Grace President Dr. Bill Katip (left) and Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe are happy to report Grace College will continue hosting the NCCAA National Basketball Tournaments through 2020. (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) has announced a contract extension with Grace College as the host for the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball National Championships for 2018-2020.

The championships will be held on the Grace College campus in the beautiful 2,200-seat Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake, Ind.

Grace has served as a national tournament host since 2009, hosting the NCCAA women’s basketball championships for three years before adding the men’s basketball tournament in 2012. This marks the second straight three-year bid the NCCAA has awarded Grace to host the men’s and women’s combined national tournaments.

“The NCCAA is excited that Grace College has renewed their bid to host the Division I Basketball Championships,” said NCCAA Executive Director Dan Wood. “Under the outstanding leadership of Athletics Director Chad Briscoe and the continued support and excellence of the whole athletic staff, we anticipate the continuation of a mutually beneficial partnership.”

The championship will be held each year in March as 24 basketball games will be packed into four days. The men’s and women’s tournaments consist of eight elite teams in each bracket, featuring top-caliber competitors from across the United States. Men’s and women’s games will be interspersed throughout the event. As host, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams from Grace College will earn automatic bids to the NCCAA championships.

“This is a great day for our athletic department, campus and community,” Briscoe said. “We are humbled and thankful to once again be selected by the NCCAA for the opportunity to host both of these national championships. We will work diligently to continue creating a national championship atmosphere that generates great memories for the participants, fans and our community.”

The state-of-the-art Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center opened in 2007. The 2017 tournament from March 15-18 will be Grace’s sixth consecutive year hosting both the men’s and women’s championships. During last year’s national tournament, Roberts Wesleyan College (N.Y.) claimed the women’s championship while Emmanuel College (Ga.) won the men’s title.

“Grace College is honored and delighted to once again host these great championships,” said Grace College President Dr. Bill Katip. “We have thoroughly enjoyed hosting the NCCAA championships for nearly a decade, and we are excited at the opportunity to continue holding this prestigious event on our campus.”

The championships will swing into action with a Christian Service Project (CSP) in the Winona Lake and Warsaw community. Prior service projects include trips to local elementary schools, churches, senior citizen homes and Combined Community Services among others.

“The CSPs truly define the NCCAA and its commitment to our student-athletes,” Wood said.  “Our goal is to remind each participant of his/her Christian responsibility prior to competing for a national championship. One men’s and one women’s team will leave with a banner as champions, but each team and individual will have the opportunity to carry the banner for Jesus Christ while in Winona Lake and throughout their life.”

The NCCAA, a not-for-profit association headquartered in Greenville, S.C., is America’s only Christian intercollegiate athletic association. It serves nearly 100 member colleges and universities involving well over 17,000 student-athletes and 850 coaches. A total of 24 national championships in men’s and women’s sports and one national invitational are sponsored by the NCCAA. The NCCAA also sponsors mission endeavors throughout the world sharing the witness of Jesus Christ through athletics.

For more information regarding Grace’s hosting of the NCCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, visit www.gclancers.com/nccaa.