KANSAS CITY – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Wednesday its new campaign: "The Right Way to Play."
The governing body of more than 250 colleges and universities, the "Right Way to Plus" Campaign is a grassroots initiative designed to amplify the distinct value of the NAIA, weaving stories through the lens of NAIA Membership.
The focus of the campaign will focus on the balance of growth of the whole person through academic achievement while including common-sense regulations, innovate tools of success for building successful athletic programs as well as character-driven competition.
Mid-America Christian University officially became a member of the NAIA prior to the start of the 2007-08 athletic year as the Evangels are currently in the midst of their 18th year as an NAIA institution.
During MACU's relatively short tenure as an NAIA institution, the Evangels have seen incredible success within its 10 NAIA sponsored athletic programs, sporting an NAIA National Championship Men's Basketball team in 2016 while qualifying for 22 NAIA National Tournaments in men's basketball (8), men's soccer (6), women's basketball (5), baseball (1), softball (1), and women's soccer (1).
MACU's athletic success has only continued to grow recently as the baseball and softball programs qualified for their first ever appearances in the NAIA Tournament in the spring of 2024 as well as the women's soccer program making its first NAIA tourney appearance this past fall.
Within the last two years, Mid-America Christian has also re-established its cross country and track & field programs, already seeing success from those programs with MACU getting its first ever NAIA National Championship Qualifier in freshman Jaden Rodriguez in the fall.
The MACU Athletics programs is well recognized within the NAIA with many of its athletic programs with three of its athletic teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll as men's soccer finished No. 17 in its final poll, women's basketball placing No. 24 in the last poll and baseball currently ranked No. 20.
The Evangels have also had student-athletes recognized by the NAIA for their incredible achievements, most recently with Quentin Woodson being the first ever recipient for MACU for the illustrious Emil S. Liston Award, which is presented the men's basketball player within the NAIA that best exemplifies the NAIA's core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.
Mid-America Christian been the pinnacle of success in its NAIA conference, the Sooner Athletic Conference the last two years, winning the SAC Commissioner's Cup for the 2023-24 athletic year as well as currently leading the SAC Commissioner's Cup standings through the winter sports season this year.
