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Recently, ten schools announced that they have been accepted into the NCAA Division II membership process. The schools making the move are Union University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Azusa Pacific University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Fresno Pacific University, Shorter University, Southern Nazarene University, Roberts Wesleyan College, Young Harris College, and McMurry University.

Eight of the ten schools come from the NAIA, while McMurry previously played in NCAA Division III and Young Harris was a private, two-year liberal arts college. The universities now begin a three-year transition process that includes two exploratory years to adjust to NCAA rules and one year as a provisional member of a Division II conference.

Administrators at Roberts Wesleyan hope the move will help the college gain more recognition and make it more marketable to prospective students. Roberts Wesleyan will become the only Division II school in the Rochester, N.Y., area, where the remainder of the four-year institutions compete in Division III (with the exception of the men's ice hockey team at Rochester Institute of Technology, which plays in Division I).

"The move to Division II will increase the visibility and viability of our program and our school," Women's Volleyball Coach Jon Meyers told the Democrat and Chronicle. "We'll have to do less explaining about what NAIA is and more talking about the reality of NCAA Division II."

For Azusa Pacific, the move was about stepping up to a new challenge. The school has won 23 national championships in the past 16 years and finished first in the past seven NAIA Director's Cups.

"The analogy I've used is if I'm a high jumper and I've cleared six-feet, six inches, I have to ask myself how many times to I need to clear 6-6 before I raise the bar to 6-8," Athletic Director Gary Pine told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. "Every competitor, whether they be in business, or athletics, once they accomplish something and accomplish it well, they want the bar raised. And to a person in our department and on our campus, they all say, `Yes, let's do this.' We want the challenge."

South Dakota School of Mines was approved to begin the Division II membership process last year, and recently received word that it had successfully completed the first year of the process and accepted into year two. The school is now recognized as a Division II competitor to other NCAA opponents, with any contests involving School of Mines counting toward national and regional ratings.

"It's exciting for us because this is the path and direction we want our athletic program to move," Athletic Director Dick Kaiser told the Rapid City Journal. "For us to get the positive call today, it's like climbing the ladder a little higher. It's a great moment for Mines, but now we have to continue and forge ahead. We have two more years of scrutinization before we get full membership and nothing can be taken for granted."

Not every school was so lucky, however. Northwestern Oklahoma State University's bid was denied, and West Virginia University Tech was turned down for the second straight year despite hiring outside help to "tighten up" its application. The school left the NCAA for the NAIA five years ago, a decision that has since plagued the athletic department due to increased travel expenses.

"They [the NCAA] don't tell you anything," Athletic Director Frank Pergolizzi told the Charleston Gazette. "They don't want to be in a position to say you need to do this and, the next year, if you do it, still turn you down. At the end of the process, we'll get a letter that will list the reasons for schools that were denied. It just won't be specific to any school. At the end of the day, though, [the NCAA had] a competitive group of 16 schools and they were only going to take so many."

Mike Phelps is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.