Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 1999-00 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball National Championship

The 2000 NAIA II National Tournament was the ninth edition of the event after the NAIA split divisions prior to the 1991-92 season. With the move to the College of the Ozarks and with many of the perennial powers from previous seasons staying at home, the first tournament in Branson was wide open. Prior to 2000, no team seeded lower than sixth had won the NAIA II National Tournament, but that all changed on March 14 when the Eagles triumphed over the host Bobcats.

The opening round featured just three upsets over the seeded teams, the biggest being California State Hayward (now Cal. State East Bay) knocking off No. 7 St. Ambrose by three. However, in what was a foretaste of things to come, College of the Ozarks registered the first of its four straight upsets to reach the national title game.

Entering the tournament, the favorites would have been top-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (32-3) and second-seeded Huntington (31-1), who combined for just four losses prior to the event. MNU is just a little over a three hour drive, while Huntington was making its first-ever appearance at the national tournament, they would become a mainstay in Branson for years to come.

Embry-Riddle also had to be considered somewhat of a dark horse as the Eagles were tied with Husson (Maine) with the most national tournament appearances of any of the 32 teams with six. However, the Eagles were in MidAmerica Nazarene's quadrant of the bracket and had, in theory, the toughest second-round matchup of any seeded team with ninth-seeded Concordia (Ore.).

Berea College
Location: Berea, Kentucky
Nickname: Mountaineers
Conference: Independent
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: Independent Berth
Record: 18-11
National Tournament Appearances: 4
 
Bethany College
Location: Lindsborg, Kansas
Nickname: Swedes
Conference: Kansas Collegiate Athletic 
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: KCAC Tournament Champions
Record: 19-12
National Tournament Appearances: 2
 
Briar Cliff College
Location: Sioux City, Iowa
Nickname: Chargers
Conference: Independent
Seed: No. 6
Qualification: Independent Berth
Record: 22-7
National Tournament Appearances: 3
 
Bryan College
Location: Dayton, Tennessee
Nickname: Lions
Conference: Tennessee-Virginia Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: TVAC Tournament Champions
Record: 20-12
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
California State University-Hayward
Location: Hayward, California
Nickname: Pioneers
Conference: California Pacific
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: CalPac Tournament Champions
Record: 19-8
National Tournament Appearances: 2
 
Concordia University
Location: Portland, Oregon
Nickname: Cavaliers
Conference: Cascade Collegiate
Seed: No. 9
Qualification: CCC Regular Season Champions
Record: 23-8
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Daemen College
Location: Amherst, New York
Nickname: Warriors
Conference: Northeast Atlantic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: NEAC Tournament Champions
Record: 24-8
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Dickinson State University
Location: Dickinson, North Dakota
Nickname: Blue Hawks
Conference: North Dakota College Athletic
Seed: No. 10
Qualification: NDCAC Tournament Champions
Record: 23-5
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Dominican College
Location: Orangeburg, New York
Nickname: Chargers
Conference: Central Atlantic College
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: CACC Tournament Champions
Record: 20-13
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Nickname: Eagles
Conference: Florida Sun
Seed: No. 8
Qualification: FSC Tournament Champions
Record: 26-7
National Tournament Appearances: 6
 
Grand View College
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Nickname: Vikings
Conference: Midwest Classic
Seed: No. 16
Qualification: MCC Tournament Champions
Record: 22-11
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Green Mountain
Location: Poultney, Vermont
Nickname: Eagles
Conference: Mayflower
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: MC Tournament Champions
Record: 25-9
National Tournament Appearances: 4
 
Huntington College
Location: Huntington, Indiana
Nickname: Foresters
Conference: Mid-Central College
Seed: No. 2
Qualification: MCC Tournament Champions
Record: 31-1
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Huron University
Location: Huron, South Dakota
Nickname: Screaming Eagles
Conference: South Dakota-Iowa Athletic Conference
Seed: No. 3
Qualification: SDIAC Tournament Champions
Record: 23-6
National Tournament Appearances: 4
 
Husson College
Location: Bangor, Maine
Nickname: Braves
Conference: Main Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: MC Tournament Champions
Record: 19-10
National Tournament Appearances: 6
 
Lindenwood University
Location: St. Charles, Missouri
Nickname: Lions
Conference: Heart of America Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: HAAC Tournament Runner-Up
Record: 22-13
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Martin Luther College
Location: New Ulm, Minnesota
Nickname: Knights
Conference: Upper Midwest Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: UMAC Tournament Champions
Record: 13-12
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Menlo College
Location: Menlo, California
Nickname: Oaks
Conference: California Pacific
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: CalPac Regular Season Champions
Record: 16-9
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Location: Olathe, Kansas
Nickname: Pioneers
Conference: Heart of America Athletic
Seed: No. 1
Qualification: HAAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions
Record: 32-3
National Tournament Appearances: 5
 
Midland Lutheran College
Location: Freemont, Nebraska
Nickname: Warriors
Conference: Nebraka-Iowa Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: NIAC Tournament Champions
Record: 16-14
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Montreat College
Location: Montreat, North Carolina
Nickname: Cavaliers
Conference: Tennessee-Virginia Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: TVAC Tournament Champions
Record: 22-13
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Mount Vernon Nazarene
Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Nickname: Cougars
Conference: American Mideast
Seed: No. 12
Qualification: AMEC Tournament Champions
Record: 25-7
National Tournament Appearances: 4
 
Newman University
Location: Wichita, Kansas
Nickname: Jets
Conference: Midlands College Athletic
Seed: No. 13
Qualification: MCCC Tournament Champions
Record: 28-5
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Northwestern College
Location: Orange City, Iowa
Nickname: Red Raiders
Conference: Nebraska-Iowa Athletic
Seed: No. 14
Qualification: At-Large Selection
Record: 20-7
National Tournament Appearances: 5
 
Nyack College
Location: Nyack, New York
Nickname: Purple Pride
Conference: Central Atlantic Collegiate
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: CAC Tournament Champions
Record: 17-13
National Tournament Appearances: 2
 
Oregon Institute of Technology
Location: Klamath Falls, Oregon
Nickname: Hustlin' Owls
Conference: Cascade Collegiate
Seed: No. 11
Qualification: At-Large Selection
Record: 28-6
National Tournament Appearances: 3
 
College of the Ozarks
Location: Point Lookout, Mo.
Nickname: Bobcats
Conference: Midlands Collegiate Athletic
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: At-Large Selection
Record: 21-8
National Tournament Appearances: 4
 
Robert Morris College
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Nickname: Eagles
Conference: Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic
Seed: No. 15
Qualification: CCAC Tournament Champions
Record: 25-9
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
Siena Heights University
Location: Adrian, Michigan
Nickname: Saints
Conference: Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic
Seed: No. 5
Qualification: WHAC Tournament Champions
Record: 28-7
National Tournament Appearances: 5
 
St. Ambrose University
Location: Davenport, Iowa
Nickname: Fighting Bees
Conference: Midwest Classic
Seed: No. 7
Qualification: At-Large Selection
Record: 26-8
National Tournament Appearances: 5
 
University of St. Francis
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Nickname: Cougars
Conference: Mid-Central College
Seed: No. 4
Qualification: At-Large Selection
Record: 29-5
National Tournament Appearances: 1
 
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Location: Sparkill, New York
Nickname: Spartans
Conference: Independent
Seed: Unseeded
Qualification: Independent Berth
Record: 17-9
National Tournament Appearances: 4