2009 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 72nd Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held from March 18 to 24 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 72nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The Heart of America Athletic Conference was the host conference for the tournament. This was the Heart of America Athletic Conference's first year as a Division I conference.
| Teams | 32 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | Rocky Mountain College (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Columbia College (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Coach of the year | Bill Dreikosen (Rocky Mountain) | ||||
| Player of the year | Geoff Payne (Westminster (Ut.)) | ||||
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award | Nate Richardson (Rocky Mountain) | ||||
| Chuck Taylor MVP | Devin Uskoski (Rocky Mountain) | ||||
| Attendance | 38,502 | ||||
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The tournament got off to a surprising start, as five higher seeded teams lost on the opening day, including top-seeded Rogers State, who lost to William Jewell, who had only qualified for the tournament by receiving the Heart of America Athletic Conference's host bid into the field.
In the end, two unseeded teams, Rocky Mountain College of Montana and Columbia College of Missouri—neither of whom had ever won a game at the tournament prior to 2009—met in the championship game, having each disposed of three higher-ranked teams along the way. Rocky Mountain won the championship with a 77-61 victory, claiming Rocky's first national basketball title.