Sports

It’s official: GSW granted D-II status

• Georgia Southwestern University in Americus is no longer on the NCAA’s provisional list to become an official Division II program as the Hurricanes finally receive full-time status.

Derek Barichello

ALBANY — In the press release sent out by Georgia Southwestern University on Wednesday, two words explained it all: “We’re In.”

So long, NAIA.

Hello, NCAA Division II.

GSW, which has just under 2,500 students and approximately 150 student athletes, received the good news via a telephone call Wednesday that the athletic program will now be removed from the NCAA’s provisional list and granted full active membership, effective Sept. 1.

“They told me everything I wanted to hear,” GSW associate athletic director Jaclyn Kaylor said in an interview with The Herald on Wednesday.

“We passed without much of any discussion at all. (The committee) didn’t have any questions or problems voting us in. They’re finally letting us through the gates.”

The Hurricanes have waited three years for Wednesday’s announcement. In 1996, GSW began the exploratory phase, but never reached the provisional stage, only to rekindle those talks in 2005, leading to Wednesday’s decision.

The biggest impact is that GSW, a member of the Peach Belt Conference, can now compete in postseason tournaments in each of their 10 sports.

After fulfilling a massive list of compliances to make this day possible during the past three years, Kaylor is optimistic about the future of the program, including hopes of adding men’s cross country and women’s golf.

“We have no big changes we have to implement,” Kaylor said. “We have a strategic plan for everything. In a couple years, we’d like to add a few (more) sports.”

Along with postseason eligibility, the university gains eligibility for NCAA grant funding, GSW is granted enrollment in the National Letter of Intent program to protect its recruits and student-athletes may participate in the Life Skills program, which is designed to help students make the transition to college.

“We’re looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things now that we’re officially active members of the NCAA,” Kaylor said.“I’m happy we could get this done for our student-athletes, staff and Hurricane fans.”

Division II athletics programs are financed in the institution's budget like other academic departments on campus. With a tighter travel budget, traditional rivalries with regional institutions dominate schedules of many Division II athletics programs. Division II has a membership of 283 schools in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. For instance, men’s and women’s basketball teams must play at least 50 percent of their games against Division II or Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) or Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) opponents. For sports other than basketball, however, there are no scheduling requirements.

Finally, schools must meet minimum financial aid requirements while not exceeding maximum scholarship equivalences for each sport. GSW distributes over $250,000 annually for student-athlete scholarships.

“They emphasized, as active members, to keep improving on everything that is in place,” Kaylor said. “They also emphasized we must stay focused on the Division II rules.”

Kaylor noted GSW will not have to submit another institutional self-study until June 1, 2010.

“It’s a relief,” Kaylor said. “All the heavy work is done. Now, we just have to keep doing what we’ve started.”

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