Big news here. @KendallRogersD1, one of the preeminent college baseball writers, is saying the University of North Alabama (in Florence, AL) is moving up to Division 1.

(7:03pm) @KendallRogersD1: Am told North Alabama will transition from Division II to Division I and join the Atlantic Sun. First BSB season in 2019. @UNAAthletics

And I would assume big South football

ASun/Big South Football, you mean.


Good for UNA .... but why the wait? It could've been a Big South football member any time in the last few years. I recall a poster on here saying it wouldn't happen any time soon due to the facilities improvements needed at the school.

I can't believe the "formal association" announcement was the thing that did it.

Good lord. How many more D1 schools do we need?

(11-29-2016 07:51 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  Good lord. How many more D1 schools do we need?

I don't mind more in basketball. Football needs less though.

It is something I posted a few weeks ago that expect and invite to the ASun for North Alabama and football for the Big South.

And no, we do not have enough D1 football right now. D2 is overflowing with football schools right now with Davenport moving up from NAIA. Other NAIA schools could be applying in the future for D2 that have football. People sandblasted me for saying that North Alabama would get an invite. Now look at who have to eat crow.

http://www.timesdaily.com/sports/una_spo...5796f.html

Article from a couple of days ago.

(11-29-2016 07:08 PM)sctvman Wrote:  Big news here. @KendallRogersPG, one of the preeminent college baseball writers, is saying the University of North Alabama (in Florence, AL) is moving up to Division 1.

(7:03pm) @KendallRogersPG: Am told North Alabama will transition from Division II to Division I and join the Atlantic Sun. First BSB season in 2019. @UNAAthletics

Isn't there a 5 year transition from DII to DI?

(11-30-2016 08:44 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  Isn't there a 5 year transition from DII to DI?

Yes. The first year is considered exploratory and a school remains eligible for the Division II postseason, which sounds like it will be the 2017-18 school year.

The next four years the school is not postseason eligible (although the NCAA typically allows a "fast track" exception for one sport in each gender). Either the first year or first two years of that period, the school counts as a Division II opponent for scheduling purposes, so it's possible the Lions may not play a Big South football schedule until 2019.





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(11-29-2016 07:13 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  ASun/Big South Football, you mean.


Good for UNA .... but why the wait? It could've been a Big South football member any time in the last few years. I recall a poster on here saying it wouldn't happen any time soon due to the facilities improvements needed at the school.

I can't believe the "formal association" announcement was the thing that did it.

They could have been possibly a Big South member for football, but needed a place for the rest of the sports.

This is exactly the scenario we predicted when the alliance was formed.

Believe it.

(11-30-2016 10:57 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  

(11-30-2016 08:44 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  Isn't there a 5 year transition from DII to DI?

Yes. The first year is considered exploratory and a school remains eligible for the Division II postseason, which sounds like it will be the 2017-18 school year.

The next four years the school is not postseason eligible (although the NCAA typically allows a "fast track" exception for one sport in each gender). Either the first year or first two years of that period, the school counts as a Division II opponent for scheduling purposes, so it's possible the Lions may not play a Big South football schedule until 2019.





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There is no fast tracking anymore, as the NCAA has outlawed DII schools from moving up in single sports like baseball, wrestling, soccer etc. The exceptions are where DII doesn't offer the sport, like ice hockey or men's volleyball or skiing.

(11-30-2016 11:23 AM)dbackjon Wrote:  They could have been possibly a Big South member for football, but needed a place for the rest of the sports.

Right ... so they could've done exactly what they're going to do now: ASun for full membership, with an affiliate membership in the Big South for football.

Could've done that really anytime after Stony Brook left in 2013. Would've been taken guaranteed. Probably before that too.

(11-30-2016 12:01 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-30-2016 11:23 AM)dbackjon Wrote:  They could have been possibly a Big South member for football, but needed a place for the rest of the sports.

Right ... so they could've done exactly what they're going to do now: ASun for full membership, with an affiliate membership in the Big South for football.

Could've done that really anytime after Stony Brook left in 2013. Would've been taken guaranteed. Probably before that too.

They could have, but this guarantees the arrangement works.

Schools investing in a move up need assurances to take to donors, etc that all the pieces will fall into place.

I wouldn't doubt if UNA and/or other schools pushed this arrangement to be public and concrete so they could assure donors/regents that they would be able to find a home for all their sports.

Meh. That's bogus.

Big South affiliate membership would've been a lock at any point in the 201x years, and again maybe before.


As if the conference was turning away members left and right. They added Stony Brook and Monmouth, for cripes sake. They'd fall over themselves to get a program like UNA.

UNA's enrollment dipped for a few years - apparently it's recovered enough to make this work. It's hard to move up when a school is losing students.


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Ah ... maybe that was it. I forgot about that part, from the UNA poster on here who had previously cast doubt on UNA's ability to move up. I do believe he mentioned about UNA's enrollment falling being a serious problem.

Glad UNA seems to be recovering. Hope moving to DI spurs new growth in booster club as well, it certainly did for NDSU!

UNA had a record enrollment this fall, the highest it had been since Fall 2007:

https://www.una.edu/research/Institution...update.pdf


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That's quite a slide from 2011-2014 ... I wonder what happened, and more importantly how they fixed it?

(11-30-2016 07:29 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  It is something I posted a few weeks ago that expect and invite to the ASun for North Alabama and football for the Big South.

And no, we do not have enough D1 football right now. D2 is overflowing with football schools right now with Davenport moving up from NAIA. Other NAIA schools could be applying in the future for D2 that have football. People sandblasted me for saying that North Alabama would get an invite. Now look at who have to eat crow.

http://www.timesdaily.com/sports/una_spo...5796f.html

Article from a couple of days ago.

You don't get blasted for talking about UNA moving up, which has been rumored and discussed for years. You get blasted for including half of D2 and large swaths of D3 and NAIA when anything resembling D1 expansion comes up.

(11-30-2016 12:34 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  UNA had a record enrollment this fall, the highest it had been since Fall 2007:

https://www.una.edu/research/Institution...update.pdf


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Why would a school with an enrollment of 7,500 students play Division 1 football? Good grief.

Ask Wake Forest?