By Alyssa Whitney
The Memphis Sports Council will be hosting the 21st annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex from November 20-22 in Memphis, Tennessee. More than 2,000 student athletes and volunteer tournament staff will take part in this exciting event!
NIRSA Championship Series events promise an environment of inclusive competition, sportsmanship, and professional development.The tournament’s co-directors are Doug Ewing, Associate Director of Campus Recreation at Arizona State University, and Danny Feitel, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi’s Assistant Director of Programs. They both continue to work diligently with regional coordinators to complete the last few weeks of competitive and intense regional qualifying events.
Of the NIRSA National Soccer Championships, Doug says, “It has seen continued growth over its more than 20 years of operation.
96 teams now compete in four different divisions, and it’s become incredibly difficult for a team to qualify for both the Championship and Open Divisions.”
Selection for this year’s Open Division received increased publicity due to the first annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships lottery draw, which was broadcast live from NIRSA Headquarters.
Ninety-seven teams, each hoping to be chosen for one of forty-eight spots, entered their names into the drawing during a four-hour registration window.
At 1:00pm PST, teams watched in suspense as slots were filled one by one, and the remaining 49 teams were placed on a waitlist. “The teams on the waitlist are hoping for a team above them to say they cannot make this year’s tournament,” explains Doug. “The event is one of the premiere collegiate soccer tournaments in the nation and because of that, they‘ll wait for the opportunity to get in.”
This method of selecting the Open Division teams was well received in comparison to previous years when it was the teams with the fastest fingers and best internet connections who were able to sign up before all the slots were taken.
The NIRSA National Soccer Championships have seen impressive and rapid growth in both size and competition.Congratulations to the following teams selected for the 2014 NIRSA National Soccer Championships Open Division, and best of luck to the teams competing for a bid in the Championship Division!
Men’s Open |
Women’s Open |
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Boston College |
Colorado School of Mines |
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Colorado State University |
Cornell University |
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Cornell University |
Fordham University |
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Elizabeth Community & Technical College |
Georgetown University |
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George Mason University |
Iowa State University |
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Iowa State University |
Northeastern University |
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Purdue University |
San Diego State University |
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SUNY Cortland |
Texas Tech University |
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University of Arkansas |
UCLA |
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University of California Berkeley |
University of California Santa Barbara |
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University of California Davis |
University of Central Florida |
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University of Central Florida |
University of Colorado-Boulder |
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University of Cincinnati “B” |
University of Illinois |
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University of Colorado-Colorado Springs |
University of Iowa |
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University of Illinois “B” |
University of Kansas |
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University of Mary Washington |
University of Mary Washington |
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University of Minnesota |
University of Michigan |
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University of Missouri |
University of Pennsylvania |
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University of Oregon |
University of Southern California |
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University of Texas “B” |
University of Texas |
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University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
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Utah Valley University |
Vanderbilt University |
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Virginia Tech |
Virginia Tech |
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Washington University of St. Louis |
Washington University in St. Louis |
NIRSA would like to thank the Memphis Sports Council, the Mike Rose Soccer Complex, and BRINE—the official ball of the NIRSA National Soccer Championships—for their support of what is sure to be another outstanding NIRSA tournament. Participants should get ready for a fantastic event that might just be the pinnacle of the collegiate soccer experience!
