Alright folks, let me tell you about the hot mess I got myself into trying to figure out this NAIA women’s basketball tournament schedule for 2025. Seriously, it felt like trying to untangle Christmas lights after they’ve been in the attic for ten years.
Starting Off Totally Lost
It all kicked off because I promised my niece I’d take her to some games this year. She’s crazy about basketball. So I went online looking for the schedule, thinking, “How hard can this be?” Big mistake.
Typed in “NAIA Women’s Basketball 2025 Schedule” and whoo boy, the results were a total nightmare. Every site I clicked on had something different. Some showed dates but no teams. Others listed teams for cities I knew weren’t hosting. One site even had a bracket from 2023! I’m sitting there scratching my head like, “What is even real anymore?”
My “Aha!” Moment (Sort Of)
Okay, frustration level: maximum. I remembered the official NAIA site exists, obviously. Dove into that badger hole looking for anything labeled “Championship” or “Tournament” for 2025. Found a section that looked promising… buried under like five layers of menus. Finally unearthed this PDF document titled “2025 National Championship Information”. Jackpot?
Nope. Not really. Opening this PDF felt like walking into a bureaucratic wall. It had all these different stages with crazy names: “Opening Round”, “Qualifying Teams”, “Final Site”. Dates were scattered everywhere – some in tables, some mentioned in paragraphs. Trying to figure out when specific games happened in which city was like solving a riddle written in invisible ink. I’m sitting at my kitchen table, coffee cold, muttering to myself, “There’s gotta be a simpler way.”
Building My Own Simple Map
Fine, I thought, if the info won’t come to me, I’ll wrangle it myself. Grabbed a huge piece of paper – like, poster board huge – and some colorful pens. Went back to that dense PDF and started brute forcing it.
First, I found the important dates. They usually announce the full bracket and pairings on Selection Day, which was listed as Sunday, March 9th, 2025. That’s when you figure out who plays where.
Then I hunted down the actual game dates:
- Opening Round: These are smaller games right after Selection Day. Dates were Thursday, March 13th and Friday, March 14th, 2025. Got that circled in red.
- Big Final Tournament Site: The big showdown, the main event everyone wants to see. Found it listed for Tuesday, March 18th through the Championship game on Tuesday, March 25th, 2025. Marked that week in huge green letters. Sioux City, Iowa is hosting. Remember that name!
I basically ignored all the other noise – the points system for qualifying, the long lists of regional sites. Just needed the dates fans actually care about for the games.
Real-World Tips I Figured Out the Hard Way
After untangling that beast, here’s the practical stuff I wish someone had told me straight up:
- Bookmark ONLY the NAIA Championship Central Page: Seriously, ignore everything else. That’s your North Star.
- Selection Day is Sacred Circle it on your Calendar like it’s your birthday. That’s March 9th, 2025. No bracket before that means no real schedule details. Period.
- Flights & Hotels for the Final Site? Sioux City, Iowa. Shoot for arriving Monday, March 17th at the latest. Games kick off Tuesday the 18th, and that Championship is Tuesday the 25th. Prices skyrocket near those dates, obviously.
- Opening Round Travel? Hold your horses! Sites aren’t even picked until later in 2024. Just know the dates (March 13th & 14th) and wait for the NAIA to announce where.
The biggest takeaway? This entire process felt like they designed it to be confusing on purpose. We all thought it was a disaster, honestly. But figuring it out piece by piece? Yeah, that felt pretty good.
You might be thinking, “Why trust this guy?” Well, last year I tried planning a trip for the 2024 tournament based on some shady blog post from like 2022. Ended up flying to Michigan only to discover the regional games were happening in freakin’ Oregon. Yeah, I ate that plane ticket cost. Learned my lesson the painful way! Stick to the official source, double-check the dates, and never trust a schedule you find on “*”. Trust me on that one.