ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State University was turned down on its bid to become a member of the NCAA Division II.

NWOSU President Dr. Janet Cunningham was informed of the decision on Tuesday morning by the NCAA Division II membership committee to not allow the university into the process for the 2011-12 academic year.

“The decision is disappointing, however, we knew going into this process that at least 16 schools were vying for only a limited number of slots,” said Cunningham in a NWOSU news release. “The NCAA received a number of strong applications, including ours, but the limited number of openings made it an extremely competitive process.”

Cunningham added that the university will not give up on its objective to gain membership into the NCAA. “The factors that led us to seek NCAA membership are still in place and we intend to enhance our application and reapply at the next available opportunity.”

NWOSU became a provisional member of the Great American Conference on May 5, 2011, and Tuesday’s decision by the NCAA does not hinder the validity of that agreement between both parties.

“We’re disappointed that NWOSU was not accepted into the NCAA Division II membership process this cycle, but the Great American Conference stands behind the school,” said GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt. “The GAC is very confident that this will only be a delay in NWOSU’s eventual admission into the conference and Division II… We will do all that we can to aid in that process.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes on the heels of Monday’s decision to allow the GAC’s other provisional member, Southern Nazarene University, to enter the NCAA Division II membership process.

Portions of this article were obtained from a press release sent from the NWOSU Athletics Department.