According to the release:

The 4 schools denied now have the option to appeal the rulings or apply again next year, which would require another substantial fee for the application process.

The six schools leaving the AMC were believed to have been wanting to start a new D2 athletic conference and start off at the same level of competition as they eased there programs into D2. The announcement yesterday derailed those plans. The plan for the new conference may have been one of the reasons why all six schools were not accepted.

The new conference would have allowed the members an opportunity to slowly move into the process of becoming a full D2 member in certain areas and allow these programs not to be overwhelmed by playing established D2 schools. Present D2 conferences would see the addition of a new conference as “horning” in on automatic qualifiers and allowing the new members a “quick route” to national championships. A “sure thing” of the new conference has now hit a major roadblock, the 2 schools accepted and the 4 schools denied now have to re-group quickly as they look to the future of their programs. The scheduling for the future for all six schools now has turned into a nightmare. Unfortunately for all six schools they do not have much time to decide what the next move will be.

The AMC now has some new problems, more than they had earlier. With the loss of schools like Ohio Dominican and Urbana earlier and the six current schools looking to move to D2 it caused a “ripple” effect with other league members. Rio Grande will be joining the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference starting this school year, with Shawnee State looking to join in the 2010-2011 school year. The University of Northwestern Ohio has been looking at joining the NAIA’s Wolverine-Hoosier Conference for the future. Those moves were forced by the thought that the six Ohio schools leaving would basically end the AMC’s future as a viable NAIA conference. It looks like the AMC may have a new life and now the current remaining members may have to decide the future as well. But the cost could be high from what happened yesterday.

The NCAA may have “slowed” down the process of NAIA schools making the jump to D2. First of all the application fee to join the NCAA is almost the budget of a minor sport, to be denied membership is pretty costly and to reapply would have to be given serious consideration by each school. Schools who might be looking in the future to join may be afraid to go through the process only to be denied membership. No one likes what that means to an established school, it is an embarrassment to an athletic program. All 4 schools who were denied made major announcements about going through the D2 process and recruiting student-athletes who were thinking they would be playing in D2. Now those schools face a minor public relations fiasco.

If the NCAA really wants to expand D2 to make-up for the loss of schools moving up to D1, they might have just made a major mistake. Three of the four schools denied from the AMC are quality schools and that could cause other schools like them to re-think a move to D2. It will at least make schools revisit the plans they have looked at and reconsider. It might also give new life to the NAIA as well, with schools deciding to stay put and making it work for them. The NCAA D2 could be the big loser with these rulings.

One other issue that might be a part of this mix is the ongoing talks of cooperation between the NAIA and NCAA. Rumors (and I mean rumors) have been going around of the NAIA merging or being absorbed into the NCAA in the future and/or a possible new NCAA division being formed. Depleting the NAIA membership would not be a good move for both groups, if this is what they are talking about.