INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee announced today the field of 64 teams for the 2004 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. Twenty-two conferences have been awarded automatic qualification. The remaining 42 teams were selected at large by the committee.
Eight regional tournaments, consisting of eight teams each, will be conducted March 13, 14 and 16 at regional sites. The eight quarterfinalists will advance to the finals at Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, California, March 24, 25 and 27.
Conferences that received automatic qualification are as follows:
California Collegiate Athletic Association Cal State San Bernardino Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference Pfeiffer Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Virginia Union Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Findlay Great Northwest Conference Humboldt State Gulf South Conference Montevallo Heartland Conference Drury Lone Star Conference Tarleton State Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Northwest Missouri State New York Collegiate Athletic Conference C.W. Post North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Nebraska-Omaha Northeast-10 Conference Massachusetts-Lowell Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Northern State Pacific West Conference Brigham Young-Hawaii Peach Belt Conference Kennesaw State Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Indiana (Pennsylvania) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Metro State South Atlantic Conference Catawba Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Benedict Sunshine State Conference Eckerd West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Alderson-Broaddus
Those institutions receiving at-large berths are, in alphabetical order, as follows:
Alaska-Anchorage Alaska-Fairbanks Armstrong Atlantic Bemidji State Bowie State Bridgeport Bryant Cal Poly Pomona Cal State Bakersfield Cal State Chico California (Pennsylvania) Cheyney Columbus State District of Columbia Eastern New Mexico Emporia State Florida Southern Francis Marion Gannon Henderson State Indianapolis Kentucky Wesleyan Lenoir-Rhyne Lewis Mesa State Michigan Tech Morehouse Mount Olive Nebraska-Kearney New Haven New York Institute of Technology Philadelphia U. Rollins South Dakota South Dakota State Southern Indiana Southern New Hampshire St. Mary's (Texas) Texas A&M-Kingsville Valdosta State Washburn Wayne State (Michigan) West Virginia State
Northeastern State defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 75-64 to win the 2003 NCAA Division II Men's Elite Eight in Lakeland, Florida.
The 48th annual championship game will be broadcast live on CBS at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Eastern).
For more information about the championship, log on to www.ncaasports.com.
