NCCU gauges D-I leap

[Bro. Askia]

From News & Observer Published: Sep 22, 2004
Modified: Sep 22, 2004 3:00 AM
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/v-printer/story/1661282p-7892954c.html

NCCU gauges D-I leap

Biggest need is increased revenue
http://www.nccu.edu/campus/athletics

AD Bill Hayes says NCCU won't decide soon on move.

By RACHEL CARTER, Staff Writer

N.C. Central University will need more revenue, more media exposure and more parking if it is to make the leap to Division I in athletics, according to a study commissioned by the Durham school.

In evaluating such a move, the Division II school had a 15-person committee put together the report and also hired a consultant, Bill Carr of Gainesville, Fla.

The report was given to the Board of Trustees' Student Relations Committee on Tuesday afternoon, school spokeswoman Sharon Saunders said.

NCCU athletics director Bill Hayes said he does not expect the trustees to act on the study when they meet today.

Hayes said the school has not decided if it will try to move to Division I. "This is something that may or may not happen," he said. "We are in the infancy of this process."

However, moving to Division I long has been an ambition at NCCU and is something Chancellor James H. Ammons Jr. has directed.

Fellow CIAA school Winston-Salem State announced in July that it soon will begin the five-year process the NCAA requires for a Division II school to become Division I. Winston-Salem State will compete in Division I-AA in football.

Winston-Salem State expects the move to cost $10.7 million. Hayes said NCCU has not determined how much money such a move would cost the university.

Ammons and CIAA commissioner Leon Kerry could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

From 1970-79, N.C. Central was a part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference before re-entering the CIAA. The Division I MEAC is home to former CIAA schools N.C. A&T, Hampton and Norfolk State.

Hayes said Tuesday that parking and media exposure were two major areas of concern. With N.C. Central undergoing massive construction projects, parking decks eventually will be added to the campus. Although the extra parking will make the school more accessible, Hayes said, "parking decks and tailgating don't mix."

Media exposure is another major hurdle for N.C. Central. Hayes said the school would have to increase its profile in an area already crowded with three Division I-A football programs and ACC basketball.

But the overriding need for the university is more money to pay for the scholarships and staff that would be needed to be competitive in Division I.

This year, Hayes has helped launch the $1,000 Eagles Campaign, which is aiming to raise $1 million for scholarships by getting 1,000 supporters to donate $1,000 each.

"If you solve your revenue problems, then you don't have staffing problems," Hayes said. "If you solve your revenue problems, then you can give full scholarships. If you solve your revenue problems, then you don't have problems."

First-year basketball coach Henry Dickerson said when he interviewed for the job, the school's possible move to Division I was discussed.

"It helps recruiting," said Dickerson, who coached at Division I Tennessee-Chattanooga from 1997-2002. "It helps a lot of things like raising money. A lot of people want to be involved in Division I."

Hayes -- who came to NCCU from Division I N.C. A&T -- said putting a price tag on such a move would be one of the next steps taken by the school. He said he has yet to make up his mind if the jump should be made.

"I'm still learning about the university and about all it takes to get where, one day, this university might want to go."

Staff writer Rachel Carter can be reached at 829-8953 or rcarter@newsobserver.com

 

[Bro. Askia]

From News & Observer Published: Sep 23, 2004
Modified: Sep 23, 2004 3:00 AM
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/v-printer/story/1664101p-7897280c.html

N.C. Central ponders switch

Trustees will review draft report about sports upgrade
http://www.nccu.edu/campus/athletics

By JANELL ROSS, Staff Writer

DURHAM -- N.C. Central University should seriously consider moving into Division I sports because there it could compete on the playing field with institutions it already considers its academic and athletic peers, Chancellor James H. Ammons Jr. said Wednesday.

Ammons asked the NCCU trustees to review a draft report about the proposed switch from Division II to Division I-AA athletic competition, a move that could lead to dramatic institutional change. Depending on the findings of a feasibility study commissioned by the school in August, the school may submit an application to begin the transition as early as Dec. 1.

A division switch would require NCCU to pour money into its athletics department and could push the school's sports program from a mainly local and alumni attraction onto the national stage. Division I status could bring an increased level of media and public attention to the university's athletics programs and its expanding academic menu, Ammons said.

"This would be a huge decision for the university," said Ammons, whose previous employer, Florida A&M, is in Division I-AA. "We have to figure out how to make the switch and make it work."

NCCU's traditional rival, N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, is already in Division I. Winston-Salem State announced in July that it will soon begin the five-year NCAA process to move from Division II to Division I-AA.

While the draft report delivered to the trustees Wednesday offers no clue as what the school would have to spend to make the transition, the NCAA's rules are clear. NCCU already has enough teams. But it would have to boost the number of full athletic scholarships by at least 41. The school must also have baseball, basketball and football stadiums with the capacity for large crowds.

NCCU would not have to build a new football stadium or basketball gymnasium to comply with NCAA requirements, but it might have to do so to bring in the crowds or revenue to make the change worthwhile, said Kyle Serba, NCCU's sports information director. Serba said the university would have to build a baseball stadium or arrange to use suitable facilities off-campus.

The idea of NCCU leaving its current Division II conference, the CIAA, and the storied February basketball tournaments that have become an annual event for friendly rivals raises concerns for some members of the NCCU network.

Robert C. Williams, chairman of NCCU's board of trustees, said he's saddened by the prospect of cutting ties with the CIAA. But Williams said the new conference NCCU would join, the MEAC, is also home to schools with which NCCU already has academic, athletic and social ties.

Richard Smith, vice president of the National NCCU Alumni Association, said he's in favor of the switch because it seems to make business sense. It might bring television coverage to some team sports and increase the school's capacity to recruit top-tier high school athletes.

Athletic recruiting isn't dormant at NCCU but is not frequently discussed as an institutional priority. Ammons has spent much of this school year touting the school's all-time high enrollment figures and the academic preparedness of the freshman class.

Students soaking up sunshine on campus benches and retaining walls Wednesday generally supported the idea.

Division I status might increase the university's prestige with both students and professional sports recruiters, said Jeffery Love, a junior from Charlotte.

"I imagine that there would be a lot more people that might look at the school," Love said. "Plus, we might get a chance to show Duke what we've got."

Staff writer Janell Ross can be reached at 956-2415 or jross@newsobserver.com.