BETHANY, Okla. – The NCAA announced on Monday that Southern Nazarene University has been accepted into the Division II Membership Process.
SNU is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene and is located in Bethany, Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City. The university, which is currently a member of the Sooner Conference and the Central States Football League (NAIA), will gain full GAC membership status upon successful completion of the three-year NCAA membership process. SNU became a provisional member of the GAC on May 5, 2011.
“For almost 50 years, SNU has been playing intercollegiate athletics, and today represents a culmination of that journey,” said SNU President, Dr. Loren Gresham, in a SNU news release. “We are excited to have been notified of our acceptance into the membership process of the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II. We now enter a phase of competition that hopefully will lead to full membership at the conclusion of the three-year process.”
Gresham continued, “The timing seems to be right, the Great American Conference is a good fit and the support from our campus is strong for such a move. With fond appreciation for our NAIA affiliation over the past 40 plus years, we now look ahead to becoming a part of a new venture for our intercollegiate athletic programs. We plan to continue offering a balanced athletic program that complements SNU’s delivery of quality higher education in faith-developing, Christ-centered manner.”
SNU will immediately enter the first year of candidacy and will continue to compete in the NAIA for the 2011-12 athletic season. The second year of candidacy will run for the 2012-13 academic year and if SNU is voted on through to the second year by the NCAA, it will no longer compete as a member of the NAIA or the Sooner Athletic Conference. SNU will not be eligible to participate in postseason play in either the NAIA or the NCAA during the second year of candidacy. The NCAA committee reviews each school in the process annually to determine if that the institution should repeat any year in the process. There is not a guarantee to move from one year to the next.
The third year is the provisional year and will run for the 2013-14 academic year. SNU will not be able to participate in postseason play until the school becomes an active Division II member, but SNU will eligible to play a full NCAA and GAC schedule. The provisional stage is set for evaluation if the institution is ready to become a full fledge member of NCAA Division II.
“While we have a sense of relief that preparation for application is over and the first hurdle has been cleared, we know that this is just the first step in a long process,” said SNU’s Director of Athletics Bobby Martin. “Our administration staff and coaches are prepared for the various changes and welcome the challenges ahead. This is an exciting time for Crimson Storm athletics as we seek to raise the level of athletics and branding that accompanies this new journey.”
"Congratulations to SNU for crossing the first hurdle in the NCAA membership process,” said GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt. “We look forward to the Crimson Storm becoming a part of the Great American Conference. It will be exciting to work with Dr. Gresham, Bobby Martin, and the rest of the leadership team at SNU as they grow into full GAC and NCAA Division II membership."
GAC’s other provisional member, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, will be given its verdict from the NCAA on Tuesday.
Portions of this article were obtained from a press release sent from the SNU Athletics Department.