National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
Division II notes
|
By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Conferences: Gannon University and Mercyhurst College have accepted offers to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as full-time members beginning in 2008-09. Both schools will participate one more academic year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, of which they have been members since 1995. The inclusion of the two schools, both based in Erie, Pennsylvania, elevates the PSAC to 16 full-time members. They become the first schools to be added to the league since its official formation in 1951. The league’s current members — Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania were all charter members. The only variation to the membership came in the mid-1980s when West Chester explored a move to Division I. “The attributes these two schools bring in terms of quality competition and their dedication to academic and athletics success make us all confident this is going to be a beneficial partnership,” said Robert J. Dillman, president at East Stroudsburg and chair of the PSAC’s board of directors. Gannon and Mercyhurst’s inclusion is significant in that both are private schools, while the current membership is composed solely of state-owned institutions within the same academic system (Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education). The expansion also led the PSAC board to amend its policies relating to scholarships. Currently operating under the restriction of 70 total athletics equivalencies, the league will allow all members to grant 125 equivalencies. Further, the PSAC will no longer impose any sport-specific caps outside of the NCAA requirements. Currently the league has restricted football programs to 25 equivalencies, while the NCAA allows for 36.
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy