THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407220677
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Hampton University's bid to move to NCAA Division I has been accepted, athletic director Dennis Thomas announced Thursday. The Pirates will make the jump Sept. 1, 1995, and will compete as an independent.
University officials and coaches called it a historic day, saying the move will raise Hampton's profile and enable it to attract better athletes.
``This is a great move,'' Thomas said. ``A first class athletic department enhances the pride and success of the university.''
The Pirates will play Division I-AA football, and will be Division I in 13 other sports. They open the 1995 football season with Morehouse, and also play Howard, Liberty and four other Division I opponents.
The men's basketball team has Minnesota, Virginia Commonwealth, George Washington and Florida State on its 1995-96 schedule.
Norfolk State, Hampton's closest rival, remains on both schedules.
One bittersweet result of the move is that NCAA rules will prohibit Hampton from competing for Division II championships in the 1994-95 season. The Pirate football team, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs last year, was considered a national championship contender.
``We didn't want to believe it, initially,'' Hampton coach Joe Taylor said. ``But to get something, you have to give up something.''
If the Pirates win the CIAA title, the conference's second-place team will receive the automatic bid to the Division II playoffs, CIAA commissioner Leon Kerry said.
The Pirates will be eligible for Division I championships immediately, although they won't be eligible to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament for eight years.
To get an automatic bid, the Pirates would have to join a conference. Thomas said the Pirates are hoping that the CIAA can be reorganized into a two-tier conference, one Division I, the other Division II. For that to happen, other CIAA schools would have to move up, and schools from outside the conference - Howard, North Carolina A&T and Delaware State have been mentioned - likely would have to be added.
Norfolk State announced Tuesday that it plans to move to Division I in 1997. The CIAA plans to hire a consultant to study the two-tier idea. by CNB