KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship First and Second rounds, presented by Select Sport America. The 40-team event will be played on 10 campuses across the nation from Nov. 17-19.
For the second-straight season, the University of Mobile Men's Soccer program, led by head coach Daniel Whelan, has earned an opening round host bid, with Mobile earning the top seed of the Mobile Bracket. Included in the Mobile bracket this season are the second-seeded Knights of Warner-Pacific University (Ore.), No. 3 seed Buffaloes of Milligan University (Tenn.), and the four seed of UC Merced University (Cal.). For Mobile, this season marks the 22nd all-time appearance in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Tournament, with the Rams sporting a 33-20-4 overall record. Mobile's lone national championship victory came in 2002.
Mobile will enter the first round with a 14-3-1 overall record and will face the fourth-seeded Bobcats of UC Merced on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m. CT. UC Merced enters the opening round with a 12-2-5 record. In the 6:00 p.m. CT match on Thursday, (2) Warner-Pacific will battle (3) Milligan. Warner-Pacific enters postseason play undefeated at 18-0-3, while Milligan has managed a 10-2-7 overall record. Winners of both first-round matchups on Thursday will advance to the second-round match on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3:00 p.m. CT. The eventual winner of the Mobile Bracket advances to the final site of the 64th Annual Men's Soccer National Championship at the Jack Allen Sports Complex in Decatur, Ala. from Nov. 29 - Dec. 5. A full look at this week's opening round schedule can be viewed below:
- (4) UC Merced v. (1) Mobile - Thurs. Nov. 17 @ 3:30 p.m. CT
- (3) Milligan v. (2) Warner-Pacific - Thurs. Nov. 17 @ 6:00 p.m. CT
- Winner of (4) v. (1) VS. Winner of (3) v. (2) - Sat. Nov. 19 @ 3:00 p.m. CT.
All games in the Mobile Bracket will be broadcasted live at https://team1sports.com/umobilerams/.
NAIA Postseason Criteria
Each bracket format features four teams with #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 on Thursday, Nov. 17th. The winner of each contest will meet on Saturday for a spot at the final site in Decatur, Ala., where one team will leave the pitch claiming the famous NAIA Men's Soccer Red Banner.
This year's opening round field includes 27 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, or finished runner-up at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Men's Soccer National Selection Committee. This committee consists 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 four at-large representatives. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
NAIA Network
The NAIA Network – the association's official video streaming home – will broadcast all eight matches live at the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala. with the championship game being shown on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
