(Story courtesy of Birmingham-Southern College)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The NCAA Division III Management Council this week approved Birmingham-Southern College as a full active member in intercollegiate athletics effective Sept. 1, 2011.
The announcement ends a five-year reclassification process for
the BSC athletics program from NCAA Division I to Division
III. Active membership means that all of the college’s
men’s and women’s varsity sports teams will be eligible
for NCAA Division III championships beginning with the upcoming
2011-12 academic year and that the college has a vote at the annual
NCAA Convention. BSC also will be eligible for Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference postseason tournament championships
this year.
“No institution in the history of intercollegiate athletics
has taken the journey Birmingham-Southern has the past 12
years,” said Joe Dean Jr., BSC’s director of
athletics. “From the NAIA to NCAA Division I and now a
full member of NCAA Division III, it is an amazing story marked
with achievements on the playing fields and courts and in the
classroom.
“We believe we have the best student-athletes, coaches, and
facilities in all of NCAA Division III, and we fully expect to
continue winning championships and graduating young men and women
of great promise and character for many years to come.”
“This is an important day for our athletics programs,”
said Birmingham-Southern President Gen. Charles C. Krulak.
“Transitions in any venture can be challenging, but our
athletics administration, our coaches, and our scholar-athletes
completed this five-year journey with great integrity and
enthusiasm.
“We are looking forward to a long and successful association
with NCAA Division III and competing against like-minded
institutions where competitive athletics are integrated into the
whole of the educational experience.”
Birmingham-Southern competes in 20 varsity sports for men and
women, including men’s and women’s basketball, cross
country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor
track and field, and baseball, football, softball, and
volleyball.
BSC’s athletics teams already have demonstrated success in
the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The men’s
basketball team won the 2011 SCAC regular season championship this
past winter, and the baseball team, for the third consecutive
season in 2011, won the Eastern Division of the SCAC. Also
during spring 2011, the women’s golf team finished the season
ranked in the top 10 among all NCAA Division III golf teams, the
women’s softball team won the SCAC Eastern Division title,
and the men’s lacrosse team advanced to the finals of the
SCAC Tournament in only its third year of existence.
