NCCAA's Example.

In 1968 the National Christian College Athletic Association was formed so that Christian colleges could have a basketball competition of their own. The NCCAA's growth since then is indicated by the 21 championships it will hold this year, including a football Victory Bowl and a national basketball tournament.

An August 10th Washington Times profile of the Greenville, South Carolina-based Association noted that it "happily sees itself as the antithesis of big-time, big-money college sports. It promotes sportsmanship, fellowship and missionary work. It discourages the use of alcohol and tobacco and does not tolerate homosexuality." Currently comprised of more than 120 colleges and universities, the NCCAA is specifically designed "to allow Christian athletes to enrich their spirituality by competing in sports. It promotes itself as an organization serving Jesus Christ and living by strict moral and ethical codes that reflect those beliefs."

Dan Wood, the Association's executive director, describes its mission as using "intercollegiate athletics to serve our greater commitment to Jesus Christ. We are not chest-bumping, but we are overt in our faith." Michael Lightfoot, basketball coach at Indiana's Bethel College, asserts that in contrast to the "many negatives in athletics and the things you see on TV," the NCCAA stands as "something pure that kids can look up to," where "money and fame are not the most important things. The mission is to change lives for the better." Coach Lightfoot has garnered three National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championships and three NCCAA titles during his 15 seasons at Bethel.

Approximately half of the schools currently affiliated with the NCCAA also belong to either the NAIA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCCAA is not itself affiliated with either, but it follows their guidelines to maintain multiple eligibility for its own programs. Former Bethel basketball standout Eric Brand, who led his team to two NAIA championships and one NCCAA title before graduating last year (he currently plays professionally in Austria), was not highly recruited out of high school, but, according to Washington Tunes reporter Jon Siegel, "he became a star at Bethel and could have transferred to a much higher-profile NCAA Division I program. Brand said he considered doing so, but his faith won out over fame."

The NCCAA's member schools are spread across the United States. Most, due to their relatively small size, qualify for NCAA Divisions II or III. At present only one, Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, qualifies for Division I. The smallest affiliate, with around 60 students, is Kansas City College and Bible School in Overland Park, Kansas.

The tone for NCCAA games is set with a pre-game prayer, followed by the national anthem. At the conclusion of championship tournaments, parents, players, coaches, and officials join together for another moment of prayer. While the play is physical, and there are occasional outbursts of cursing, the level of sportsmanship is admirably high. "Sometimes you see a player get elbowed and the guy on the ground will have fire in his eyes," Bethel's coach Lightfoot says, but then "someone on the other team will extend a hand and pick him up. That is different than you might see elsewhere. Players and coaches are probably more fan friendly."

In addition to its sports agenda, the NCCAA sponsors missions to help struggling communities, including visits to hospitals and working in inner cities and with homeless shelters.