The Division II Membership Committee has granted active membership status effective September 1, 2003, to 10 institutions that have completed the fourth year of their provisional membership period.

The new active members from Puerto Rico are campuses of the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamon, Cayey, Mayaguez and Rio Piedras. The other new active members are Goldey-Beacom College, Green Mountain College, Holy Family College, North Greenville College, Nyack College and the University of Sciences of Philadelphia.

"This was a good class," said committee Chair Dave Brunk, commissioner of the Northeast-10 Conference. "These institutions have completed a comprehensive educational program over their provisional period and have shown that they are ready for active membership."

The Membership Committee, which met July 7-8 in Indianapolis, also waived two years of provisional membership for Florida Gulf Coast University, moving that institution to its fourth year of provisional membership.

Brunk said the waiver was well-deserved.

"The administration at Florida Gulf Coast University should be commended on a job well done."

The committee attached conditions to Florida Gulf Coast's fourth year as a provisional member. The institution will be required to execute a Division II Compliance Blueprint, host a campus visit by representatives from the Membership Committee during the 2003-04 academic year and meet with the committee next July.

While the committee was impressed with Florida Gulf Coast's commitment to Division II membership, it took issue with the institution's former interim athletics director, who recently termed the NCAA's action to establish a membership moratorium in 2000-01 as "unconscionable." Florida Gulf Coast originally applied for Division II membership at the time the moratorium was implemented.

"The Membership Committee believes that the two-year moratorium was a great benefit to the Association," Brunk said. "It provided Division II with an important opportunity to grow in a way that benefits not only the current membership but also those institutions that choose to join us in the future. We have no regrets that the membership implemented the moratorium to help manage and control Division II's future growth.

"When the membership established the new four-year provisional membership period, we knew there would be some institutions that would not need to go through the entire four-year process and that, in those cases, waivers would be available. Florida Gulf Coast is one of those cases."

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference also was advanced to its second year as a conference provisional member. In addition, Central State University (Ohio) was approved to begin the Division II four-year provisional-membership process.