NAIA pulls national tournament from Branson
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BRANSON NEWS: The NAIA and the College of the Ozarks have agreed to relocate the 2018 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship which was scheduled to take place in Branson, Missouri. A new location has yet to be determined.This decision came after multiple meetings regarding the possible impact of the College of the Ozarks’ “No Pledge, No Play” policy on the tournament, as well as the school’s request that the NAIA enact an association-wide policy requiring all players and coaches to stand during the national anthem.“The NAIA respects the rights of all our members to determine the best course of action for their teams in regards to the national anthem,” said NAIA President Jim Carr. “However, our first priority is providing student-athletes the best event possible and neither the NAIA nor the College of the Ozarks want this issue to disrupt the competition or diminish the student-athlete experience.”
Briar Cliff athletic director Nic Nelson coached the Chargers to the national tournament each of the past three seasons before becoming the university’s AD. The move was surprising to him.
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Nelson
Justin Wan, Sioux City Journal
“No. 1 I think it is sad because Brandon and College of the Ozarks are great hosts and that is a great national tournament,” he said. “We are in a stage of not knowing and I don’t know if the NAIA knows where it is going right now, but I am sure they are working on it.
“It caught me by surprise that it has gone to this level. I didn’t think it would get to this step.”Nelson credited Ozarks and Branson for making the tournament feel like a big event and believes wherever the tournament heads this year, it will have big shoes to fill.
Morningside, Northwestern and Dordt have all played at the …
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