CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Yellow Jacket fans are a year closer to seeing their teams compete at the NCAA Division II level. Today, the National Collegiate Athletic Association notified Cedarville University that it has been approved for Candidacy Year 2 in the membership process.
The highly-anticipated phone call from the NCAA was received late this afternoon by University President Dr. Bill Brown, Provost Dr. John Gredy, and Athletic Director Dr. Alan Geist. It's another major hurdle cleared by the institution in what is an arduous three-year procedure.
"We're thrilled to move on to the second year of the process," said Geist. "We felt like we did everything that the NCAA asked us to do. This past year has been a busy one and everyone in the department played an important role in one way or another."
Since being approved for the Division II membership process nearly a year ago to the day, Cedarville was charged with implementing several new items during Candidacy Year 1 while putting others in print.
Some of the key components included:
- Adding personnel - the most important of which was hiring the school's first-ever NCAA compliance coordinator.
- Dropping the faculty (teaching) loads of coaches.
- Producing a detailed budget plan.
- Assembling a Compliance Handbook as well as updating the Coaches' Handbook and Student-Athlete Handbook.
- Completing a two-day assessment and examination by an NCAA vendor.
- Making a required visit to an NCAA Division II institution (University of Indianapolis).
The previous list names only several of many requirements. The NCAA monitored the school's progress over the past 12 months before issuing a positive recommendation.
Now, Candidacy Year 2 presents further goals to meet in order to be ready to operate as a Division II member. The school's provisional year will be 2011-12.
Geist summarized the present with the future in saying, "It is satisfying to reach this point even though we realize we still have much to work on. We have an idea of what it takes to be an NCAA Division II member. Now, we have to do it."
Provided it continues to meet NCAA obligations, Cedarville would become a full Division II member in time for the 2012-13 academic year. The Yellow Jackets plan to continue their longtime affiliation with the National Christian College Athletic Association while also seeking NCAA conference affiliation.
Cedarville will wrap up a 60-plus year association with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics following the 2010-11 athletic season. It will also be the school's final year in the American Mideast Conference, despite being the lone remaining charter member of the league, which was founded in 1949 as the Mid-Ohio League.
Only six schools in the state of Ohio are active Division II members: Ashland, Central State, Findlay, Lake Erie, Tiffin, and Urbana. Other schools from the state in the NCAA membership process include Ohio Dominican and Notre Dame College.
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