More national champions will be crowned at the beach as the Orange Beach Sportsplex and Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events were selected as the hosts for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Soccer National Championships for the next three years in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

“With its prime location just one mile east of the beach, Orange Beach Sportsplex is the ideal venue for the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship,” said Austin Bennett, NAIA championship director. “The convenient and beautiful coastal setting will provide student-athletes and fans alike with an unforgettable national championship experience.”

The Orange Beach Championship Stadium, where the men’s soccer games will be played, has previously been home to both the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Soccer National Championships. Men’s champions were crowned in Orange Beach to close the 2011 and 2010 tournaments and nine women’s championships have ended in Orange Beach from 2012-2019 and 2021-2022, with stops in Foley in between.

"Welcoming the NAIA Men's Soccer Championship back to Alabama's Beaches in 2025 is an exciting win on many levels, from economic impact to community engagement," said Michelle Russ, STS, vice president of sales, sports and events for Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events. "The NAIA has been a long-term strategic partner for our organization, and we are honored to host hundreds of student-athletes, families and fans, who will undoubtedly stimulate the local economy during an otherwise slower time in the destination. From a community impact standpoint, the NAIA's core values and Champions of Character program bring intentional outreach programs to our local schools.”

In addition to Orange Beach, the men’s tournament has made other Alabamian stops including Decatur in 2022 and 2021, Montgomery in 2013 and 2012, Birmingham in 1998-1996, Mobile in 1995 and 1994 as well as Huntsville in 1978 and 1977.

The NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams. In 2023, the championship was held at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, where MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) captured the national title. The 2024 tournament was set to kick off this week, again at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex, with three of the four previous national champions in the final bracket.