THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 17, 1995 TAG: 9505170210
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Turning years of talk into action, Norfolk State is set to formally notify the NCAA of its plans to move to Division I for the 1997-98 season.
``It's just a matter of me putting it in the envelope and mailing it,'' NSU athletic Dick Price said.
Norfolk State has until June 1 to send the NCAA the one-paragraph notification that will set the wheels of reclassification in motion. The only catch is that the instant the NCAA gets the letter, the Spartans become ineligible for Division II titles.
With that in mind, Price won't mail the letter until NSU's men's and women's track teams leave for the Division II championships, to be held May 24-26 in Emporia, Kan.
``When they get in the air, I'll mail the letter,'' he said.
Once he does, Norfolk State athletics will never be the same. Not only will the Spartans become ineligible for Division II championships, they also will have to start recruiting by Division I rules, which are more stringent than those of Division II. Many of Norfolk State's current athletes would not have been eligible under Division I rules.
On the plus side, Norfolk State can begin increasing the number of scholarships it offers in each sport. The football team, for example, plans to fund the equivalent of 50 scholarships next season, which is higher than the Division II limit of 38 but lower than the Division I-AA ceiling of 63.
Reclassification is a two-year process, and in those two years Norfolk State will be in a no-man's-land between divisions I and II.
After two years in limbo, Norfolk State must make a formal petition for reclassification. The eight-page form, due by June 1, 1997, is designed to demonstrate that Norfolk State has competed under Division I guidelines for two years.
Along with the form, NSU will have to submit Division I schedules in all sports. Four years of football schedules are required, as well as two years of men's basketball schedules. The requirement is a year in all other sports.
The definition of a Division I schedule varies by sport. Division I-AA football teams must play at least half their games against Division I or I-AA teams. Division I basketball teams can play no more than four games against non-Division I foes.
There are also financial guidelines to meet. Norfolk State will have to outline how it plans to fund a Division I complement of scholarships in each sport.
Price said a fund-raising effort will begin shortly. There is also talk of raising student fees. Those are the options most programs use to close the $1 million gap between the athletic budgets of a school like Norfolk State and even small Division I schools.
If Norfolk State is like the vast majority of schools, its petition will be approved by the NCAA. Shirley M. Whitacre, membership coordinator for the NCAA, said a school's petition is turned down only ``very occasionally.''
``It's a very big change, and the schools have normally studied the rules,'' Whitacre said. ``They know what they have to do, and they prepare for it.''
Price said Norfolk State has already compiled a Division I-AA football schedule for 1996, using teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Norfolk State applied to the MEAC several months ago, and commissioner Ken Free has indicated he would like to have the Spartans in the conference.
``It's a natural for us,'' Price said. ``We have natural rivalries with schools (such as North Carolina A&T and Morgan Sate) that we used to play in the CIAA.''
Norfolk State has talked about moving up for years. Talk will become action next week, with a simple trip to the mailbox. by CNB