Another School makes the jump to D-I

[89rabbit]

Another school is making the jump from NCAA D-II to D-I.

http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articlei...hkc3e7idg9eiOj

Winston-Salem State Announces Plans to Move Towards NCAA Division I Classification


Winston-Salem State University Sports Information, Chris Zona


Teams and athletes to compete for championships in the 2009-10 seasons

Winston-Salem, N.C. - In a drive to support rapid growth and attain higher visibility, the Board of Trustees at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) approved a plan to seek reclassification of the school's athletic programs to compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. WSSU, currently a member of Division II, will submit an application to the NCAA seeking the change in classification by December 1 as required by the athletic association's bylaws. This step will formally start a five-year process that culminates with WSSU teams and athletes gaining eligibility to compete for all Division I championships . . .

"Moving up to NCAA Division I advances our university's strategic plan and will offer our talented student-athletes even more challenging competition," said Harold L. Martin, Sr., WSSU's chancellor. "Specifically, competing on a bigger stage will elevate awareness of WSSU and our reputation for excellence regionally and nationally, while creating opportunities to generate even more revenue from our athletic programs."

In recent years, WSSU's population has grown by 15 to 20 percent annually and now numbers over 4,100 students. This figure is expected to top 6,100 by 2010. Reclassifying the university's athletic programs is consistent with this emerging position as a much larger and nationally recognized institution, according to Martin. The university plans to remain a member of NCAA Division II through the 2005-06 seasons while beginning the reclassification process. During this period, WSSU hopes to maintain its status as a full member of the Central Collegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), subject to agreement with conference officials and member institutions. . . .

[jackmd]

Re: Another School makes the jump to D-I

Interesting article about the movement of traditional black colleges (like Winston-Salem St.) to DIAA and what may happen to DII.  Here is a link and a snipet from the article.  This is a section from a larger article in 2000 addressing the future of black college football. It discusses the influence of black colleges at the DII level but I think you can apply the concern about rivalries to all of DII.  

http://www.blackvoices.com/feature/b...ff_essay2.html

A league of their own?

If you've paid close attention to black college football during the last decade, one thing you saw was a migration to higher NCAA divisions. If that trend continues at its current pace, all black colleges eventually will participate at one level: NCAA Division I-AA. Division II football, as we know it, may become extinct.  

In recent years, schools have become reluctant to stand pat at the NCAA Division II level. They see a chance to increase their slice of the revenue pie and to attain the presumed higher profile that higher divisions receive in the media.

During the 1990s, for example, schools such as Hampton and Norfolk State left the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and climbed into the Division I-AA Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Each school felt it was imperative to make the move. And they are not by themselves. Several schools currently are trying to make the leap from Division II to Division I-AA. While at North Carolina Central, former Athletics Director William Lide developed a plan to move the school up a level, and the new AD, Lin Dawson from Division I-A North Carolina State, was hired specifically to guide the program to I-AA.

This will be the norm in the future. Conferences such as the MEAC and the SWAC may become inundated with teams. Look also for at least two or three additional conferences for historically black colleges in the future.

And look for some black colleges to leave traditional black conferences for leagues like the Southern Conference.

The climb of many schools to the Division I-AA level could affect some strong traditional rivalries - for a while anyway. ............