Issue date: 8/17/07 Section: Sports

As the final year of NCAA Division II competition arrives, the question on many students minds are, "What is going on with the reclassification of NCAA Division I status?" The answer to that question is still unclear as SIUE is still searching for a conference, and the process will not be completed for another five years.

But other questions may be, How will the Cougars do against the bigger schools? Do we even have a chance? Can we take the pressure from the well known schools? Well, until the season begins, it's still up in the air. However, some of the coaches here at SIUE think the teams will be able to compete with anyone.

"I think our teams can be competitive right away," SIUE women's head soccer coach Lynda Bowers said. "In any of our preseason games against D-I opponents, we always bring a competitive match."

The D-1 process is long and ongoing; it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of waiting to complete. After the school announced its intention to move to DI, the next step an evaluation of the school.

The school gained approval from the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees as long as the following conditions were met: SIUE must immediately seek a new conference affiliation; appoint a reclassification work group; inform the Great Lakes Valley Conference, their current DII conference, of their intentions; and finally, apply to the NCAA for reclassification.

After all of those steps were met, it was official; SIUE will head towards D-I after the 2007-2008 academic year. However, the Cougars are not in the clear for seeking D-I National Championship yet. The D-I process requires a five-year period of meeting all NCAA requirements.



2007-2008:

This is the exploratory period. We are currently in this phase of the reclassification process. The Cougars must abide by all NCAA rulings as far as attending NCAA rules meetings and other mandatory NCAA meetings. A strategic plan and an annual report must be submitted to the NCAA, as well as a $15,000 application fee.



2008-2009:

During the first year, a school must comply with all NCAA Division I rules except scheduling, all students must abide by eligibility rules, and all members of the athletic board must attend all mandatory NCAA meetings. At the end of the year academic year, the school must send an updated strategic plan to the national office



2009-2010:

During the second year, the school must complete an NCAA compliance review. An NCAA representative may visit the campus. Another updated strategic plan, as well as feedback from the board must be submitted by June 1.

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