March 2, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 16 host locations for the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First & Second Round have been announced, marking the beginning of the 64-team tournament Friday and Saturday, March 13-14.  The full field of qualifiers will be revealed Thursday, March 5, at YouTube.com/PlayNAIA at 7 p.m.

Dakota State will be hosting a watch party on Thursday evening at the Beacom PREMIER Complex in the Heartland Room, starting at 6 p.m.  The event is open to the public to join us for the watch party, meet the team, appetizers and beverages, and the selection show.

Each First & Second Round site will feature four teams in the first two rounds of a single elimination tournament. The winner of each four-team site will advance to Sioux City, Iowa, and the Tyson Events Center, for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Final Site March 19-24.

All 48 games in the 2026 First & Second Round will air live on Urban Edge Network. For links to mobile and smart TV apps, visit NAIA.org/Watch.

Dakota State was one of the 16 host sites selected for the first two rounds of the NAIA national tournament for the third consecutive year.  The Trojans captured the inaugural Frontier Conference regular season champion and earned the first league automatic bid to the national tournament.  DSU had been consistently ranked inside the NAIA's Top 10 throughout the season.

Dakota State plays Montana Tech in the Frontier Conference Women's Basketball championship game Monday evening (tonight).  The game will tip off at 6:05 p.m. (Central Time)/5:05 p.m. (Mountain Time) and will be live broadcast via SWX Local Sports YouTube page.