Enter the NIRSA Championship Series national soccer lottery draw

In a few weeks, the NIRSA Championship Series is kicking off the 2022 soccer season with our national Open Division lottery. Ninety-six teams from across the country will head to Round Rock, Texas from November 17–19 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 October 6.

To be eligible for the Open Division lottery draw, teams must complete a team registration through IMLeagues between 9:00am ET/6:00am PT on September 26 and 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT on September 29. 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.

NIRSA Championship Series Soccer Work Team Co-Chair Sylvain Tchapchet, Coordinator for Competitive Sports at Pennsylvania State University, says it best: “We’re looking forward to the Open Division lottery. It is a fantastic opportunity for teams to guarantee their spot at the national soccer tournament. The competition is always tough, and we look forward to seeing all of the teams in November.”

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 ET/5:00pm PT 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 Monday, October 31. Teams that are interested in being considered for at-large bids are encouraged to notify their regional coordinator by Sunday, October 30.