On the Value of Small-College Basketball
Is it still storming the court if the entirety of the student body is smaller than a football roster?
The dust has settled in the gymnasium of Free Lutheran Bible College in Plymouth, MN and in the wake of having some conflicted feelings about the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference, I came across the presence of a similar organization in the Upper Midwest.
The Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) has existed for 43 seasons and at this time only sponsors Men’s & Women's Basketball while consisting of 8 small colleges across Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Manitoba.
Free Lutheran Bible College | Plymouth, MN
Oak Hills Christian College | Bemidji, MN
Canadian Mennonite University | Winnipeg, MB
Providence University College | Winnipeg, MB
Sisseton Wahpeton College | Agency Village, SD
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College | New Town, ND
Turtle Mountain Community College | Belcourt, ND
Trinity Bible College | Ellendale, ND
I won't get into the details of each school, but a number of members are also a part of the NCCAA and the ACCA (Association of Christian College Athletics) which lend their own structure and tournament offerings for top programs.
It would be easy to discount the value of bothering with athletics for small bible colleges as I would imagine that there is a net cost, but what are the benefits?
First of all, it probably helps people become aware of their existence - I would not have watched their basketball tournament or be writing this if I hadn't known of the Oak Hills Christian College basketball program and noticed the NIAC logo on their website.
Within the team there are relationships that can be built, as well as personal growth and the synergy that can be found between physical activity and academic success. Outside of the team, having an athletic program, especially a team sport like basketball, can go a long way towards fostering an identity and sense of community for a school.
These may not be individuals with aspirations of playing professionally, but there's a purity in watching these teams play for the enjoyment of the sport and competition without the spectre of money and toxic fans hovering above them.
As for the tournament itself, it was hosted by Free Lutheran Bible College and I don't know if there's anything to complain about with regards to the presentation. The livestream of the games was stable with good 1080p video quality, they had a pair of personable announcers for the 10 games across 3 days, and the NIAC social media manager was active with updates and promotion above what I've seen from some NCAA conferences.
It was the culmination of their season and it felt like it.
Should the financial realities work out for the member programs, I fully intend to watch the tournament next February as well.
Perhaps I'm just wired to go against the grain and dissent from the Division 1 or nothing masses, but I find a lot of enjoyment from the simplicity of these broadcasts, thanks to the absence of commercials.
As much as I love football, basketball is really the spine of college athletics. The required equipment is basic, the facility ubiquitous, the roster size minimal. The marvels of modern technology make broadcasting basketball relatively simple with a single camera that can pan left to right and either a scorebug or PiP camera shot of the gymnasium scoreboard. The aggregate of this isn't trivial, but it is still easier to produce an enjoyable product for basketball than it is for other sports, and I am appreciative of these tiny colleges putting in the effort to produce a free broadcast.
My lasting impression of the NIAC is that it represents everything the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference should strive to be in terms of engagement and transparency.
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the NCAA and major-college athletics, it feels important to recognize those taking the road less traveled, and the value of unique experiences.
Nice story on Christian schools. Thank you