The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball team represents

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

Maryville, Missouri Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home to Northwest Missouri State University and Northwes ...

, in the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

competition. The team is currently coached by

Ben McCollum Benjamin M. McCollum (born April 12, 1981) is the men's basketball head coach at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. McCollum was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up in Storm Lake, Iowa, where he graduated from St. Mary ...

, who has been at the helm since 2009. The Bearcats currently compete, and are one of two founding members remaining, of the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA). The basketball team plays its home games in the

Bearcat Arena Bearcat Arena is a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Maryville, Missouri. It was completed in 1959 at a cost of $500,000Henry's Clothiers in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

title game at

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

15–14 in a last second shot. The Bearcat team was coached by

Hank Iba Henry Payne Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri S ...

. The featured Bearcat players included

Jack McCracken Jack D. "Jumping Jack" McCracken (June 15, 1912 – January 5, 1958) was an American basketball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A native of Chickasha, Oklahoma, McCracken went to Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Northw ...

and Wilbur Stalcup. At the time both corporate-sponsored teams and colleges competed in the same tournament. The Bearcats played

Fairmont State University Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vir ...

in the national championship game on March 25, 2017, in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, winning 71–61. The Bearcats won their second national championship when they played

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene. ...

in the national championship game on March 30, 2019, in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, winning 64-58. Northwest was ranked #1 in 2020 going into the NCAA Division II men's tournament to defend its title but the tournament was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

. The Bearcats won their third national championship when they played

West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Association of Colleges ...

in the national championship game on March 27, 2021, in

, winning 80-54.

Bearcat Arena

Bearcat Arena has a seating capacity of 2,500. The facility also houses the university's commencement ceremonies, as well professional concerts. Bearcat Arena, formerly known as Lamkin Gymnasium, was built in 1959 and underwent a $6 million renovation during the 1993–94 academic year with additions. The south side received a new face which included a fitness center and coaches' offices on the second floor.

Year-by-year results

Notable players

Trevor Hudgins Trevor Hudgins (born March 23, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played colle ...

References

{{Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association men's basketball navbox Basketball teams established in 1914 1914 establishments in Missouri