io Grande/NAIA Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second time in school history, the University of Rio Grande has been chose as one of the 16 host locations for the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship First & Second Round.
The NAIA national office announced the host sites on Monday.
The First and Second rounds for the 64-team tournament are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. The full field of qualifiers will be revealed Thursday, March 5, at YouTube.com/PlayNAIA.
Each First & Second Round site will feature four teams in the first two rounds of a single-elimination tournament. The winner of each four-team site will advance to Sioux City, Iowa and the Tyson Events Center for the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship Final Site, March 19-24.
Rio Grande previously hosted a First & Second Round bracket in 2023.
The remaining 15 host institutions include Bethel (Tenn.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Dakota State (S.D.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Dordt (Iowa), Evangel (Mo.), Faulkner (Ala.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Friends (Kan.), Georgetown (Ky.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Marian (Ind.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Saint Francis (Ind.) and Spring Arbor (Mich.).
Official tip-off times and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
All 48 games in the 2026 First & Second Round will air live on Urban Edge Network.
Rio Grande currently sports a 29-1 record, a 20-game winning streak and a No. 8 ranking nationally entering Tuesday night’s River States Conference Championship against Brescia University.
The RedStorm are vying for what would be a record fifth straight tournament title.
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