Decatur to host NAIA national soccer tournament this fall

May 12—Decatur is adding another national tournament to Jack Allen Recreation Complex's schedule with the announcement Monday that the city will host the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Women's Soccer National Championship in 2026 and 2027.

Mayor Kent Lawrence and Marc Burchard, NAIA director of championships, announced the two-year agreement at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

As part of the agreement, the city will host the national title tournament featuring 16 teams. This year's tourney will be Nov. 30 through Dec. 7.

Burchard and Lawrence made the announcement while the quarterfinals of the NAIA Women's National Lacrosse Championship were being played behind them on Jack Allen's championship field.

The women started Monday, and the men's national tournament begins Tuesday. They will alternate days until the women's championship on Friday and the men's title game on Saturday. Both matches start at 5 p.m.

Burchard said he believes NAIA has "forged a great partnership with the city."

It's a return to Decatur for the NAIA. The association held its national championship tournament for 11 years at Wilson Morgan Park through 2010. The Southern States Athletic Conference held its conference tournament at Wilson Morgan in 2023.

"It's an honor that NAIA continues to place its confidence in Decatur with another national championship competition," Lawrence said.

The city and Decatur-Morgan Tourism bid for the tournament in a joint partnership. Dan Dukemineer, who recently moved from Tourism to Parks and Recreation, said discussions with NAIA about hosting the soccer tournament began last summer when the city won the lacrosse bid.

"We told them, 'Hey, if there's other things that may come of interest and/or be available, we'd be interested to talk about it," Dukemineer said.

Burchard said he received more than 10 competitive bids and, after a site visit last fall, he notified the city on Halloween that Decatur would host the soccer tournament,

"I didn't know if it was trick or really a treat or whatever," Dukemineer joked.

The city paid a bid fee of $7,000 and agreed to host a student-athletes banquet and a "student-character event similar to the one we held (Monday) when our lacrosse team visited Oak Park Elementary," Dukemineer said.

Lawrence said the agreement "is huge" for the city, particularly because it's a sport that Decatur knows about. Jack Allen regularly fields national, regional, state and local soccer tournaments.

"It's great for us because it brings so many people to town," Lawrence said.

Lawrence said the lacrosse tournaments are an example of how the city will benefit from the soccer tournament. While games began on Monday, the lacrosse teams arrived Sunday and, along with their family and staffs, will be here all week.

The city has a three-year agreement with NAIA to host the national lacrosse championships.