[Sly Fox]

Another likeminded Christian school has announced they are jumping from NAIA to NCAA Division I ... Houston Baptist University.

If you just spewed your Dr. Pepper all over the screen trying to figure out why a school would be making that type of jump, I can explain.

First off, this is a very conservative SBC school a couple of blocks from my station that brough in Robert Sloan as their president a year or so ago. If you know anything about Baylor, its that Robert Sloan.

HBU was a Division I school for a couple of decades before dropping down to NAIA about 16-17 years ago. They used to be a national powerhouse in gymnastics and golf (Colin Montgomerie is among their famous golfing alumni). The Huskies were hemorrhaging cash and decided to scale back. But now they are in the process of adding several sports to meet the NCAA manadtes. And since they are rejoining Division I they only have a 3-year probationary preiod instead of the 10 years it would require others.

There aren't many distinctively Evangelical schools competing at the Division I level (although there are several in the Big South footprint). So I thought I'd pass it along.

[thesportscritic]

cool.

[PAmedic]

what's their nickname?

and do they have a mascot?

[Cider Jim]

Pay attention, Medic: I think Sly just said they were the Huskies.

Does anyone know if they need a head basketball coach with D1 experience and a win over UVa?

[PAmedic]

DOH

it's early.

[ATrain]

What conference are they looking to join, and do they have a football team?

[Sly Fox]

They are the HBU Huskies and they will begin Division I as an independent. Obviously they'd love to follow in the footsteps of former Big South softball member Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by joining the Southland Conference. But without football, entry is unlikely and football is not in the school's plans right now. The Sunbelt is a possibility and depending on whether or not Texas Southern

Currently their longtime head mens basketball coach Ron Cottrell doubles as their AD.

[flameshaw]

Another likeminded Christian school has announced they are jumping from NAIA to NCAA Division I ... Houston Baptist University.

If you just spewed your Dr. Pepper all over the screen trying to figure out why a school would be making that type of jump, I can explain.

First off, this is a very conservative SBC school a couple of blocks from my station that brough in Robert Sloan as their president a year or so ago. If you know anything about Baylor, its that Robert Sloan.

HBU was a Division I school for a couple of decades before dropping down to NAIA about 16-17 years ago. They used to be a national powerhouse in gymnastics and golf (Colin Montgomerie is among their famous golfing alumni). The Huskies were hemorrhaging cash and decided to scale back. But now they are in the process of adding several sports to meet the NCAA manadtes. And since they are rejoining Division I they only have a 3-year probationary preiod instead of the 10 years it would require others.




There aren't many distinctively Evangelical schools competing at the Division I level (although there are several in the Big South footprint). So I thought I'd pass it along.

Maybe they could use a former D1 basketball coach who is an expert at teaching cartwheels.

[Sly Fox]

You guys never miss a beat, do you?

For the record, HBU has been an NAIA powerhouse for years in hoops (both men & women). They are still deciding which sports they are going to add to reach the minimum. But just this last year they added the only 4-year mens soccer program in the region. That's all the more shocking since the Houston area is one of the hotbeds for soccer in the nation. But guys like Clint Dempsey had to go to places like Furman to play since there weren't any close options. So I have a feeling that program will excel from the get go.