Good local story for us. A few tidbits on the Bellarmine Knights:

- Team is made up of mostly local kids from this area, and a few from Cincinnati.
- Coached by Scotty Davenport, a long time city of Louisville HS Coach, and also was an assistant at UofL for both Crum and Pitino.
- Beat Div 1 Xavier (OH) this season in a pre-season exhibition game.
- There has been talk in the past of moving up to Div 1 and becoming Louisville's second Div 1 team.

Arent they d1 for lax?
Do i have a BB problem if im watching this game and im not from kentucky or mormon?

They are D-1 for lacrosse. Similar to how the top FCS teams could normally win the MAC and Sun Belt, Bellarmine would likely win conferences such as the SWAC. It's a matter of funding and a broader athletic dept focus for their decision.

Bellarmine is the only Div 1 Men's Lacrosse team in this state. In fact, one of only a few in this entire part of the country (Notre Dame and Ohio State have teams).

The Bellarmine men play the UofL women every year in a charity event.

Bellermine hanging on 63-58 with 6:00 minutes to go; that Jet Chang from BYU-Hawaii is amazing.

Bellermine wins 71-68, congrats to the Knights.

So let me absorb this:

- Bellarmine University (Louisville, KY) wins the Div II Championship
- Pikeville College (Pikeville, Ky.) wins the NAIA Championship
- UK and slimeball Cal beat No 1. seed Ohio State with a chance to go to the Final Four
- UofL lays an egg and loses to Morehead State in the first round; the Basketball Gods can be cruel sometimes.

(03-26-2011 01:32 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  Similar to how the top FCS teams could normally win the MAC

No.

(03-26-2011 03:43 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 01:32 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  Similar to how the top FCS teams could normally win the MAC

No.

Sorry if the truth hurts. Last post on the topic since it's off-point for the thread but 6 teams from the FCS were rated higher than Miami OH last season.

(03-26-2011 04:07 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 03:43 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 01:32 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  Similar to how the top FCS teams could normally win the MAC

No.

Sorry if the truth hurts. Last post on the topic since it's off-point for the thread but 6 teams from the FCS were rated higher than Miami OH last season.

That's nice. They wouldn't have the depth to go through an entire FBS schedule. They would win 5 or 6 games at most.

So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

(03-26-2011 06:13 PM)thecomet89 Wrote:  So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

Bellarmine's endowment is less than $100 million, but more than many of the lower DI schools.

Conferences that might have interest are:

Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville)
Big South (Virginia - Georgia)
Ohio Valley (Ky-Tn-Mo-Il-Al)

The Summit possibly was considering them, but took Nebraska-Omaha instead.

Northern Kentucky might also be in the equation for moving up.

(03-27-2011 07:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 06:13 PM)thecomet89 Wrote:  So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

Bellarmine's endowment is less than $100 million, but more than many of the lower DI schools.

Conferences that might have interest are:

Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville)
Big South (Virginia - Georgia)
Ohio Valley (Ky-Tn-Mo-Il-Al)

The Summit possibly was considering them, but took Nebraska-Omaha instead.

Northern Kentucky might also be in the equation for moving up.

Perhaps you have some insight ..... but why ISN'T Northern Kentucky Division One? I live in Cinci, and they seem like they are extremely well-positioned for a move-up. Great arena, lots of students, healthy endowment, successful at the D-2 level, geographic fit for either the OVC or Summit.

No football, but that's not a necessary for the OVC (Morehead State and SIU-Edwardsville).

(03-28-2011 06:51 PM)NittanyLion Wrote:  

(03-27-2011 07:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 06:13 PM)thecomet89 Wrote:  So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

Bellarmine's endowment is less than $100 million, but more than many of the lower DI schools.

Conferences that might have interest are:

Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville)
Big South (Virginia - Georgia)
Ohio Valley (Ky-Tn-Mo-Il-Al)

The Summit possibly was considering them, but took Nebraska-Omaha instead.

Northern Kentucky might also be in the equation for moving up.

Perhaps you have some insight ..... but why ISN'T Northern Kentucky Division One? I live in Cinci, and they seem like they are extremely well-positioned for a move-up. Great arena, lots of students, healthy endowment, successful at the D-2 level, geographic fit for either the OVC or Summit.

No football, but that's not a necessary for the OVC (Morehead State and SIU-Edwardsville).

The OVC wants football schools as a priority over basketball, so North Alabama is likely the next school it takes in.

If the Summit loses a school (like Oral Roberts to the Southland or WAC, or Oakland to the Horizon), the Summit would likely add NKU, Bellarmine, or a Minnesota school like St Cloud St.

NKU will move to DI, it's just a matter of getting its finances and facilities in order, and getting a conference to offer. They are working on track and soccer facilities. It also takes a $1 million non-returnable deposit to the NCAA to start the DI process, as well as gaining a conference bid, so the NCAA has the bar much higher to move up. NKU probably just missed the deadline four years ago, when the NCAA threw up a moratorium on DI move-ups.

The Atlantic Sun probably is the most likely conference to add NKU now, although it may be competing vs Bellarmine and Lincoln Memorial for two slots.

NKU President Statement - Summer of 2010

Quote:And speaking of Division I athletics, you may have heard recently that we have concluded our D-I feasibility study. Based on the report we received from NACDA Consulting, I am pleased to report that the university is well positioned to make the transition to Division I athletics. The study concluded that our size, academic programs, location and facilities are all a good fit for D-I. Unfortunately, making the move will cost an additional $3.5-$3.8 million per year. We’ve made tremendous progress over the past several years enhancing our athletics programs and facilities, but we have some more work to do. While I strongly believe that moving to Division I is the right move for NKU, moving to Division I in the face of such enormous financial uncertainty would be irresponsible. As conditions become clearer, we will certainly revisit this question. In the meantime, we will continue to expand support for athletics when the opportunity presents itself.

(03-27-2011 07:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 06:13 PM)thecomet89 Wrote:  So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

Bellarmine's endowment is less than $100 million, but more than many of the lower DI schools.

Conferences that might have interest are:

Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville)
Big South (Virginia - Georgia)
Ohio Valley (Ky-Tn-Mo-Il-Al)

Thanks for a little more info on Bellarmine's situation on this subject because I really wasn't sure, other then I heard they talked about it.

I do know they play at a very small on-campus gym (maybe seats 3,000), and I don't know how much they can expand that if at all. But there are plenty of Div 1 basketball programs that play in tiny places.

What about the scholarship situation for Div 1 vs Div II; how much more will it cost them?

(03-28-2011 09:48 PM)CardHouse Wrote:  

(03-27-2011 07:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(03-26-2011 06:13 PM)thecomet89 Wrote:  So does this school have the resources to go DI? If so anyone know what conference they would join?

Bellarmine's endowment is less than $100 million, but more than many of the lower DI schools.

Conferences that might have interest are:

Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville)
Big South (Virginia - Georgia)
Ohio Valley (Ky-Tn-Mo-Il-Al)

Thanks for a little more info on Bellarmine's situation on this subject because I really wasn't sure, other then I heard they talked about it.

I do know they play at a very small on-campus gym (maybe seats 3,000), and I don't know how much they can expand that if at all. But there are plenty of Div 1 basketball programs that play in tiny places.

What about the scholarship situation for Div 1 vs Div II; how much more will it cost them?

Bellarmine already sponsors 19 sports: well above DI's requirement of 14.
DI has a higher minimum total scholarship levels and higher allowed scholarships per sport (e.g. 15 DI vs 13 DII for women's basketball, 13 DI vs 10 DII for men's basketball), so the scholarship situation may not change dramatically IF they are at DII max levels.

Higher costs come with administration (more assistant coaches, higher paid head coaches) as well as with travel. Travel would depend on which conference would invite them. The Atlantic Sun travel would be much more expensive - with multiple trips to Florida, Georgia, NC - than their current DII league, the Great Lakes Valley (GLVC). The GLVC is a bus league with a triangle footprint from Covington (Ky) west to Kansas City, then north to Milwaukee.

The Horizon League would probably be out of the question for a school in Division II, but Bellarmine and NKU would make excellent geographical and institutional fits there-other than Valparaiso, all of the HL's members are located in medium to large cities.