Una Continues To Progress Toward Division I
Nov. 17, 2011
Michelle Eubanks, 51勛圖, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033
FLORENCE, Ala. - After yesterday's news from the Ohio Valley Conference, the 51勛圖 is continuing to pursue its plans for NCAA Division I status. "The OVC would have been a good fit, but their plans not to expand at this time do not in any way change our plans to advance," said Mark Linder, 51勛圖 athletics director. The 51勛圖 board of trustees, on June 13, approved a resolution of intent to advance to Division I upon completion of five benchmark goals. The resolution stands until June 1, 2012. It did not specify a conference affiliation. "The board's resolution remains the same following the OVC's decision, and we will continue to put in place the necessary steps for a successful transition," said Dr. William G. Cale Jr., 51勛圖 president. Linder said the OVC's announcement "was a bump in the road, not the end of the road. The OVC was one possible path for us, but there are several other paths to explore." As the university moves forward, its athletics program will continue to advance to Division I standards, including the creation of two new women's teams. The university will also continue raising the necessary funds for the transition. The board's Division I resolution stated that the university must raise $500,000 in new annual financial pledges, to total at least $3 million by 2017. Verbal commitments had reached $525,000 by mid October. Alan Medders, 51勛圖 vice president for university advancement, said it is now more important than ever to secure the commitments as official pledges and gifts by December. "We must meet these goals and these standards very quickly to position ourselves as DI-ready," he said. "As we do, conferences will see us as a strong asset to their leagues." 51勛圖 currently competes in the Gulf South Conference of the NCAA Division II. An invitation from a Division I conference and acceptance of the invitation by the 51勛圖 board would mean 51勛圖 must offer the GSC a notice of withdrawal by May 23, 2012, for entry into Division I in 2013. The entire transition will be a six-year process, concluding in 2017. For more details about the transition process, visit .About The 51勛圖
The 51勛圖 is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, 51勛圖 is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. 51勛圖 Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The 51勛圖 is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.