(04-14-2021 10:55 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(04-14-2021 09:42 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(04-14-2021 08:29 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I think they could be adding both basketball teams for them to go D2.

Really. You don't say. After teamvsn and I have just been discussing it in the previous 4 posts. The application deadline is a little more than 9 months from now; which means they must have a men's team sport ready to begin practice/competition in 4 months. Where is basketball going to play; USCB does not have an on-campus intercollegiate basketball facility. Who is going to coach the team? Where are the 15 players coming from? Who are they going to play? That's just for the men's team, double it for both teams. On the other hand, there is the field they use for soccer which can double as a lacrosse field. But like basketball they have 4 months to hire a coach, recruit about 30 players, get a schedule, and all the other needs.

USCB just began intercollegiate athletics in 2007 and their only on-campus facilities are the soccer field with coaches offices and weight rooms / locker rooms in the rec center building. Happy to see them coming to D2 but they still have a long road in front of them.

Could be similar to Cal State San Marcos's experience. They followed the traditional start up trajectory of launching with sports with easy facility/equipment requirements - cross country for example - then adding those with moderate requirements - such as soccer. I don't recall CSUSM's actual progression. But then they added basketball, got a great coach who recruited great players and made an impact in the NAIA, and then applied to D2. And failed, and re-applied, and failed, and reapplied. I don't remember how many times. The failed because they didn't have facilities. The played their games at a nearly JC. Their on campus facility was nice.... but only a half court LOL. Finally they were able to execute a building project which they built a very nice gym with seating, and were subsequently accepted to D2. Bottom line, at the time at least, facilities were important.

Here's how USCB can get approved the quickest, addressing the needs to facilities and sport requirements:

Teams: for however many teams they need, hire the needed coaches NOW, and announce that they will be active for the 2021-22 academic year. That's not enough time to recruit enough competitive athletes but there is enough time to have on campus tryouts to fill in what you can't recruit for next year. So now you have the teams. Competitive? No, but the NCAA doesn't care about that.

Facilities: They have a rec center gym that could quickly be converted to a single court basketball and/or volleyball court with bleachers on one or both sides. Not high class solution but one that will suffice until they can build a better one if they think they need it. Apparently they have an on campus soccer facility at Bluffton that the women's team currently plays at. Seems to me the real problem is the baseball & softball facilities, which are currently several miles from campus in Hardeeville, the Richard Gray Sports Complex. If that's a problem for the D2 membership committee, I don't see a quick solution for it. Maybe they've got a spot to build something on campus, and building a baseball field isn't as hard or expensive as building a gym, but it will still take money and time. If the CSUSM example is instructive, they may have to do it before they will be accepted.

Going by memory; CSU-San Marcos applied 5, maybe 6, times before being accepted.

Good analysis on USCB. From the link Cyniclone posted, they plan on hiring a coach in 2022-23 and begin play in 2023-24. I'm with you, they need to move everything up a year. It seems USCB has been talking about building a basketball facility for 3 years but have they done anything to raise funds to build it or hire an architect and a builder. They have no timeline or details on the facility plan. I just have a hard time believing the NCAA will approve a non-compliant membership application based on a promise to become compliant during the reclassification. Isn't that the same type of promise TAMUCC made to the Southland about adding football? And before I forget, the check is in the mail.

The Richard Gray Sports Complex is 8 miles from campus. There appears to be land available around the soccer field.