Lewiston Secures Extension for Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series

After years of hosting a successful World Series, the NAIA announced on Friday that the championship event will remain in its current home of Lewiston, Idaho in an extension of its host contract.

Lewis-Clark State and Harris Field have been the home of the spring classic for the last 19 years. The new agreement will extend that partnership through the 2024 season.

“Lewis-Clark State has been an outstanding host site for the NAIA’s College World Series for the last 18 years and we’re excited to see that continue,” said NAIA President Jim Carr. “Its hosting experience is especially valuable as the NAIA implements a new championship format in 2022, which will include Lewis-Clark hosting an opening round in addition to championship finals. The institution’s track record of success on the field is also an indication of its devotion to NAIA Baseball. We deeply appreciate the college’s continued partnership.”

With the new agreement comes a new format as Lewis-Clark State will add to its hosting responsibilities with the addition of a 10th NAIA National Championship Opening Round site.

A special NAIA Baseball Task Force has been working for over two years to develop the new format. This process also spanned the term of two NAIA-ABCA Presidents (Brian Wede, Head Coach – Northwestern (Iowa) & Brad Niethammer, Head Coach – Webber International (Fla.)).

“The baseball coaches are excited to continue to have our World Series in Lewiston,” said Kip McWilliams, ABCA President and Head Coach at Indiana Tech. “Lewis-Clark State provides the NAIA with one of the best championship experiences in all of college baseball. NAIA Baseball coaches are also excited that Lewis-Clark and the NAIA could reach an agreement that allows for each team in the World Series to qualify by winning an Opening Round Championship. With the new extension, the NAIA World Series is in position to continue to showcase the best teams in the country at an amazing environment.”

In the old format, the host of the World Series would get an automatic bid directly to the championship final site. In the new agreement, however, Lewis-Clark State would need to win the NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament, which it will host annually, in order to qualify for World Series play. The new format will begin in the spring of 2022.

This past season, Lewis-Clark State was the winner of the NAIA Championship Host of the Year Award. The annual award honors the host that had gone above and beyond in its responsibilities in order to provide the best possible championship experience to the student-athletes it serves.

“Lewis-Clark State College is excited to extend our contract with the NAIA and continue hosting the Avista NAIA World Series through 2024,” said Brooke Henze, Lewis-Clark State Athletic Director and Tournament Director for the Avista-NAIA World Series. “This a great step for NAIA Baseball and we are looking forward to hosting the NAIA Opening Round beginning in 2022. The Avista-NAIA World Series is an important tradition in our community, so being able to extend our agreement and keep the Series here is great for the Valley and LCSC.”  (NAIA, Lewis-Clark State College)

 

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