| 1979 AIAW National Small College Basketball Championship | |
| Start Date: | March 20, 1979 |
| End Date: | March 24, 1979 |
| Administrator: | Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women |
| Host: | North Dakota State University |
| Venues: | Fargo, North Dakota |
| Participants: | 16 |
| Champions: | South Carolina State (1st title) |
| Runners-Up1: | Dayton |
| Matches: | 16 |
| Previous: | 1978 |
| Next: | 1980 (Division II) 1980 (Division III) |
The 1979 AIAW National Small College Basketball Championship was the fifth annual tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its small college members in the United States.[1]
The tournament was held at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota between March 20–24, 1979.
South Carolina State defeated Dayton in the championship game, 73–68, to capture the Lady Bulldogs' first AIAW small college national title.
Sixteen teams participated in a single-elimination tournament that additionally included a third-place final for the two teams that lost in the semifinal games.