- March 30th, 2006, 11:26 am
#9701
Mainly their addition benefits us in football...
Presbyterian makes the move to Division Ihttp://www.sunherald.com/mld/thestate/s ... ate_sports
School to join Big South Conference for the start of the 2007-08 school year
By RON MORRIS
rmorris@thestate.com
CLINTON — In an effort to gain greater exposure for its school while competing at a higher level of athletics, Presbyterian College will join the Big South Conference for the 2007-08 school year. Big South members compete at the NCAA Division I-AA level in football and at the Division I-A level in all other sports.
The Presbyterian College board of trustees is expected to approve the move when it meets on Tuesday and votes on the proposal presented by Presbyterian president John Griffith.
“I’ve heard it said that PC is the best-kept secret in the state,” Presbyterian athletics director Bee Carlton said of the school’s academic reputation. “As an alum, I’m tired of that. We want people to know about us. (Athletics) is the first way people today get to know about you.
“Also, the objective is to recruit exceptionally talented athletes, which we already do. But so many young people today will cross you off their list if you’re not Division I.”
Griffith said the move in athletics would not diminish Presbyterian’s strong academic reputation and could enhance it.
“I can support it only if we can, with some reasonably sound speculation, make the claim that it will strengthen the academic program,” Griffith said. “That’s at the top of my list.
“We’ve done extensive studies of other institutions that are like us in size and mission that have made this move. The type of improvements in resources, profile in students and ability to increase faculty salaries by these institutions that made this move from Division II to Division I-AA in football corresponded with the strengthening of those areas.”
Under NCAA guidelines, the 2006-07 athletics season will be “exploratory” as Presbyterian continues to compete in the Division II South Atlantic Conference. For the following four school years, Presbyterian will join the Big South Conference but will not be allowed to compete for championships during the NCAA “transition” period. Presbyterian would become a full-fledged Division I school for the 2011-12 seasons.
“It’s a big jump,” Carlton said. “It’s exciting and it’s scary.”
Presbyterian will join Birmingham Southern, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, High Point, Liberty, UNC Asheville, Radford, VMI and Winthrop in the Big South. Gardner-Webb competes as a football affiliate in the Big South.
“It would primarily have us associating with the colleges and the universities that I would think are on par with us academically and sports-wise as well,” said Bill Sibley of Greenville, who is chairman of the board of trustees finance committee.
Sibley is among more than 40 members of the board who will vote on the proposal, which Carlton has worked on for the past two years. Although the proposal is expected to receive near-unanimous support from the board, it is not without opposition.
“There are many fine Division I schools in South Carolina,” said Bill Gray, a board member in Atlanta, “but if you look at the U.S. News and World Report rankings of the top colleges, the first seven and 14 of the first 15 are Division III schools. I would like PC, as a very high-quality liberal arts school, to stake their position with schools of that caliber.
“That said, I think it’s going to pass. When that happens, as the loyal opposition, I will fall in line in support of it.”
With the addition of Presbyterian, the Big South will have the minimum six schools playing football as required by the NCAA for the league champion to receive an automatic bid to the Division I-AA playoffs. Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Liberty and VMI also play football.
Presbyterian fields teams in eight men’s and women’s sports. There are men’s and women’s teams in basketball, golf, tennis, cross country, lacrosse and soccer. The men play football and baseball. The women play volleyball and softball.
Carlton said Presbyterian’s operating budget for athletics is $1.7 million, including $1 million in salaries. He said the athletics department budget would increase to $3.5 million, including $2.3 million in salaries to include 21 additional coaches and athletic staff members.
Additional revenue would come from the Scotsman Club, the school’s booster organization; a possible capital fund-raising campaign; increased ticket prices in some sports; and guarantees for playing Division I schools, primarily in football and men’s basketball, according to Carlton.
The move up in NCAA standing would mean an increase in the number of scholarships offered, primarily in football. The Division II limit for football is 36, although the South Atlantic Conference allows a maximum of 25. Presbyterian plans incremental increases, with a goal of 50 by the 2011-12 season.
The limit for Division I-AA scholarships is 63. A Division I school, such as USC or Clemson, can count a game against a Division I-AA school toward its bowl eligibility if that school offers an average of 60 scholarships per year. Carlton said a realistic expectation for Presbyterian to play a Division I-A schedule, and with it secure a guarantee in excess of $300,000, would be for the 2015 season.
“In 10 years, who knows? We’ll probably be playing against Clemson and South Carolina,” said Presbyterian football coach Tommy Spangler, who in his fifth season guided the Blue Hose to the Division II playoffs this past season. “It’s kind of exciting. ... There is something to be said about going into a high school and recruiting a kid and saying you’re Division I.”
Carlton said Presbyterian is well-suited for the move in terms of facilities. Minor improvements are necessary in baseball and softball. Presbyterian has played four seasons of football at 6,500-seat Bailey Memorial Stadium. Furman Pinson Arena seats 2,000 for basketball and volleyball.
Carlton said the move is not being made to increase enrollment at the 1,200-student, private school. Many schools have added football programs or moved to Division I in an effort to increase exposure as well as student enrollment.
Mainly their addition benefits us in football...
4:28:2009-RIP Jeff Taylor
PAmedic wrote:you're absolutely right
it didn't make it to our web site. I'll see if I can find it when I head into the office later after the baseball game and post it.
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