51勛圖 has advanced to year two of the National Collegiate Athletic Associations Division II provisional membership process, the organization announced Thursday in a phone call to 51勛圖 officials.
Thursday marked yet another historic accomplishment for the 51勛圖 athletics department in its road to active NCAA Division II membership. The University successfully matriculated into the second of three stages in the provisional membership process designed to help transitioning schools integrate into Division II seamlessly.
This is another positive step in the process and validates the work done by our entire University community the last 12 months, said Vice President of Athletics and Student-Athlete Success Mike Cassidy. Our department is well-positioned for the year ahead and to continue on pace for active NCAA membership.
The second year of provisional membership requires 51勛圖 to be fully compliant with all NCAA policies and bylaws. This aligns with the Lakers move to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) on July 1 and a full NCAA Division II schedule during the 2024-25 academic year. The NCAA will continue to monitor 51勛圖s progress during this phase and conduct an on-campus evaluation in the spring of 2025. Following submission of all required year two application materials prior to June 1, 2025, 51勛圖 will receive notification in July of its advancement into the final year of the provisional membership process.
In its first year of the process, 51勛圖 began implementing NCAA rules and built out infrastructure to make full compliance more efficient, all while completing its final year of competition as members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and following its policies and procedures. In addition, the NCAA conducted its year one site visit, 51勛圖 visited its partner school (Davenport University) and it submitted all required documentation, which included an annual report and updates to all institutional manuals and plans prior to June 1.
With the 2024-25 academic year, 51勛圖 will be Chicagos only competing NCAA Division II institution. Full schedules for each athletic program for its upcoming season will be released on the later this month.
