(1-21-11) - The recent decision by D2 membership to put a moratorium on new conferences being established for two years is another reflex action taken by the division. D2 continues to change the rules and requirements for a new school looking to join as a way to keep these schools “in line“. The changes seem to say “we want to increase our membership, but we don’t want to share the benefits with you“. The conference moratorium is just another poor choice by D2. Whose fault is all of these changes, D2 needs to look into why this is all happening. D2 could end up being just another version of D1.

D2 has lowered the number of schools they will accept in June, 2011 to just eight, in the past the number of schools accepted was limited to 10. The change in the membership application are faster then I can change the oil in my car. D2 has come from being your “best friend” at school to being the “school yard bully“.

I think D2 needs to put a moratorium on how often they change the rules for new membership. Schools have been encouraged to hire a consultant during this process, which is a financial commitment for any athletic department’s budget. How many schools who are looking to make the move to apply in December (2010) were totally surprised when D2 eliminated that membership period last June. Some schools waited to apply in December and avoid the June “rush”. With any new change in the membership process it calls for bringing back the consultant to cover the updated policy.

The moratorium on new conferences stops the talks on a new conference featuring the Ohio schools who just joined in the past two years. Why? That is a very good question to ask. Why do you want quality new members to join D2 and not allow them to have a new conference to participate in? Is D2 going to make established conferences admit new members? One statement made in a recent NCAA release - “All institutions in a new conference would be required to be members of the same geographic region for championship purposes.” This was another way to stop the Ohio schools from becoming a separate division in an established conference. Will the moratorium be lifted after two years, no firm statement was issued, only this was mentioned - “if a consensus on a course of action has been reached.” Which leaves D2 a loop-hole for the future.

The rumor mill has between twenty to thirty schools applying to D2 in June (2011). With recent changes in membership requirements and now the conference moratorium this will most likely cut that number down. School Presidents and Athletic Directors will not want to risk applying for membership and then be denied , not being accepted can be a public relations nightmare for everyone.

I think any school now looking to move to D2 needs to reconsider the entire application process and consider all of the recent changes. The planning process on making a move continues to change, let it settle down first. I feel sorry for those D2 schools who have joined over the past couple of years and now could face two more years without being in a conference and qualifying for national championships. This hurts the student-athlete, something I don’t think the D2 leadership has considered.

D2 membership has become very “greedy” in this entire process. With membership down in the past D2 made an effort to bring in new blood and it was working quite well. Schools from the NAIA are lining up to join and make the move, with the new problem now being how to slow it up and control it. We want the new members, but we do not want to share the benefits with you. D2 wants to put current new members and future new members in “athletic purgatory”.

The best move at this time for schools looking to make the change, wait until D2 commits to a time period where they will not be changing the application process. A note to the NAIA, here is your chance to keep some quality schools, make the move to meeting the needs of these schools. This may be the opportunity you are looking for and all thanks to the NCAA.

As for D2 leadership you may have just dropped the ball and you may well lose out on some quality schools making the move in the future. I encourage schools considering the move to D2 - RECONSIDER IT!