THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200533
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Norfolk State, which has long had plans to move to NCAA Division I, has set a date and started the paperwork.
The Spartans hope to make the jump by September 1997, athletic director Dick Price said Tuesday. The school will formally apply for reclassification next spring, he said.
``We have the forms,'' Price said. ``This is what our president wants to do.''
President Harrison B. Wilson has said for years that the Spartans would eventually move to Division I.
Wilson told Price to start the process after returning from the annual CIAA presidents' meeting in Raleigh on June 30. At the meeting, Wilson presented a plan to divide the CIAA into two tiers - one Division I and the other Division II.
``We're hoping we can work something out within the conference,'' Price said. ``We're hoping a few more CIAA schools will move up.''
Wilson was out of town Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Hampton University, Norfolk State's closest rival, has already applied for reclassification. The Pirates hope to move up in 1995-96.
Like Hampton, Norfolk State would play Division I-AA football. The Spartans would be Division I in all other sports.
With a total of eight, the Spartans already have enough men's sports to meet Division I requirements. Norfolk State has just six women's sports and would have to add another to meet the Division I minimum. Tennis and soccer are possibilities, Price said.
With its application, Norfolk State will have to submit four years of football schedules in which at least half its opponents are Division I. In basketball, two years' schedules are required. During the first year, Norfolk State could play no more than two non-Division I teams. After that, the limit is four.
Norfolk State would also have to meet financial-aid criteria outlined in the 1993-94 NCAA manual. There are a number of ways it could do that:
By providing 50 percent of the maximum allowable scholarships in each of 14 sports required for membership in Division I. Scholarship maximums vary according to sport. In football, the Division I-AA maximum for 1994 is 63. The Division II maximum is 36.
By providing a minimum aid figure in men's and women's sports, not counting football and men's and women's basketball. For 1994 it's $250,000 each for men and women.
By providing a minimum of 25 men's and 25 women's scholarships, not counting football and men's and women's basketball.
NSU may already meet minimum criteria in some sports. But to be competitive, most schools attempt to offer more than the minimum.
``It's going to require a lot of money,'' Price said. ``We're hoping those people who would like to see us go are going to help us.''
The Spartans have a large and loyal following, and are raising money for a 30,000-seat, on-campus football stadium. Norfolk State is annually among the Division II leaders in football attendance.
To be reclassified by Sept. 1, 1997, Norfolk State must abide by Division I rules in 1995-96 and 1996-97. During those two years, the Spartans will be ineligible for championships in Division II, according to Shirley Whitaker, membership coordinator for the NCAA.
As for a conference, the CIAA has hired a consultant to study Wilson's two-tier plan, commissioner Leon Kerry said.
``We don't want to lose Hampton or Norfolk, but we want to see what the impact of a two-tier conference would be,'' Kerry said.
Another possibility would be forming a new conference combining CIAA and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) schools. In an interview in May, Wilson said he envisioned a conference made up of NSU, Hampton and MEAC schools Howard and North Carolina A&T. by CNB