Important Dates & Reminders | | |
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OCTOBER 1: Annual cancellations will begin for students with fall 2022 applications for fall sports and it is also when the systematic term for determination changes to spring 2023. (Details below.)
OCTOBER 1: Deadline to submit a facility certification to host a women's volleyball opening round and a soccer first and second round. (Details below.)
OCTOBER 12: Senior Woman Lunch 'N Learn (Details below.)
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NEW: NEC Ruling Regarding Tryouts
The National Eligibility Committee issued an official ruling regarding tryouts with students identified at an NAIA institution.
Only tryouts with prospective students (i.e., students not yet identified at the NAIA institution) will not count toward the 24-week season. If an NAIA team holds a tryout for students currently identified at the NAIA institution and the current NAIA team joins the tryout, it will trigger the practice definition and the 24-week season.
More details can be found here.
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NEW: NAC Adopts NCAA Rule Changes
The National Administrative Council (NAC) adopted the new NCAA playing rules pertaining to the following sports:
The NAC did not approve the Softball Rule Change and Experimental Rule. The NAC is requesting feedback from the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Association during their annual business meeting in December 2022. Additionally, the NAC determined to not allow games hosted by NAIA institutions to experiment with a double first base during the 2022 fall and/or 2023 spring season.
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NEW: NAIA National Awards Day
On September 15, 2022, the NAIA announced its 2022 national award winners as part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day. Also honored were more than 11,000 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 2,000 NAIA Scholar Teams. The day recognizes the association’s highest individual honors and achievements of NAIA student-athletes, administrators and coaches. Additionally, the association announced the five-member class of the 2021-22 NAIA Hall of Fame.
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NEW: The Room - Speaker Series for Student-Athletes
The NAIA is proud to announce the launch of a year-long leadership series for student-athletes. Whether it’s the class room, locker room, or board room, NAIA student-athletes can be a leader. The leadership skills learned on the field can easily translate to life after sports.
“The Room” will use a series of conversations with NAIA leaders and partners to help student-athletes develop their own leadership path, with discussion guides for campus/conference ASAs to use. Follow the NAIA / #TheRoom for episode drops and bonus content launching late October. Share the word with your student-athletes and join us!
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NEW: Facility Certifications Due October 1
October 1 is the deadline to submit a facility certification to host a women’s volleyball opening round or soccer first and second rounds.
For the full list of 2022-23 approved facilities for first, second, and opening rounds, click here.
Please note that all expired facility certifications are in RED. You must submit an updated facility certification to be eligible to host in fall 2022. Facility certifications set to expire after fall 2022 are eligible to host.
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NEW: Champs Team New Hires
Rick Daum has been hired as an NAIA championships manager and will oversee the national championships for men's soccer, men's basketball, women's lacrosse and women's golf. Rick graduated from Roanoke College in 2016. He has served as an athletic operations graduate assistant at Southwest Baptist University before being named the director of external operations and head men's soccer coach at the institution.
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Abby Schulz has been hired as an NAIA championships manager and will oversee the national championships for women's soccer, women's basketball, women's beach volleyball and men's golf. Abby has previously served as an assistant women's basketball coach at three different NAIA institutions. Most recently, she was the director of sports information at Indiana Wesleyan University.
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NEW: October 1 Cancellations and Change of Term
Beginning October 1, annual cancellations will begin for students with fall 2022 applications for fall sports. Cancellations will only affect students who are registered for fall sports and have taken no action (paid and/or completed a current task) in PlayNAIA since September 1.
October 1 also marks the date when the systematic term for determination changes to spring 2023. If students have not yet paid for their fall 2022 application or if their application is cancelled and they reapply, their student type and fee may change. Please encourage your recruits to register and pay immediately to avoid higher fees.
NEW: September Eligibility Edge
Check out this month's issue of the Eligibility Edge, a newsletter dedicated exclusively to NAIA eligibility topics. For questions regarding newsletter distribution or to add someone to the email list before the October issue, please contact Jen Saab.
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NEW: ROA Bottom Line Calculator Launches
This week the national office launched an interactive recruitment tool for prospective members – the Return on Athletics® Bottom Line Calculator. Using aggregate ROA Insights data and information provided by the prospect, the calculator displays a high-level financial performance comparison of the potential new member to current NAIA institutions.
The Bottom Line Calculator now allows NAIA sales staff to showcase the authentic value of NAIA membership to prospects in a matter of minutes. For more information on the Bottom Line Calculator and/or the member sales process, contact Julie McCollum.
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NEW: Central Methodist Celebrates New Baseball Field
Central Methodist University is unveiling major renovations to the Estes Field, home of the 2021 NAIA World Series Champions. Renovations include installation of FieldTurf Double Play Natural artificial turf system, which will provide a dependable playing surface regardless of weather conditions.
"We're going to expand our program outside on CMU and start to provide showcases," said Head Coach Nate Breland. "I would put this playing surface and field top ten in the NAIA now. It will help recruit top tier athletes."
Mammoth Sports Construction served as design/build partner on the project.
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NEW: Shorts Travel Management: Get Ready for Championship Season
Championship season is an exciting, busy time and will be here before you know it.
In an effort to Make Team Travel Easy, Short’s Travel Management (STM) highly recommends that you prepare in advance now by logging in to the portal, creating a primary contact and uploading your team roster by going to www.shortstravel.com/NAIAchamps.
If you are not familiar with our portal or need a refresher, we have created a simple tutorial. This short video covers the basics including how to upload your roster.
If you need help with your portal login information, please email sales@shortstravel.com for assistance.
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | | |
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NEW: Senior Woman Leader Lunch 'n Learn Sessions
Date: October 12, 12pm CT
Topic: Assist AD and Senior Management with Strategic Planning and Decision-making for Athletic Departments
Presenters: Brittney Kellar, Ottawa University Arizona and Fachaitte Kinslow, Langston University (Okla.)
For more information, click here.
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NEW: Sierra Dawson Selected as New NAIA RISE Intern
Sierra Dawson has been selected as the new intern for the NAIA RISE team. Sierra was a student-athlete at Point Park University where she played both basketball and ran track. She earned her bachelors degree in biology and her masters in athletic coaching and administration, both from Point Park. Sierra will be supporting the NAIA's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts over the next year.
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National Office Recognitions | | |
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Austin Bennett, director of championships, was recognized with a 2021-22 Summit Award for his numerous contributions made during his first year in this role. In that time, Austin has established a terrific culture within the champs department and led the team in operating more productively as a unit. He is focused on empowering his staff to produce top-notch championship events and increase member satisfaction. | | |
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Congratulations to Kayla Smith, customer relations manager in the eligibility center, who earned a 2021-22 Summit Award. Kayla takes great care to provide excellent service to our members and student-athletes. She has also increased engagement with high school counselors to smooth the transcript submission process. | | |
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Taryn Dickerson received this quarter's Working Together Award. She is responsible for leading the document and foundation responsibilities within the eligibility center. Taryn was tasked with the expanded responsibility of supporting InCred and rose to the challenge by creating an efficient process and incorporating technology enhancements. | | | | | |
