Here is the first of a series of three articles."
http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...41&page=25
A step forward
BY JERROD NIEDERMYER
Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series about the dawn of the Division I era at SDSU.
Division I: It's a label many undoubtedly never thought would be tied to SDSU.
But times change, and now South Dakota's largest university is little more than a week away from its first-ever Division I contest — a soccer match against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"I think there's some real excitement about it," President Peggy Gordon Miller said. "It's not about whether or not we'll win in the first two or three seasons … but just an excitement about moving on."
Within the framework of SDSU's history, reclassification will almost certainly stand out as a defining point in time, a notion that Miller downplays a little.
"I think every single step a university makes is important and this is just going to be another one of those," Miller told the Register earlier this week. "It's a big step for us now, and you hope that you build on that."
In many ways, SDSU was already a Division I institution — it just didn't have the official credentials, Miller said.
"I don't think it was so much a move as it was a renaming," she said. "We just needed to go through the reclassification process."
A little
background
SDSU started eyeing a switch from Division II to Division I about 4 1/2 years ago, when administrators heard from Big Sky Athletic Conference officials about why most of that conference's schools had left Division II in the 1970s.
SDSU later hired a firm to study the feasibility of a move for SDSU, and the report showed that the university could move ahead with the transition process.
It did, and in 2003, SDSU declared its intent to compete in Division I.
A large gift earmarked for the university's athletic programs played a role, too, Miller said.
"I think that was enough for us to say we ought to take this seriously," she said. "It would've been wrong not to make this effort at this time. Too many things lined up for us, and if we were ever going to do it, now is the time."
The studies and prep work that preceded reclassification have helped SDSU avoid shocking discoveries, Athletic Director Fred Oien said.
"By having gone through that study, the scrutiny of the budget, all of those kinds of things, we just haven't experienced a whole lot of major surprises," Oien said.
Earlier this year, SDSU's Division I-AA football team joined the newly formed Great West Conference, and overall, the athletics program is still searching for a conference. A recent announcement that it will consider expansion has moved the Big Sky to the forefront as far as a potential conference is concerned.
Raising the bar
There's no doubt that SDSU is perceived differently — particularly by prospective athletes — now that it's a Division I university, Oien says.
"We're talking to a whole different level of athlete," Oien said. "Kids don't wait as long to respond to us. We've got student-athletes calling us now that never did before. It is totally different than what people expected in the public, I think."
Actually, recruiting has presented some pleasant surprises, Oien said.
"I think all of us probably had a little bit of nervousness about the recruiting … that whole bombardment of 'Well, if you can't play for a championship, then they'll never come here.' The student-athletes that have signed with us for the coming years, it's just the opposite," he said. "There's a few that say, 'If I can't compete then I'm not going to come here,' but when you show them who we're going to play against, those athletes say, 'Let's have at it.'"
SDSU will be eligible to compete for championships in every sport by the 2008-2009 year. That means every incoming recruit this year will have a chance to play for at least one title.
Tickets and
facilities
As advertised, ticket prices for Division I events will show a limited increase in line with the "natural progression."
Adult single-game ticket prices for football, volleyball, soccer, wrestling and basketball didn't change from last year. The only increases for individual spectators were for children attending soccer, wrestling and volleyball events. Those tickets cost $1 more than they did in the 2003-2004 school year. Since part of student activity fees goes toward athletics, SDSU students will continue to be admitted with their student IDs.
When it comes to facilities, SDSU already has upgraded seating at Frost Arena and improvements to Coughlin-Alumni Stadium are in the works, according to Oien.
A new on-campus baseball facility could be fenced this fall. Additionally, a new softball stadium has been designed and "we are about ready to put the finishing touches on that," Oien said.
More than just
athletics
Miller said the reclassification process taught her that being Division I affected people's views of SDSU outside the realm of athletics.
"It describes us in different terms. It puts us in a different category," Miller said. "Division I is a shorthand that says you're comprehensive … .
"It does open opportunities to the students and to the faculty, and I think our obligation is to open as many doors for them as possible. Then they decide whether to go through the doors."
http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...41&page=25
A step forward
BY JERROD NIEDERMYER
Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series about the dawn of the Division I era at SDSU.
Division I: It's a label many undoubtedly never thought would be tied to SDSU.
But times change, and now South Dakota's largest university is little more than a week away from its first-ever Division I contest — a soccer match against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"I think there's some real excitement about it," President Peggy Gordon Miller said. "It's not about whether or not we'll win in the first two or three seasons … but just an excitement about moving on."
Within the framework of SDSU's history, reclassification will almost certainly stand out as a defining point in time, a notion that Miller downplays a little.
"I think every single step a university makes is important and this is just going to be another one of those," Miller told the Register earlier this week. "It's a big step for us now, and you hope that you build on that."
In many ways, SDSU was already a Division I institution — it just didn't have the official credentials, Miller said.
"I don't think it was so much a move as it was a renaming," she said. "We just needed to go through the reclassification process."
A little
background
SDSU started eyeing a switch from Division II to Division I about 4 1/2 years ago, when administrators heard from Big Sky Athletic Conference officials about why most of that conference's schools had left Division II in the 1970s.
SDSU later hired a firm to study the feasibility of a move for SDSU, and the report showed that the university could move ahead with the transition process.
It did, and in 2003, SDSU declared its intent to compete in Division I.
A large gift earmarked for the university's athletic programs played a role, too, Miller said.
"I think that was enough for us to say we ought to take this seriously," she said. "It would've been wrong not to make this effort at this time. Too many things lined up for us, and if we were ever going to do it, now is the time."
The studies and prep work that preceded reclassification have helped SDSU avoid shocking discoveries, Athletic Director Fred Oien said.
"By having gone through that study, the scrutiny of the budget, all of those kinds of things, we just haven't experienced a whole lot of major surprises," Oien said.
Earlier this year, SDSU's Division I-AA football team joined the newly formed Great West Conference, and overall, the athletics program is still searching for a conference. A recent announcement that it will consider expansion has moved the Big Sky to the forefront as far as a potential conference is concerned.
Raising the bar
There's no doubt that SDSU is perceived differently — particularly by prospective athletes — now that it's a Division I university, Oien says.
"We're talking to a whole different level of athlete," Oien said. "Kids don't wait as long to respond to us. We've got student-athletes calling us now that never did before. It is totally different than what people expected in the public, I think."
Actually, recruiting has presented some pleasant surprises, Oien said.
"I think all of us probably had a little bit of nervousness about the recruiting … that whole bombardment of 'Well, if you can't play for a championship, then they'll never come here.' The student-athletes that have signed with us for the coming years, it's just the opposite," he said. "There's a few that say, 'If I can't compete then I'm not going to come here,' but when you show them who we're going to play against, those athletes say, 'Let's have at it.'"
SDSU will be eligible to compete for championships in every sport by the 2008-2009 year. That means every incoming recruit this year will have a chance to play for at least one title.
Tickets and
facilities
As advertised, ticket prices for Division I events will show a limited increase in line with the "natural progression."
Adult single-game ticket prices for football, volleyball, soccer, wrestling and basketball didn't change from last year. The only increases for individual spectators were for children attending soccer, wrestling and volleyball events. Those tickets cost $1 more than they did in the 2003-2004 school year. Since part of student activity fees goes toward athletics, SDSU students will continue to be admitted with their student IDs.
When it comes to facilities, SDSU already has upgraded seating at Frost Arena and improvements to Coughlin-Alumni Stadium are in the works, according to Oien.
A new on-campus baseball facility could be fenced this fall. Additionally, a new softball stadium has been designed and "we are about ready to put the finishing touches on that," Oien said.
More than just
athletics
Miller said the reclassification process taught her that being Division I affected people's views of SDSU outside the realm of athletics.
"It describes us in different terms. It puts us in a different category," Miller said. "Division I is a shorthand that says you're comprehensive … .
"It does open opportunities to the students and to the faculty, and I think our obligation is to open as many doors for them as possible. Then they decide whether to go through the doors."
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