(11-24-09) - Changes have been taking place in NCAA D2 at a very fast rate. Over the past several years numerous schools moved up to D1 and many NAIA schools have made and will continue to look at D2 in the future. The economy is also starting to play a part in all of this and you might now see several D1 schools move down to D2. The cost of doing business is forcing school administrations to make choices on their athletic programs.

The fast move to D2 for some NAIA schools may have slowed up due to the upcoming changes in the application process. The new “tougher” requirements have many schools looking at the move in a different way. The rush to D2 may have slowed for many schools.

D2 membership now has a limit of number of schools that will be accepted into the process. The “magic” number of schools that can be accepted in any year is 10 according to information released recently. Over three years this could amount to as many as 30 new D2 schools. Plus you could add as many as 10 D1 schools moving down. Total would add up to 40 new D2 members looking for a conference home.

This past year six Ohio NAIA members applied to become D2 members with the thoughts of forming a new conference in the process. That plan was derailed when only two members were accepted this past spring. The other four schools are considering re-applying this year. This makes it important for future schools looking to make a move to D2 to have some idea if there is a conference that will be looking to add new members. The move to D2 is tough enough without having to worry about what conference you will be competing in. The thought of being an independent in D2 can be a real challenge for a school, especially since many D2 conferences have grown to larger numbers. Scheduling would be quite difficult in this atmosphere.

Schools looking to make the move to D2 need to know the “lay of the land” and we suggest that schools going through this process have at least one current D2 member serve as a mentor. This mentor school would be a good resource when questions come up about the functioning of D2. This is also a networking opportunity to possibly finding a conference home.

How will conferences change? Should 40 new schools be accepted into D2 in three years there will be lines signing up to join a conference. The adding of a new regional school to an established conference makes a lot of sense in this economy. This might cause additions, subtractions and possibly even several new conferences. Established conferences will be interested in this, more conferences mean the changing of bids for NCAA championships, scheduling, etc. This issue is important to everyone in the D2 world. The key is for any school to be in a conference that supports the mission of their school. Established conferences should be prepared for changes in the make-up of their conference and be aware of any changes that might take place.

We encourage conferences to do a self-inspection of the current conditions they are facing. Commissioners might want to sit down in the future to discuss how they can all help with the addition of these new schools. Strong conferences make for a strong association.

We have asked D2 Commissioners for information on possible expansion in their conference. We will update this part of the article as we receive information.

Updated 12-7-09 -

The Gulf South Conference is always interested in speaking with potential new members, whether from the NAIA or NCAA, regardless of the Division in which they currently compete. Division II has become a very strong destination with a real balance between academics and athletics, and we encourage interested institutions to contact us.

Updated 11-24-09 -

The NSIC Board of Directors voted last September to expand our 14 member conference to 16 in the academic year 2012-2013.

The PacWest has helped a number of schools work through the process of becoming active NCAA DII members. Since 1998, the PacWest has accepted new programs from

These are in addition to the schools active prior to that time--Chaminade, Hawaii Hilo, and Grand Canyon. The conference now has nine full members, with seven active members. Academy of Art and Dominican are currently going through the candidacy process.

We all believe that DII is a great destination. We work hard to achieve the balance of competitiveness, academic achievement, and community engagement while also working within budgets and cost containment structures.

Our teams have been very successful--winning several national championships in women's volleyball and women's tennis in the last decade. And one of our men's basketball teams was ranked #1 in the national pre-season polls. This is in addition to our outstanding programs in soccer, softball, baseball, and cross country. We have 11 sports in all.

We continue to bill ourselves as the most beautiful destination conference in the entire NCAA--with schools in Hawaii, the San Francisco Bay area, southwest Utah, and Arizona. We believe the dynamic experience that our student-athletes receive with outstanding educational venues balanced with unmatched opportunities for travel and cultural diversity is a great reason to join us.

We continue to reach out to other West regional schools who are interested in a dynamic and growing conference to find out why "we chose Division II".

The movement of NAIA schools to NCAA Division II does not effect the CACC. The conference has a presidential-mandated four-hour rule. No member can be more than a four hour drive from the farthest member. In essence, this has established a foot-print from the western portion of Connecticut to the northern portion of Delaware. There are no current NAIA members in that area.

The CACC is a former NAIA league and 11 of its current 14 members came from that association in the late 1990's. The CACC Presidents have set a cap of 16 members but have also established a policy to not actively recruit new members.

Daniel B. Mara-Commissioner

The Great Lakes Valley Conference will expand to 16 members in 2011-12 when William Jewell College ( Liberty , MO ) enters the league. Two of the last three schools to join the GLVC have reclassified from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. While our target number for institutions will be met at 16 in 2011 we remain proactive with all issues dealing with membership.

The WVIAC currently stands at 16 members and has no plans for expansion at this time.

The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is currently comprised of 12 California public institutions, 11 CSU and 1 UC system institution. The CCAA was established in 1939 and has competed very successfully as a NCAA Division II conference. In September of 2005 the CCAA Presidents /Chancelors' Group established membership criteria for prospective institutions seeking CCAA membership. In summary, prospective members should have academic missions and profiles comparable and complimentary to the current CCAA membership. Institutions should be in full compliance with Title IX and the Cal Now requirements. Institutions located within the State of California are of highest consideration, with the quality of facilities comparable to existing CCAA member venues. Institutions should have full-time personnel that include an athletic director, senior woman administrator, faculty athletic representative, sports information director, certified trainer, compliance officer and facility/event manager. Sport offering should be broad based and high quality and align with existing CCAA offered championship sports. Institutions should have had no major NCAA/NAIA violations within the past three years. \

The CCAA currently includes Cal State East Bay as reclassifying NCAA Division II member, in year two of the NCAA membership reclassification process, and sponsored CSU Monterey Bay through the reclassification process most recently.

Institutions interested in CCAA membership can visit the CCAA website www.goccaa.org, or contact the CCAA Commissioner Robert J. Hiegert (925-472-8299 etx 4). CCAA institutions are located throughout all of California from Arcata in the north a to San Diego in the south. Seven institutions are located in California north and five in Southern California.

There is an option that current and future D2 independent members may want to explore. The grouping of independents into an association that allows for structure until a conference home can be found. Presently the NAIA and NCAA D3 schools have done this with pretty good success. These two groups allow for the independent to have the opportunity for student-athletes to have honors and also qualify for bids in national championships. The best part is that this allows these schools the opportunity to solidify the move to D2.

http://www.aiisports.com/

http://www.d3independents.org/