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College of the Ozarks Returns to Hosting a National Basketball Championship

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM

By Scott McCaulley X @smcckc

For 18 years, College of the Ozarks and the Branson Lakes Region teamed to host a national basketball championship tournament. Now, the school looks to establish the joint effort again for a new national tournament.

The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) will begin a three-year run at the Point Lookout Campus hosting the Division One Men's and Women's National Basketball Championships. The tournament is an eight-team event which will feature all teams playing three games.

Al Waller, who helped bring the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Tournament to C of O in 2000, along with current school Sports Information Director Charlie Pentecost, appear on KRZK's "Ozarks Now" program to talk about this new tournament, which runs from March 19th-22nd at the Keeter Athletic Complex.

Waller, returning part-time to the school to help coordinate the tournament after retiring as Athletic Director in 2015, said they are bringing back some of the elements that made the NAIA special including the Honorary Coaches Program and holding an opening banquet at Dolly's Stampede. Waller, who was still the Men's Head Basketball Coach when the tournament started in 2000, said it was the events around the tournament that are as memorable as the games.

Pentecost added that the school's hosting of the NCCAA Volleyball Championship the last six years led to the organization wanting to hold more tournaments at C of O. 

More information on the tournament can be found at the C of O Sports Website as with the full interview from "Ozarks Now" below:

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