The Division I Management Council has officially approved North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University as members the division.

Both schools, previously members of Division II, completed a five-year transition period since announcing their intentions to reclassify their athletics programs. The transition included meeting minimum financial aid and contest scheduling limits for the last four years. The institutions also completed a rules compliance review and the athletics certification process.

“In 2002, we began what we knew would be a challenging transition to Division I,” said North Dakota State President Joseph Chapman. “Our commitment to being a nationally ranked land-grant institution played a key role in pushing us through that challenge. Reaching for Division I was the right thing to do for our athletics program, this university and our state.”

North Dakota State Athletics Director Gene Taylor called the transition “a culmination of a lot of hard work, dedication and commitment by our staff, coaches and, most importantly, our student-athletes.”

Fred Oien, South Dakota State AD, said the athletics certification process alone was a “great guide to enter full membership at the Division I level. The guiding principles help enhance the opportunities for success once being an active member.”

Oien said the five-year transition from Division II to Division I has brought the university together in understanding the role intercollegiate athletics plays for the university community as a whole.

“The relationships that exist between our staff have helped us reinforce our plan for providing the most positive experience we can for all of our student-athletes, now and in the future,” Oien said.

North Dakota State is experiencing its eighth consecutive year of enrollment increases at 12,527. The school is a member of the Summit League in women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, baseball and softball. North Dakota State competes in football through the Missouri Valley Conference and wrestling through the Western Wrestling Conference.

South Dakota State, with a record high-enrollment of 11,706, is a member of the Summit League in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s equestrian, men’s and women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s/ and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, and women’s volleyball. South Dakota State competes in football through the Missouri Valley Conference and wrestling through the Western Wrestling Conference.

Because both institutions began the process of reclassifying to Division I before the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted a membership moratorium in August 2007, their move to Division I was not affected by the moratorium. The moratorium is scheduled to expire August 9, 2011.