Thousands of NAIA student-athletes recently wrapped up an exciting winter sports season. There was a Cinderella story out of Kansas City when Pikeville knocked off five top-10 seeds in their run at a NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship title. Cornerstone University won the hearts of many when the team’s MVP handed off his trophy to a young boy with cancer and teams in the Golden State Athletic Conference dominated the pool scene. We’ve recapped the NAIA’s winter national championships below and hope you’ll take some time to learn more about the student-athlete experience.

Remember we are here to assist you and ensure that your experience in the NAIA is both supportive and rewarding. If you have questions don’t hesitate to email us at ECinfo@naia.org and we hope you’ll refer your friends interested in playing college sports to PlayNAIA.org. Thanks!

74th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship
2011 National Champion: Pikeville College
Unseeded Pikeville (Ky.) claimed its first NAIA national championship with an 83-76 overtime victory against No. 3 seed Mountain State University (W. Va.) in the title game of the 2011 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.  Sophomore forward Trevor Setty, who earned the Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player award, registered game-high totals of 32 points and 17 rebounds in leading the Bears to an unprecedented run through national championship play. Pikeville became the first unseeded team since the tournament began the seeding process in 1957, to win five games against five top-10 seeds in the event. The Bears closed out the season with an overall record of 30-7. Click here for complete national championship results, news and notes.

20th Annual NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship
2011 National Champion: Cornerstone University
No. 3 seed Cornerstone (Mich.) captured its second NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship with an 80-71 win over No. 13 seed University of Saint Francis (Ind.). The Golden Eagles, who also won the 1999 national title, finished off its impressive season with a 34-4 overall record. The 2011 event was held at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo. Ronald Bates scored a game-high 25 points, hitting on 4-of-6 three pointers, and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player Caleb Simons, netted 16 points and pulled down a career best 15 rebounds, the second highest total at the tournament. Click here for complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.

31st Annual NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship
2011 National Champion: Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) won its first-ever NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship by defeating two-time defending national champion Union (Tenn.), 65-69 in Oman Arena located in Jackson, Tenn. The Cougars, who closed out the season with a record of 33-5, rallied from a five-point halftime deficit and took the lead in the final minutes of the game. Azusa Pacific advanced to its second championship game in as many years after bowing out in the first or second round in its 10 previous trips. Click here for complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.

20th Annual State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship
2011 National Champion: Northwestern College
Northwestern (Iowa) overcame the loss of two of its starters to claim the 20th Annual State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa. The Red Raiders leaned on the upperclassmen leadership of Becca Hurley, Allison Hulst and Kami Kuhlmann to power the offensive attack in the 88-83 win over Davenport (Mich.). In the second meeting between the two, Northwestern avenged its only loss of the season to collect its fourth title under head coach Earl Woudstra. The Red Raiders, of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, finished their season with a 35-1 record and a second-consecutive national championship, becoming the fourth team to repeat. Click here for complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.

55th Annual Men’s and 31st Annual Women’s NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships
2011 Men’s National Champion: Fresno Pacific University
2011 Women’s National Champion: California Baptist University
The California Baptist women’s and Fresno Pacific (Calif.) men’s swimming & diving teams were crowned national champions of the 2011 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships. The event was the fastest in history with 21 NAIA records set during the competition. The Lancer women won their fifth all-time national championship, with the others coming in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The team ended the meet with 616 points. Fresno Pacific men’s squad, who won its first title in 2010, finished the competition with 698.5 points. Click here for men’s and here for women’s complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.

54th Annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships
2011 National Champion: Notre Dame College
Notre Dame (Ohio) successfully defended its title by winning the 2011 NAIA Wrestling National Championships in the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Falcons finished with 170 points and crowned two individual champions in Dante Rini at 125 pounds and heavyweight Orlando Scales. The Falcons became the ninth team to win back-to-back titles and marked the 16th time that a team has won consecutive championships in the event’s 54-year history. Click here for complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.

46th Annual Men’s and 31st Annual Women’s NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships
2011 Men’s National Champion: Shorter University
2011 Women’s National Champion: Oklahoma Baptist University
Shorter (Ga.) captured its first men’s national title while Oklahoma Baptist was crowned the women’s champion for the second consecutive year on the final day of competition at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in the GaREAT Sports Complex in Geneva, Ohio. On the men’s side and after only one individual champion, the Hawks scored 14 big points in the final three events of the competition to finish a thrilling day of competition with 44 points. On the women’s side, Oklahoma Baptist successfully defended its national championship with a dominating effort from 10 athletes. The Lady Bison recorded 75 points. Click here for men’s and here for women’s complete national championship results, photos, news and notes.