1947 NAIA basketball tournament explained

Type:NAIA men's basketball tournament
Year:1947
Teams:32
Fabfourarena:Municipal Auditorium
Fabfourcity:Kansas City, Missouri
Champions:Marshall
Titlecount:1st
Champgamecount:1st
Champffcount:1st
Runnerffcount:1st
Runnerup:Mankato State
Gamecount:1st
Semifinal1:Arizona State-Flagstaff
Finalfourcount1:1st
Semifinal2:Emporia State
Finalfourcount2:1st
Mvp:Irvin Leifer
Mvpteam:Eastern Washington
Attendance:unknown

The 1947 NAIA National Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 10th annual men's basketball tournament of what is now the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

It would be the first time since 1945 the NAIA Semifinalist would feature four new teams. Becoming the 3rd tournament to do so, and a feat that would not be repeated until 1965.

The championship game featured Marshall defeating Mankato State, 73–59. The third place game featured Arizona State-Flagstaff, now Northern Arizona, defeating Emporia State, 47–38.

1947 kicked off the "golden age" of NAIA National Tournaments. Harold Haskins became the first of 16 all-time leading scorers.Coach John Wooden withdrew Indiana State from the tournament because the NAIB would not allow black student-athlete Clarence Walker to play.[2] The NAIB changed in time for Walker to play for Indiana in the 1948 tournament.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1947 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

Bracket

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NAIA.org . 2020-05-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090501033134/http://naia.cstv.com/ . 2009-05-01 . dead .
  2. News: Keefer . Zak . Indiana basketball player broke racial barrier, changed game forever . January 5, 2019 . Indianapolis Star . March 16, 2017 . en.
  3. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/naia/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/mensd1champhistory.pdf NAIA Championship History