1976 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1976 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 39th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This was the first tournament since 1969 tournament to feature four new teams to the NAIA semifinals. (It was the 6th time since 1937 this happened; previous years were the inaugural year 1937, 1945, 1947, 1965, 1969).

1976 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1975–76
Teams	32
Finals site	Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Coppin State (1 title, 1 title game, 1 Final Four)
Runner-up	Henderson State (1 title game, 1 Final Four)
Semifinalists	Marymount (KS) (1 Final Four) Lincoln Memorial (1 Final Four)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	Enos Mitchell (Henderson State)
MVP	Joe Pace (Coppin State)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1975 1977»

Awards and honors

• Leading scorer:
• Leading rebounder:
• Player of the Year: est. 1994

1976 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	Fairmont State (W.Va.)	58
	-	Howard Payne (Tex.)	52
						1	Fairmont State	75
						16	Texas Southern	82
	-	West Florida	59
	16	Texas Southern	81
											16	Texas Southern	77
	TOP TIER
											9	Coppin State	88
	9	Coppin State (Md.)	78
	-	Dowling (N.Y.)	55
						9	Coppin State	68
						8	Wisconsin-Parkside	67
	-	Franklin (Ind.)	61
	8	Wisconsin-Parkside	74
																9	Coppin State	82
																4	Marymount	81
	5	Pikeville (Ky.)	84
	-	Alabama-Huntsville	94
						-	Alabama-Huntsville	70
						-	Doane	59
	-	Doane (Neb.)	80
	12	Norfolk State (Va.)	79
											-	Alabama-Huntsville	76
	TOP TIER
											4	Marymount	78
	13	Central Washington State	75
	-	Briar Cliff (Iowa)	72
						4	Marymount	83
						13	Central Washington State	72
	-	Eastern Montana	76
	4	Marymount (Kan.)	93
																					9	Coppin State	96
																					6	Henderson State	91
	3	Alcorn State (Miss.)	79
	-	Lake Superior State (Mich.)	88'
						14	Edinboro State	73
						-	Lake Superior State	76
	-	Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)	73
	14	Edinboro State (Pa.)	88
											-	Lake Superior State	61
	BOTTOM TIER
											6	Henderson State	78
	11	Illinois Wesleyan	100
	-	Southwest Baptist (Mo.)	84
						6	Henderson State	68
						11	Illinois Wesleyan	66
	-	Bethany Nazarene (Okla.)	67
	6	Henderson State (Ark.)	80
																6	Henderson State	80
																-	Lincoln Memorial	79**
	7	Guilford (N.C.)	95
	-	Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)	101
						-	Lincoln Memorial	107
						10	California Baptist	78
	-	Husson (Maine)	81
	10	California Baptist	95
											-	Lincoln Memorial	75
	BOTTOM TIER
											15	Newberry	64
	15	Newberry (S.C.)	89
	-	Linfield (Ore.)	86
						15	Newberry	65
						2	Grand Canyon	58
	-	Central State (Ohio)	52
	2	Grand Canyon (Ariz.)	57

•  * denotes double overtime.

Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.

	NAIA third-place game
	4	Marymount	78
	-	Lincoln Memorial	75

See also

• 1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
• 1976 NCAA Division II basketball tournament
• 1976 NCAA Division III basketball tournament