The 1937 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 1st annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 8 teams playing in a single-elimination format. In 1938 it would expand to its current size of 32 teams.
This tournament is unique in that fact that it was start two years prior to the NCAA tournament, one year before the National Invitation Tournament and all the teams play over a series of six days instead of several weekends. The compactness of the tournament has given it the nickname "college basketball's toughest tournament".
It began when Dr. James Naismith, Emil S. Liston, Frank Cramer, and local leaders formed the National College Basketball Tournament which was staged at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The goal of the tournament was to establish a forum for small colleges and universities to determine a national basketball champion.
The first championship game featured Central Missouri State University defeating Morningside College (Iowa) 35-24. It is also the lowest scoring championship game in tournament history.
Read more about 1937 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament: Awards and Honors, 1937 NAIA Bracket
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