The Chargers, ranked 18th nationally, will take a 23-7 record into the tournament.  The Chargers earned the eighth at-large berth out of the 10 which were awarded.  For Briar Cliff, this will be the program's 17th national tournament appearance and first since 2001-02.

The 2009 championship will be BCU head coach Todd Barry's first national tournament experience with the Chargers.  As head coach at Northwestern, Barry led the Red Raiders to five national tournament appearances (1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000).

Four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) made the field; Morningside (regular season champion), Sioux Falls (postseason champion), Dakota Wesleyan (at-large), Briar Cliff (at-large).

The 32-team field is comprised of 21 automatic qualifiers from NAIA affiliated conferences and association of independents, plus the host and 10 at-large selections.  The official announcement of the championship bracket will be made by noon, tomorrow.