NAIA stands for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The NAIA is a small body of athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. All experiences in the NAIA are centered around the student-athlete. Over 65,000 student-athletes compete in the NAIA in 21 different conferences at more than 250 colleges and universities.
The NAIA was the first collegiate athletics association to invite historically black institutions into membership and the first to sponsor both men’s and women’s national championships. Around 90% of all the schools in the NAIA offer scholarships. With a total budget of $600 million in scholarships, they get to spend every year. Each member school has a restricted amount of scholarships (differs per sport) to be divided as the college and coaching staff sees fit.
NAIA started the Champions of Character program to change the culture of the sport. Its mission is to provide training to instill the values that build character so students, coaches, and parents know, do and value the right thing on and off the field. The champions of Character program has five core values:
- Integrity
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Sportsmanship
- Servant leadership
