Benedictine Ravens

The Benedictine Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Benedictine College, located in Atchison, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Ravens previously competed as an NAIA Independent from 1962–63 to 1990–91; in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIC) from 1937–38 to 1961–62; as an Independent from January 1929 (during the 1928–29 school year) to 1936–37; and in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1927–28.

The men's college was known as St. Benedict's College (alongside sister institution Mount St. Scholastica College) until a merger in 1971 created co-ed Benedictine College.

Benedictine won NAIA titles in men's basketball (1954, 1967) and women's lacrosse (2022). The Ravens played in the first NAIA basketball tournament in 1937 and the first football playoffs in 1958.

Benedictine competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, dance and spirit squad.

The Ravens won the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City in 1954 and 1967, both under NAIA Hall of Fame coach Ralph Nolan.

The two champions took decidedly different routes to the title. The 1954 Ravens were regarded as underdogs throughout their run. The field included two-time defending champion Southwest Missouri State and East Texas State, the third-place finisher in 1953.

The 1967 Ravens came to Kansas City as the top seed.

In 1954, St. Benedict's College defeated Western Illinois 62–56 in the title game.