In the upcoming weeks, the NIRSA Championship Series will kick off the 2023 soccer season with our national Open Division lottery. Ninety-six teams from across the country will head to Round Rock, Texas from November 16–18 for a chance to claim the title of National Champion! Twenty-four women’s teams and 24 men’s teams will qualify for the Championship Division through regional play. The 48 teams participating in the men’s and women’s open divisions will be determined by a lottery draw happening on Friday, October 6.
To be eligible for the Open Division lottery draw, teams must complete a team registration through IMLeagues between 9:00am Eastern/6:00am Pacific on Monday, September 25 and 8:00pm Eastern/5:00pm Pacific on Thursday, September 28. Universities are limited to one team per division. Teams signing up for the lottery should have travel funds in place in addition to being committed to traveling if selected.
On October 6, our legendary master of ceremonies—and the voice of the NIRSA Championship Series—David Peters, Senior Associate Director, Campus Recreation at Florida State University, will draw registered team names from a hat to determine the lucky 24 women’s and 24 men’s teams who will compete in the open divisions of this year’s tournament.
Once David has finished with the lottery draw, invitations will go out to all selected teams and each team will be given until 8:00pm Eastern/5:00pm Pacific on Thursday, October 13 to accept and pay the entry fee to finalize their spot.
Championship Division at-large bids
The Championship Division will include 24 men’s and 24 women’s teams. Teams must secure participation in this division by qualifying. Qualifying standards are detailed on the Play website. Regional tournaments take place in the final weekends of October and universities are limited to one team per division.
The lucky teams who land a spot through the lottery draw don’t need to worry about qualifying for the tournament through regional league play.
At-large bids for the Championship Division will be extended on Tuesday, October 31. Teams that are interested in being considered for at-large bids are encouraged to notify their regional coordinator by Sunday, October 29.
Lauren Carlson is currently the Sports Programs Coordinator at NIRSA.
