BU to host NAIA Opening Round at Creighton's Morrison Stadium
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On Saturday afternoon, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the 48-team field to the 2024 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.
Earlier this week, the Bellevue University men's soccer team downed host Georgia Gwinnett College 2-1 in the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament to secure their 11th NAIA National Tournament Appearance.
The NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship First & Second Round presented by Select Sport America will take play at 16 campus sites across the country. The 16 site winners advance to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site which will once again be play at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan. from Monday, Dec. 2 culminating with the Championship Match on Monday, Dec. 9.
For the third time in program history, the Bellevue University men's soccer team will be hosting one of 16 National Tournament First and Second Round sites at Creighton University's Morrison Stadium.
Bellevue's bracket kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 21 with a 6 p.m. match between No. 2-seed Williams Baptist University and No. 3-seed Kansas Wesleyan University. The Bruins will be the top seed in the Omaha Bracket and will face the winner of that game on Saturday, Nov. 23 for a noon kickoff, with a trip to the Final Site on the line.
Bellevue is ranked No. 7 Nationally and are the No. 8 seed in this year's National Tournament. The Bruins have posted a 15-2-2 record, earned the top seed in the CAC Tournament, and won their fifth-straight CAC Tournament Championship.
Williams Baptist earned an at-large bid after falling to Missouri Baptist in the AMC Championship Game on PKs. The Eagles are 11-3-5 on the year with signature wins over Columbia College and LSU Shreveport.
Kansas Wesleyan earned a bid as the KCAC Regular Season runner-up. The Coyotes, following an 0-2-0 start, have won 11 of their last 17 games and enter the tournament at 11-5-3 on the year.
Bellevue has only ever faced Williams Baptist once, in Walnut Ridge, Ark. during the 2020 sesaon, taking a 2-2 draw in February of that year.
The Bruins are 4-3-1 all-time against Kansas Wesleyan, winning each of the past three meetings by multiple goals, most recently downing the Coyotes 3-1 in August of 2022 at Papilloin Landing.
The Bruins are 8-4-1 all-time in Opening (First and Second) Round matches across 10 previous appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. BU advanced to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site last year for the sixth time in program history, also reaching the latter stages in 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2020.
In 2023, BU matched their best-ever finish in the National Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2020.
Bellevue previously hosted Opening Rounds in 2018 and 2021, both at Caniglia Field on the campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha. The 2018 squad defeated Marymount California to advance to the Final Site and the 2021 side won defeated Olivet Nazarene University before falling to MidAmerica Nazarene University in the second round.
This year's National Tournament field consisted of 24 automatic qualifiers and 16 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams based on their conference performance, with each league determining the criteria for qualification. At-large berths were determined by the NAIA Men's Soccer National Selection Committee; comprised of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Association, and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
Bellevue's Opening Round matches will be livestream via the BU Athletics YouTube page and live stats will be available via Presto and StatBroadcast.
2024 NAIA Men's Soccer First and Second Round
Omaha, Neb. | Morrison Stadium
Thursday, Nov. 21
6:00 p.m. - Williams Baptist vs. Kansas Wesleyan
Saturday, Nov. 23
Noon - Bellevue vs. Winner of Thursday's Game