In searching for the NAIA's place in the history of sports and higher education, several consistencies are revealed. Among them is the dedication to academic achievement above athletic excellence. Also apparent is the organization's role as a trailblazer in providing equal opportunities for all student-athletes. Above all, there is an expectation of ethical behavior and a commitment to scholarship, sportsmanship and leadership.

It is paradoxical that such a lasting, dynamic contribution to collegiate sports began with a mundane note in the first recorded history of the Association:

"The first general session of the `Organizing Convention' of the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) was held in the Phillips Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, at 10 a.m., Sunday, March 10, 1940."

But the seed from which the NAIB sprouted was planted two blocks away at Municipal Auditorium. It was there in 1937 that a men's basketball tournament tipped off which has become the longest continuous national collegiate tournament in any sport. Further, out of that small-college basketball tournament, and the NAIB, grew an Association that now includes more than 360 colleges and universi ties and conducts two dozen national championship events.

The tournament was the brainchild of Emil S. Liston, Dr. James Naismith, Frank Cramer, and a group of Kansas City business leaders who wanted to provide Kansas City-area fans with exciting amateur competition and to provide a framework for small colleges and universities to determine a national basketball champion.

The original eight-team tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1938 and suspended play only for World War II in 1944 before 16 teams were invited the following year and the field got back to full strength by 1946. Qualifying tournaments became mandatory at the district level in 1951.

In 1948, the NAIB affirmed its commitment to equality by becoming the first national organization to offer intercollegiate postseason opportunities to black student-athletes. Unprecedented action was taken in 1953 when historically black institutions were voted into membership.

One year previous to the inclusion of historically black institutions, another form of expansion occurred. In 1952, as a result of the expressed desires of the member institutions, appropriate steps were taken by which the NAIB was transformed into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the first all-encompassing set of rules and standards was adopted. Recommendations to take this important action were made by the National Executive Committee at the annual meeting after determining the move was desirable and feasible. The recommendation was later approved by a mail vote of the entire membership.

With the Association's new name came the addition of national championships in golf, tennis and outdoor track and field. Football, cross country, baseball and swimming and diving were added to the championships calendar in 1956. Wrestling (1958), soccer (1959), bowling (1962-78), gymnastics (1964-84), indoor track and field (1966) and men's volleyball (1969-80) were later additions.

Another significant step occurred in 1957 when the Association's headquarters moved from the campus of George Pepperdine College in Los Angeles to Kansas City to better serve the membership from a centralized location.

Two major changes were made during the 1970s. At the direction of the membership, an extensive study was completed in 1970 which paved the way for two divisions of football. Four teams qualified for the playoffs in each division at the outset and, later, 16 teams were selected for postseason play. In 1997, football was consolidated to one division again as the Football Coaches Association cited a narrowing gap between enrollment size and philosophy of the two divisions. In 1976, the men's basketball tournament was moved from the confines of the Municipal Auditorium to Crosby Kemper Arena (16,284 capacity), also in Kansas City. It marked the first time since 1937 that the tournament had been held in a different arena.

As the NAIA moved into its second half-century in the 1980s, it revolutionized national collegiate athletics with the establishment of athletics programs for women on August 1, 1980. Official notice on that date followed a mail vote by the membership on May 1 that supported becoming the first organization to offer collegiate athletics to both men and women. The championship calendar for women began that year with basketball, cross country, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, tennis and volleyball. Soccer was added in 1984, and golf was included in 1995. Gymnastics was discontinued after the 1988 championship.

In 1985, the membership made another sweeping change in an effort to maintain a high level of democracy. Effective August 1 of that year, each member institution in good standing received one vote at the annual meeting, rather than the representative voting structure of one vote per six members within each district.

Reflecting national sentiment for a greater accountability for collegiate athletics, the Council of Presidents moved from an advisory capacity to active leadership on August 1, 1986. As the Association's "Board of Directors," the Council of Presidents assumed responsibility for all budget and fiscal matters, employment and supervision of the president/chief executive officer and national office staff, and for continuing to review, evaluate and strengthen academic standards.

Another important chapter in the history of the NAIA unfolded in 1992 when the Association voted to move its headquarters from Kansas City to Tulsa. On August 1, 1993, the NAIA opened its doors in Tulsa and began a new era. Moving with the national office was the Division I Men's Basketball National Championship which had been held in Kansas City for 56 years.

During the 1993 NAIA National Convention in Atlanta, the waves of change once again washed over the Association. The membership voted to institute affiliated conference and regional groupings and discontinue the use of district play as a means of qualification for national championships, marking the first time since the NAIA's creation that district competition would not be used. The 1994 men's and women's basketball tournaments were the first events in NAIA history to use conference and regional play to determine postseason participants. Beginning in August of 1994, every NAIA team or individual relied on conference and regional tournaments to earn postseason berths. The use of affiliated conferences not only brought about change at the NAIA playing level, but also at the administrative level. The Council of District Chairs was replaced by the Council of Affiliated Conferences and Independents, which oversees operational policies and supervises regional events.

In 1999, the NAIA restructures to include 14 regions to better serve its membership. Each region shall be governed by a regional management committee comprised of various conference and independent representatives.

Since 1937, the NAIA has administered programs and championships in proper balance with the overall educational experience. In 2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance the character-building aspects of sport. Through Champions of Character, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five tenets: respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship. This program will educate and create awareness of the positive character-building traits afforded by sports and return integrity to competition at the collegiate and youth levels while impacting all of society.

Everything has come full circle. The NAIA relocated its National Office in July of 2001 to Olathe, Kansas, just miles from Gardner where the idea for the small-college basketball tournament gave rise to the NAIA. Now, nearly 65 years after that initial tournament, the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship is returning to Municipal Auditorium, the arena that was home to so many memories from 1927-74. The NAIA has signed a five-year agreement to hold the tournament at Municipal from 2001-06 with the Olathe Sports Advisory Council serving as the host.