The NCAA News - News and Features

September 22, 1997

Why Division I?

Bigger program means more personnel and expense, but new members say benefits are worth the risk

BY SALLY HUGGINS
STAFF WRITER

Institutions that have switched from NCAA Division II to Division I have done so for exposure, prestige and an opportunity for increased revenue.

The administrators responsible for overseeing the change at those institutions say that the benefits come with a cost: increased expense for additional scholarships, more travel and additional personnel required to meet NCAA Division I membership requirements. But they also say that in their cases, the benefits outweigh the liabilities.

The athletics director for Norfolk State University, the only institution to move from Division II to Division I this year, said the cost of the move was higher than projected but that the school remains committed to the change.

"We're getting more exposure," said William L. "Dick" Price, Norfolk State athletics director. "Our name runs across the TV screen on Saturdays. Our students are getting exposure.

"If we have any regrets, it's that we didn't do a good analysis of the cost. We didn't analyze well enough the personnel needed and the travel costs. But we are happy with the decision and we'll be OK."

Jerry N. Cole, athletics director at Jacksonville State University, which made the move a year ago, agreed that it is expensive to reclassify to Division I, but he also believes the change was worth the increased costs.

"I think we would do it again," he said. "But however expensive you think it may be, however much trouble you think it may be, double that. We anticipated our budget would increase by one-third. It increased by one-third and then some."

Twists and turns

Quinnipiac College and the University of Denver, each in the final year of the two-year reclassification process, have encountered some twists and turns along the way, but both are committed to achieving Division I membership.

Officials at both schools said they made the decision to reclassify their programs to bring athletics in line with the academics of their institutions.

"Quinnipiac is ranked in the top tier academically, enrollment has almost doubled in recent years and the athletics program is eager to catch up with the academic reputation at the school," said Jack McDonald, athletics director.

"We wanted to compete at the highest level athletically as we do academically," said Joel Maturi, Denver athletics director. "We wanted to expand our image at the national level."

In the last five years, seven schools have been reclassified from Division II to Division I. All have moved their football programs into Division I-AA. When Quinnipiac and Denver are reclassified (scheduled for September 1, 1998), they will be designated Division I-AAA because they do not sponsor football.

NCAA Bylaw 20.9 specifies the requirements for a school to be a Division I member. Institutions interested in making the move contact the NCAA national office and express their intent through a petition for reclassification. A petition for reclassification to Division I must be signed by the institution's chief executive officer and director of athletics.

Must apply Division I rules

After filing the petition, the institution begins a two-year journey, at the end of which it must be in full compliance with Division I membership requirements. During the two-year transition, the institution must apply Division I rules.

A twist that Quinnipiac did not anticipate is that the college would be required to apply Division I eligibility rules while retaining Division II classification and receiving only a Division II split of revenue sharing. The institution basically has the expense of being a Division I institution without the commensurate revenue, McDonald said.

Several student-athletes at Quinnipiac were ineligible this year because they did not meet the academic standards for Division I, McDonald said. Those student-athletes would meet academic standards in Division II, he said.

Denver's Maturi said he would like to see the NCAA provide a better written plan for institutions reclassifying to Division I, something that would ease the process.

"It has been challenging, but we knew that going in," he said. "But there is nowhere in writing what the process really is. You are kind of in a no-person's land because you are not really Division I, but you're not Division II either."

Scheduling problems

As an example, Maturi cited scheduling difficulties. At first, he said, it was difficult to schedule Division I opponents because the institution still is classified as Division II; as a result, opponents may not count a game against Denver in meeting Division I scheduling requirements.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the institution making the change, scheduling requirements are among the factors that add the most cost to joining Division I. Additional financial aid awards and increased sports-sponsorship requirements also require significant budget changes.

To participate at the Division I-AA level, a minimum of 50 percent of the institution's football games must be played against members of Division I-A or I-AA. To participate at the Division I-A level, a minimum of 60 percent of an institution's football opponents must be from Division I-A. Institutions must submit football schedules for the two seasons following the desired effective date of reclassification.

Various scheduling requirements apply for other sports as well.

In hindsight, Maturi recommends that an institution have a commitment to join a Division I conference before beginning the transition because it is difficult for an independent to survive long without one. Denver does not have a Division I conference affiliation but is seeking one.

Price said Norfolk State underestimated the increased travel costs resulting from reclassification to Division I. Most Division I opponents insisted on playing Norfolk State at home, thus increasing the travel budget, he said. (It wasn't an issue at Quinnipiac, McDonald said, because there are more Division I institutions within a day's drive of Quinnipiac than there are Division II institutions.)

Outgrew Division II

As for the ultimate reason for changing, Norfolk State and Jacksonville State officials both said they believed their institutions had outgrown Division II.

Jacksonville State was highly successful in Division II, winning championships in baseball, basketball and football. Now, after being tops in its class, the institution finds itself toward the bottom, Cole said.

"The toughest thing now is bringing our programs up to the competitive level of Division I," he said. "When we become competitive at that level, we will consider ourselves successful."

Norfolk State was motivated because Hampton University, one of its chief rivals, also moved to Division I. Norfolk State, in order to be competitive in its recruitment of students and student-athletes, believed it needed to be in the same division.

"In the next two years, we'll see the difference from being in Division I," Price said. "If we had done a better analysis of costs, it wouldn't have changed our decision. And you can't go back. The egg can't be unborn."

Already reaping benefits

Quinnipiac's McDonald said that Division I institutions with prominent athletics programs are calling to schedule contests. Fund-raising for athletics has become easier, he said, and the college is receiving considerable exposure through television.

But McDonald cautions institutions to make the decision to reclassify to Division I for the benefit of the entire school and not just for athletics.

"It needs to be for the whole institution, not just for the athletics department," McDonald said. "Don't do it for the sole purpose of revenue and TV. But when you do go to Division I, those avenues are open to you.

"People ask, 'Can you afford to go to Division I.' I ask, 'Can you afford to stay in Division II?' "