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"Kansas City, Kansas City ... here I come. " by:
Abe Goteiner, Tournament Host Committee member
For EIGHT DECADES college basketball teams from all over the country
.. with their thousands of athletes .. have made coming to Kansas
City in March their goal for the season. The 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s,
70s, 80s, 90s, 00s.
Since the first eight-team NAIB tournament was played in the newly
opened Municipal Auditorium in 1937 there have been 1,808 NAIA
national championship games played in Kansas City; 1,205 of those
championships were played at Municipal Auditorium and 603 at Kemper
Arena.
Thirty-two collegiate men's basketball teams under one roof at one
time ... something that cannot be seen anywhere in the United States
except for Kansas City, and now Point Lookout, Missouri, where the
Division II tournament is played every March.
Over those eight decades the tournament has had its share of
"big-time players". Players like Rio Grande's (Ohio) Bevo
Francis; Grambling's (La.) Willis Reed; Tennessee A&I's Dick
Barnett; Illinois Wesleyan's Jack Sikma; Southeast Oklahoma's Dennis
Rodman; Central Arkansas' Scottie Pippen, graced the championship
tournament. But most of the players in the tournament were, and are,
just good small college players giving it their all, playing on the
biggest stage of their lives ... at the NAIA National Tournament in
Kansas City.
Back in the early 1980s the cover of the Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
basketball media guide featured a picture of their team sitting on a
couch with their coach, former NBA All Star guard Paul Westphal, and
looking up. Above Westphal in a cloud-like bubble was a picture of
Kemper Arena (then the site of the tournament) and the words ...
"Kansas City dreaming".
That's still the dream for thousands of college basketball players
from over a hundred teams from all over the country. That dream will
become a reality for 32 of those teams March 24-30, 2004. Be there
to join in their excitement.
Top Teams’
Upcoming Games
2/21 #2 Concordia (CA) @ #5
Azusa Pacific (CA)
2/26 #17 Barber-Scotia (NC)
@ #1 Mountain State (WV)
2/26 #4 Lindsey Wilson (KY)
@ #3 Georgetown (KY)
2/26 #7 Oklahoma Baptist @
#9 Lubbock Christian (TX)
2/28 #3 Georgetown (KY) @
#21 Pikeville (KY)
2/28 #1 Mountain State (WV)
@ Park (MO)
To check out the latest Top 25 rankings
click here…
To check out the latest NAIA stats click
here…
Tournament Events
The 2004 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball
National Championship is quickly approaching and there are many
exciting events happening around and throughout the tournament.
Below is a list of fun events surrounding the tournament-
this introduces HALF the events (through
Friday, 3/26);
stay tuned next issue for details about exciting
Saturday-Championship events!
Tip-Off Banquet (Tuesday, March 23)
Dave Stewart leads the audience through team introductions,
Champions of Character awards, and NAIA Hall of Fame Inductions.
The banquet takes place at the Marriott Downtown in the Muehlebach
Tower Imperial Ballroom. Tickets for this event are $25.00 per
person.
Champions of Character Presentations: "Redefining the Term
‘Athlete’" (Wednesday, March 24-Friday, March 26)
At 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. student-athletes will
hear a 45-minute presentation by Bruce Brown, NAIA Special
Presenter. This presentation will be held at Municipal Auditorium.
Kansas City Classic Sports Xtravaganza (Wednesday, March
24-Sunday, March 28)
See the original rules of basketball at the popular Naismith
History of Basketball exhibit along with autograph signings,
sports collectibles and more! The Xtravaganza will be hosted in
the Exhibit Hall directly under the auditorium floor of Municipal.
Businessperso n
Special
(Wednesday, March 24-Friday,
March 26)
Businesspeople are invited to come to Municipal Auditorium to
take a lunch break with food and basketball. The tickets are $9.00
on Wednesday and Thursday and $8.10 on Friday. Lunch consists of a
choice of a BBQ sandwich or hotdog, chips and a soda. (Lunch is
included in the ticket price.)
Kansas City Power & Light Opening Night (Wednesday,
March 24)
The NAIA Parade of Champions welcomes all the participating
teams to Kansas City and the NAIA tournament. KCP&L will host
a T-shirt toss.
Sign Up
Now to Receive More Tournament Newsletters
This email newsletter is
to keep the Kansas City Metropolitan Area aware of the NAIA Division
I Men's Basketball National Championship.
Forward this to your friends and family so that they may sign up now to receive this
newsletter. Contact information you provide will not be shared
and will be used only to provide periodic updates about the Buffalo
Funds NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.
How to Get Involved in
the Action
Purchase
your tickets now. [Find tickets at ticketmaster.com!]
Fill out the ticket order form and fax to 913-782-4636 or mail
to Olathe Chamber of Commerce, Attn: NAIA Basketball Tickets, P.O.
Box 98, Olathe, KS 66051-0098. For questions or to purchase group
tickets, call 913-764-1050 or 800-921-5678.
Visit the
official Tournament site to keep up with all the latest
Tournament developments!
Don't Miss What's Coming Up in the NEXT Newsletter
Sign up now to continue to receive this
newsletter. You'll
not receive the next issue unless you sign up.
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Special Thanks
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce and the NAIA would like to send a
special thank you to this year’s sponsors of the National
Championship: BlueCross and BlueShield of Kansas City, Buffalo
Funds, Cedar Creek Properties, DST Systems, Inc., Coca-Cola North
America, City of Kansas City, Gilmore and Bell, Harlan C. Parker
Insurance Agency, Inc., Hereford House, KCP&L, Metro Sports,
Olathe Ford, The Kansas City Star, The Majestic Steakhouse, US Bank
and all Honorary Coaches. See the complete details on sponsors
at sports.olathe.org!
Register for
"The Best Seats in the House" Contest!
Relax
and enjoy the game from two recliners at the end of the court. One
email fan will win this per game. Register now for a chance to
win!
Tournament Schedule
[Find
tickets @ ticketmaster.com]
Wednesday
March 24
Day
Sessions 9:00 am
10:45 am 12:30 pm 2:15 pm
Night
Sessions 4:30 pm
6:15 pm 8:45 pm 10:30 pm
Thursday March
25
Day
Sessions
9:00 am 10:45 am 12:30
pm 2:15 pm
Night
Sessions
4:30 pm 6:15 pm 8:00 pm
9:45 pm
Friday March 26
Day
Sessions 9:00 am 10:45 am
12:30 pm 2:15 pm
Night
Sessions
4:30 pm 6:15 pm 8:00 pm
9:45 pm
Saturday March 27
Quarterfinals
2:00 pm 4:00
pm 6:00 pm 8:00 pm
Monday March
29
Semifinals
6:00 pm 8:00
pm
Tuesday March 30
Championship Game
-
7:00 pm
[Find tickets at ticketmaster.com!]
Learn more about these events and more at http://sports.olathe.org/
Register for
"The Best Seats in the House" Contest!
Relax
and enjoy the game from two recliners at the end of the court. One
email fan will win this per game. Register now for a chance to
win!
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