Should NCCU Begin Plans To Return Back To The MEAC
p067.ezboard.com/fnccueag...D=40.topic
From News & Observer Published: Feb 2, 2005
Modified: Feb 2, 2005 7:18 AM
www.newsobserver.com/spor...1144c.html
NCCU weighs athletics upgrade
University eyes NCAA's Division I
Hayes says athletics programs 'want to keep pace.'
www.nccu.edu/campus/athletics
By JAYMES POWELL JR, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- N.C. Central University thinks it has outgrown the CIAA and is looking for more prestige and money. To get them, it wants to move up a division in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Athletics Director Bill Hayes heads a committee looking into the move and plans to make a proposal to the school's board of trustees in September.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Hayes said, "has been referred to in some circles as a church league. We'd rather take a move toward universities more like ourselves.
"Our university is growing fast, and we want to keep pace with our university's growth."
WHAT'S NEXT
Here what's ahead for NCCU if it wants to move up to Division I:
PROPOSED TIMELINE
DEC. 1: Submit application to NCAA with $15,000 fee.
2006-07: Exploratory year, with NCCU playing Division I and Division II schools. NCCU says it "may still be eligible" for CIAA championships.
2007-08 TO 2008-11: NCCU meets all Division I requirements and competes in a new conference but is not eligible for league titles.
2011-2012: Full membership in Division I.
WHAT NCCU NEEDS TO BE IN DIVISION I
* At least 14 varsity sports, at least seven of which must be female sports. NCCU will likely add baseball and possibly women's golf.
* All but four basketball games have to be against Division I teams. For the men, at least one-third of the games have to be in the home arena.
* Scholarship funding must meet the NCAA minimum in at last one of three areas: have at least half the maximum number of grants in 14 sports; have an aggregate expenditure of $877,000 on 38 full scholarships, excluding football and basketball, with at least $438,000 for 19 grants to women; or have 50 full grants, excluding football and basketball, 25 of which must go to women.
(NCCU, NCAA)
NCCU has 7,727 students; the second-largest CIAA school, Bowie State in Maryland, has 5,454, according to the the league.
NCCU has until Dec. 1 to petition the NCAA to allow the move and pay a $15,000 application fee.
Winston-Salem State University also plans to leave the CIAA, which is part of the NCAA's Division II, after the 2005-06 academic year. It most likely will move into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which is in Division I.
Hayes said NCCU is interested in the MEAC -- where it was a member from 1970 to 1979 -- but also would investigate joining the Southern or Big South conferences.
The NCAA mandates that schools meet certain requirements to move to Division I, and the change is a five-year process.
Thus, NCCU could not be a full-fledged Division I member until 2011. In the meantime, the Eagles could join a Division I conference but could not compete for championships.
Hayes has been traveling across the Southeast in recent weeks to build support for the move from alumni organizations. Some Eagles fans don't want to leave the popular CIAA, Hayes said.
During an alumni meeting last week in Raleigh, Hayes was peppered with questions about the proposal, but not criticisms. Most questioners wanted to know how NCCU would finance the move.
"Everyone doesn't like change, but change is inevitable," said Darryl Hicklen, Eagles Club assistant director. "Some of the older alums are more about tradition."
But Hayes said moving to Division I would bring in large amounts of money by attracting corporate sponsorships and larger crowds at sporting events.
The university already plans to expand its basketball arena and is considering doing the same to its football stadium, which seats about 10,000. Hayes said continuing to play smaller CIAA rivals isn't financially beneficial because they don't bring as many fans.
Percy Caldwell, Winston-Salem State athletics director, said his school also loses money on some CIAA games. He said being in the MEAC would be a boost at the gate.
"When I look at the potential of bringing in three MEAC schools every year, on top of my homecoming game, then football pays for itself and three or four other sports," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said most MEAC schools are former CIAA members, so natural rivalries would be rekindled.
"We lost most of our rivalries over the years," he said. "Years ago, we could bring in Howard University, Hampton and Norfolk State. We made money. We made more money off of North Carolina A&T than we make all year now."
MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas said it can be a tough decision for a Division II program to jump to Division I, but the rewards can be great.
"It puts you in different circles," Thomas said. "It's an evolution in how a university wants to be aligned, not only the athletic programs and academic programs."
MEAC schools generally have higher academic standards than their CIAA counterparts and have much larger enrollments.
"The level of competition is significantly higher, but the ability to generate additional revenue is there also," said Thomas, the Hampton University athletics director from 1990 to 2002. "There's no question it's a worthwhile move, if it's right for that particular institution."
But to make more money, schools going to Division I have to spend more. NCCU had athletics expenses of $2.2 million in 2003-04. The MEAC's North Carolina A&T, by comparison, had expenses of $5.7 million, according to figures supplied to alumni by NCCU.
NCCU must accomplish several tasks to move to Division I, including adding two sports. Hayes said the university probably will likely add baseball and possibly women's golf.
That will cost money. Winston-Salem State is meeting rising expenses by raising student athletics fees and looking for other sources of income.
NCCU plans, in part, to do the same. The university now charges most students a $330 athletics fee, generating $2,065,140, according to the school. Hayes is still evaluating a new fee figure as part of his business plan and says he's counting heavily on alumni donations and partnerships with the Durham business community.
Going to Division I would open new revenue streams, Hayes said.
In Division I, playing a top men's basketball team in its home arena can bring about $30,000 per game and playing a top football team on the road can bring about $175,000 per game, the NCCU report said.
NCCU had $171,321 in total gate receipts for all sports in 2003-2004, the university says.
Hayes even hopes that someday, N.C. Central could play the Triangle's ACC schools in a move that would net the school more prestige -- and money.
Staff writer Jaymes Powell Jr. can be reached at 829-4556 or Jaymes.Powell@newsobserver.com.
p067.ezboard.com/fnccueag...D=40.topic
From News & Observer Published: Feb 2, 2005
Modified: Feb 2, 2005 7:18 AM
www.newsobserver.com/spor...1144c.html
NCCU weighs athletics upgrade
University eyes NCAA's Division I
Hayes says athletics programs 'want to keep pace.'
www.nccu.edu/campus/athletics
By JAYMES POWELL JR, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- N.C. Central University thinks it has outgrown the CIAA and is looking for more prestige and money. To get them, it wants to move up a division in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Athletics Director Bill Hayes heads a committee looking into the move and plans to make a proposal to the school's board of trustees in September.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Hayes said, "has been referred to in some circles as a church league. We'd rather take a move toward universities more like ourselves.
"Our university is growing fast, and we want to keep pace with our university's growth."
WHAT'S NEXT
Here what's ahead for NCCU if it wants to move up to Division I:
PROPOSED TIMELINE
DEC. 1: Submit application to NCAA with $15,000 fee.
2006-07: Exploratory year, with NCCU playing Division I and Division II schools. NCCU says it "may still be eligible" for CIAA championships.
2007-08 TO 2008-11: NCCU meets all Division I requirements and competes in a new conference but is not eligible for league titles.
2011-2012: Full membership in Division I.
WHAT NCCU NEEDS TO BE IN DIVISION I
* At least 14 varsity sports, at least seven of which must be female sports. NCCU will likely add baseball and possibly women's golf.
* All but four basketball games have to be against Division I teams. For the men, at least one-third of the games have to be in the home arena.
* Scholarship funding must meet the NCAA minimum in at last one of three areas: have at least half the maximum number of grants in 14 sports; have an aggregate expenditure of $877,000 on 38 full scholarships, excluding football and basketball, with at least $438,000 for 19 grants to women; or have 50 full grants, excluding football and basketball, 25 of which must go to women.
(NCCU, NCAA)
NCCU has 7,727 students; the second-largest CIAA school, Bowie State in Maryland, has 5,454, according to the the league.
NCCU has until Dec. 1 to petition the NCAA to allow the move and pay a $15,000 application fee.
Winston-Salem State University also plans to leave the CIAA, which is part of the NCAA's Division II, after the 2005-06 academic year. It most likely will move into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which is in Division I.
Hayes said NCCU is interested in the MEAC -- where it was a member from 1970 to 1979 -- but also would investigate joining the Southern or Big South conferences.
The NCAA mandates that schools meet certain requirements to move to Division I, and the change is a five-year process.
Thus, NCCU could not be a full-fledged Division I member until 2011. In the meantime, the Eagles could join a Division I conference but could not compete for championships.
Hayes has been traveling across the Southeast in recent weeks to build support for the move from alumni organizations. Some Eagles fans don't want to leave the popular CIAA, Hayes said.
During an alumni meeting last week in Raleigh, Hayes was peppered with questions about the proposal, but not criticisms. Most questioners wanted to know how NCCU would finance the move.
"Everyone doesn't like change, but change is inevitable," said Darryl Hicklen, Eagles Club assistant director. "Some of the older alums are more about tradition."
But Hayes said moving to Division I would bring in large amounts of money by attracting corporate sponsorships and larger crowds at sporting events.
The university already plans to expand its basketball arena and is considering doing the same to its football stadium, which seats about 10,000. Hayes said continuing to play smaller CIAA rivals isn't financially beneficial because they don't bring as many fans.
Percy Caldwell, Winston-Salem State athletics director, said his school also loses money on some CIAA games. He said being in the MEAC would be a boost at the gate.
"When I look at the potential of bringing in three MEAC schools every year, on top of my homecoming game, then football pays for itself and three or four other sports," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said most MEAC schools are former CIAA members, so natural rivalries would be rekindled.
"We lost most of our rivalries over the years," he said. "Years ago, we could bring in Howard University, Hampton and Norfolk State. We made money. We made more money off of North Carolina A&T than we make all year now."
MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas said it can be a tough decision for a Division II program to jump to Division I, but the rewards can be great.
"It puts you in different circles," Thomas said. "It's an evolution in how a university wants to be aligned, not only the athletic programs and academic programs."
MEAC schools generally have higher academic standards than their CIAA counterparts and have much larger enrollments.
"The level of competition is significantly higher, but the ability to generate additional revenue is there also," said Thomas, the Hampton University athletics director from 1990 to 2002. "There's no question it's a worthwhile move, if it's right for that particular institution."
But to make more money, schools going to Division I have to spend more. NCCU had athletics expenses of $2.2 million in 2003-04. The MEAC's North Carolina A&T, by comparison, had expenses of $5.7 million, according to figures supplied to alumni by NCCU.
NCCU must accomplish several tasks to move to Division I, including adding two sports. Hayes said the university probably will likely add baseball and possibly women's golf.
That will cost money. Winston-Salem State is meeting rising expenses by raising student athletics fees and looking for other sources of income.
NCCU plans, in part, to do the same. The university now charges most students a $330 athletics fee, generating $2,065,140, according to the school. Hayes is still evaluating a new fee figure as part of his business plan and says he's counting heavily on alumni donations and partnerships with the Durham business community.
Going to Division I would open new revenue streams, Hayes said.
In Division I, playing a top men's basketball team in its home arena can bring about $30,000 per game and playing a top football team on the road can bring about $175,000 per game, the NCCU report said.
NCCU had $171,321 in total gate receipts for all sports in 2003-2004, the university says.
Hayes even hopes that someday, N.C. Central could play the Triangle's ACC schools in a move that would net the school more prestige -- and money.
Staff writer Jaymes Powell Jr. can be reached at 829-4556 or Jaymes.Powell@newsobserver.com.
