Winston-Salem State, which has been attempting to reclassify from Division II to Division I, recently announced that it wants to remain affiliated with Division II.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the school intends to inform the NCAA national office and the Division I Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference that it wants to remain a Division II institution.

Winston-Salem State, which began its reclassification to Division I in 2004, will continue to compete in the MEAC at the Division I level through the 2009-10 season.

Earlier this year, the Division II Membership Committee agreed to consider a “return path” for institutions in these situations that would involve them not having to go through the traditional candidacy/provisional period required for institutions new to the division.

That path would require a written plan regarding Division II legislative, scheduling, sport-sponsorship and financial aid requirements, among others. It also could involve a “re-orientation” visit to review recent Division II initiatives such as community engagement, game environment and strategic planning.

Membership Committee Chair Glenn Stokes, the faculty athletics representative at Columbus State, said after that, the timeline for these institutions’ return to active status and being eligible for championship participation in Division II may have to be determined on a case-by-case basis. In many cases, he said, that process might be delayed simply because the institution has contracted a Division I schedule in various sports a year or two out.

As for Winston-Salem State’s decision to seek a return to Division II, Chancellor Donald Reaves cited resources as the reason.

“In the final analysis, the resources to complete the reclassification simply were not available, currently nor prospectively, in sufficient amounts,” Reaves said in the Journal story. “If there were any reasonable way to complete this transition without diverting resources from competing academic priorities, I would have recommended that we stay the course.”

Reaves said school officials had been concerned about the financial resources required to reclassify to Division I for several years. The athletics department reported a deficit of about $1.8 million last year, according to the Journal.

“As the athletics deficits continued to mount, there appeared to be no rational way we could continue the process,” Reaves said. “I believe that this is the right decision for WSSU at this time, given our resources.

“While our expenses have increased as one would reasonably expect, the budget problem that we have encountered is on the revenue side. Currently, nearly 80 percent of total revenue comes from a single source, student fees. While the university has the second-highest athletics fee in the UNC system, our fee is among the lowest in the MEAC where we are competing. With the size of our student body, it became evident that we were always going to be at a financial disadvantage.”

Reaves said the school is seeking a conference affiliation before 2010-11, possibly with its previous conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Reaves acknowledged that the decision could impact student-athletes in the form of reduced scholarship dollars, but he committed “to work with each affected student to ensure that to the extent possible they are held harmless.”

“Those who may be affected by this move, either through loss of scholarship or the move from Division I athletics, will be given as much guidance and assistance as possible,” Reaves said. “While our athletics program is very important to the university, our No. 1 short-term priority is the well-being of our student-athletes.”