The NCAA Division I Council has cleared a path Wednesday for Division III athletics programs to make the jump to D-I if they meet certain criteria. The council also supported receiving a formal waiver request from the University of St. Thomas and the Summit League the school hopes to join.

The reclassification process would include:

  • Submitting a strategic plan
  • Conducting a feasibility study for Division I requirements, including provision of athletics scholarships and meeting compliance standards
  • Securing a formal invitation to join a Division I conference
  • Establishing school policies and procedures that reflect a commitment to Division I principles, including academic integrity, diversity and inclusion, and student-athlete health and well-being

“We have spent several months examining data that reflect outcomes for schools transitioning to DI based on certain benchmarks, including academic profile, financial aid awards, sports sponsorship, competitive equity and financial sustainability,” says Rick George, chair of the Strategic Vision and Planning Committee and athletics director at Colorado. “This proposed pathway for Division III schools to successfully make the transition to Division I accounts for any additional challenges those schools may face in reaching membership requirements.”

Though the NCAA did not vote, school officials say the decision puts the University of St. Thomas a step closer to becoming the first program to make that jump in the modern NCAA era.

“We will immediately begin work with (Summit League) Commissioner Tom Douple and the NCAA to formally submit our waiver request,” says Phil Esten, vice president and director of athletics.

The desire to move to Division I started in May 2019 when, citing athletic competitive parity in the conference as a concern, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced St. Thomas would transition out of the conference at the end of spring 2021. The Summit League, in October 2019, invited St. Thomas to join its conference, which includes Denver, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Nebraska Omaha, Oral Roberts, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Western Illinois.

If St. Thomas is allowed to make the Division I jump, the Summit League will have a home for 19 of the university’s 22 sports. The Tommies would still have to find affiliate memberships for its football, men’s hockey and women’s hockey programs.