed in observance of Juneteenth.

July 1, 2023

• Deadline for payment of membership dues. Contact accounting@naia.org with any questions.

July 3-4, 2023

• The NAIA national office, eligibility center, and InCred offices are closed in observance of Independence Day.

July 15, 2023

• Catastrophic insurance enrollment and payment deadline. Click here for more details.
• Hall of Fame nominations due. See below for details.

News

New Hire: Nick Davidson

The NAIA is excited to announce the hiring of Nick Davidson as the vice president of membership recruitment and retention. Davidson most recently served as vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. and prior to that he served as director of athletics at Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla. In this newly developed position, Nick will focus exclusively on recruiting and retaining NAIA member institutions.

2023 Award Nominations

Please see below for the list of awards and corresponding submission deadlines. 

June 15 Deadline (due to conference office)

The conference office will submit the winner to the NAIA national office.

• A.O. Duer Scholarship Award (Junior student-athlete)
• Emil S. Liston Award (Junior basketball scholar-athlete)
• Dr. Leroy Walker Award (Student-athlete of character)
• Al Ortolani Athletic Training Scholarship
• Athletics Director of the Year
• Coach of Character
• Charles Morris Administrator of the Year
• Sports Information Director of the Year
• Wally Schwartz Faculty Athletics Representative of the Year

June 30 Deadline: Scholar Team Award

July 15 Deadline (due to national office)

• Hall of Fame (Coach)
• Hall of Fame (Athlete)
• Hall of Fame (Meritorious Services)
• Athletic Trainer of the Year
• Larry Lady Officiating Award
• Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award (Sports Information Directors of America)

Completed nomination packets should be emailed to awards@naia.org (preferred) or by mail to NAIA Awards Submission, 120 W. 12th St., Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64105. Please contact Austin Bennett with any questions.

Pioli Family Endowed HBCU Scholarship

Women Leaders in College Sports announced that applications are now open for the Pioli Family Endowed HBCU Scholarships. This opportunity is specifically catered towards passionate women working in athletics at HBCUs, as well as HBCU graduates with a strong desire to excel in athletic administration. The scholarships, which include a one-year Women Leaders in College Sports membership, will be awarded to 13 women. Click here to apply.

NAIA Committee Openings

Want to help steer the direction of our association? Multiple NAIA committees have openings for member representation. To nominate yourself or a colleague, click here. Additional committee openings will be shared in the coming weeks and nominations will be accepted through the end of July.

New Episodes of The Room Available

Session 5 focuses on how we get things done. Listen to our panelists discuss goal setting, prioritizing/planning, decision making, organization, and delegation.

Session 6 dives into the importance of resiliency and how to pivot when things don't work out the way you planned.

As episodes are posted, utilize your regular ASA/SAAC meetings to view and facilitate a brief discussion using the The Room Prep-Talks Discussion Guide.

Expand Your Reach with the NAIA Career Center

Schools want top-notch talent and summer is the peak hiring season in college athletics. As an NAIA member, consider taking advantage of our low-cost, high traffic Career Center. With more than 12,000 visitors a month, job postings can reach individuals specifically seeking a sports-related career, including current and former NAIA student-athletes. If you have questions, contact Laura Simcox at 816.595.8123.

Legislative Services

Junior College Exception 2023

The 2023 Rules Education Recap has been updated to include the junior college exception, which is an update to the 24/36-Hour Rule Exception approved at the 2023 Business Meeting.

Access to Training Materials

Legislative Services is implementing a new learning system platform that will provide more extensive training resources for members. Until this is finalized, the learning system that was accessed on Digatel will no longer be used. Rather, keep an eye on the Legislative Rules Ed webpage for PowerPoints and education materials to prepare your staff for the coming academic year. The new learning system platform will be available fall 2024.

Championships

Spring 2023 National Champions

Congratulations to the following programs in capturing a 2023 national title:



• Baseball: Westmont College (Calif.)
• Softball: Southern Oregon University
• Men's Track & Field: Life University (Ga.)
• Women's Track & Field: University of British Columbia

Job Opening

The NAIA championships department is hiring a championship sport manager. This position is responsible for the organization, oversight, and successful execution of assigned NAIA national championships and opening rounds and is based in Kansas City. More details can be found here.

Partner Highlight

HomeTown Ticketing and Boxout Sports Partnership

Two of the NAIA’s national partners, HomeTown Ticketing & BoxOut Sports, recently announced a unique partnership that will help schools build a stronger brand and increase community engagement to drive ticket sales. You can read more about the partnership here. This service will be going live this summer, so keep an eye out for a webinar invite from the NAIA in the next week to learn more!

Return on Athletics^®

Maximizing Your ROA Podcast

Does athletics drive enrollment and stimulate vitality on your campus? That is the case at Lourdes University. Check out the latest episode of the Maximizing Your ROA podcast where Lourdes’s Vice President of Athletics Janet Eaton-Smith and Chief Information Officer Dr. Michael McCormick discuss this topic.

The podcast can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Questions? Contact Alan Grosbach.

NAIA RISE

Senior Woman Leaders Lunch and Learn

There will not be a Lunch and Learn in June, but save the date for the next Senior Woman Leaders Lunch and Learn on July 12 from 12-1 p.m. Central. The topic and speakers will be shared in June.