If you love the game of basketball, you love the month of March. Hoops are happening everywhere and on every level.
This past week, the Big 12 Championship was in town and from March 16 – 22, Kansas City will host the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I Men’s National Championship at the Municipal Auditorium. Independence is host to the Women’s Basketball National Championship.
“We come every year to the NAIA tournament because we love to come,” said Bernice Frazier, a retired school teacher who worked at the Kansas City School District for 32 years.
It’s a tournament that she and her friends attend annually. Kansas City has hosted the tournament a total of 52 times. 2016 makes it the 15th-straight year.
Teams from Kansas and Missouri
Men
- Columbia (Missouri)
- Park (Missouri)
- MidAmerica Nazarene (Kansas)
Women
- Baker (Kansas)
- Benedictine (Kansas)
- Central Methodist (Missouri)
- Columbia (Missouri)
- MidAmerica Nazarene (Kansas)
- William Wood (Missouri)
Frazier has been coming for five years, but her friends have been coming longer like Robert Palmer. He’s being attending for over 20 years.
“I love coming to the NAIA tournament and we enjoy it very much—meeting new friends,” Fraizer said,.
Clinton Smith comes for the love of the game, and like Frazier, he enjoys the fellowship.
“I enjoy the game of basketball. I like the small college game and you know, you get your money’s worth. I enjoy it," he said.
Smith doesn’t have a particular team he’s rooting for but likes to cheer for the underdog. Out of the 30 plus years he’s been coming, his favorite memory is spending time with his friends.
This group has been attending the NAIA Championship tournament for years.(From left to right.BOTTOM: Bernice Friazer, Robert Palmer. SECOND ROW: Bud Reynolds, Brent Jones, Roy Tapp THIRD ROW: Clinton Smith)
“They’ve been coming just as long, if not longer so you develop a lot of good friendships down here,” Smith said.
As a sports fan, he loves that Kansas City host many tournaments.
“I hope they continue to host the NAIA and the Big 12 for years to come,” Smith said.
The crew was able to see a buzzer-beater in the Wednesday, Talladega played Westmont. The score was tied at 61 with under four seconds on the clock, Jordan Washington made a lay-up just as time expired. Talladega won 63-62.
From more information on the NAIA Tournament, visit their website – www.naia.org.
-----
