Wiley heads to Tennessee for NAIA First and Second Round
NEW ORLEANS - After capturing the 2025 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Soccer Championship, the Wiley University men's soccer team was selected to the Lebanon Bracket where it will face Carroll College in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Soccer National Championship First and Second Rounds presented by Select Sport America on Thursday and Saturday at Cumberland University's Lindsey Donnell Stadium at Kirk Field in Lebanon, Tennessee.
The Wildcats (9-3-2) make their second NAIA National Championship appearance, with their first coming in 2015 when it won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament. They were the only men's team that went through HBCUAC play unbeaten. It outscored its opponents 10-2. The 2025 HBCUAC Soccer Championship proved more of a challenge. Wiley trailed most of its semifinal match until it scored twice in the final 20 minutes to get a 2-1 victory over Paul Quinn College. It was tied at one entering the second half of the championship against Huston-Tillotson. The Wildcats took control with three goals.
Carroll earned an at-large bid out of the Cascade Athletic Conference. Thursday's match is set for a noon kickoff. The winner will face the host No. 8 Cumberland on Saturday. The match time is to be announced. Saturday's winner will advance to the Round of 16 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Fans can watch the match live on the Cumberland Sports Network. Live statistics will be available on naiastats.prestosports.com.
About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.