Kentucky Wesleyan College's Board of Tustees have given the school full authority to pursue membership in a new NCAA Division II conference in and around the Ohio River Valley region, KWC president Dr. Craig Turner confirmed Monday.
The as yet unnamed conference would initially include six members, the minimum for NCAA conference affiliation: KWC and five Ohio institutions — Notre Dame College, all-female Ursuline College, Cedarville University and Urbana University, according to Athletic Director David Williams.
“This thing has come together very fast,” Williams said. “Mike Pollio (in an interim role as a KWC athletics consultant to the president) had initial discussions with these schools this summer. By Sept. 1, we had six athletic directors with commitments from presidents, pending board of trustees approval at the respective schools.”
Three options were advanced to KWC's board of trustees: 1.) Remaining in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as a D-2 member. 2.) Moving to NCAA Division III. 3.) Establishing a new NCAA Division II conference.
“It was my recommendation to the board that we pursue the third option,” Williams said. “It's the option that best fits Kentucky Wesleyan College in terms of philosophy of institution and aligning ourselves with similar institutions.
“The schools we think are most similar to us are the schools within this new Division II league. The resources at these schools line up with our own.
“Our goal is for every student-athlete at Kentucky Wesleyan College to have a successful experience while they are here — academically, socially and being able to compete athletically.”
A resolution to pursue membership in the new league was unanimously approved by KWC's board of trustees on Friday.
The process is expected to continue at a swift pace.
“We're quite a ways down the road,” Williams said of the prospective conference. “We have a constitution, by-laws, a feasibility study, a business plan and a strategic plan.
“A conference commissioner is being searched for as we speak, and we have a self-imposed deadline of having our complete application into the NCAA by December 1st."
The NCAA currently has a moratorium on new Division II conferences, but Williams is confident that the moratorium will be lifted Jan. 11-14 at the NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
“We wouldn't be putting this much work into it if we didn't think the moratorium would be lifted,” he said. “I feel good about the chances of that happening.”
Williams said Kentucky Wesleyan notified the GLVC of its intentions at the conference's fall meetings on Sept. 13 in Indianapolis. KWC has been a charter member of the conference since July 1, 1978.
“Our intent has been to be as up front and as honest as possible with the GLVC, both from the standpoint of our benefit and theirs,” Williams said.
KWC will, in fact, remain a member of the GLVC through the remainder of the current school year, as well as the 2012-13 school year,” Williams said.
And the KWC football team could remain an associate member of the GLVC for longer, still.
Of the six schools that will initially comprise the new Division II conference, only four — Wesleyan, Urbana, Notre Dame College and Central State — compete in football.
Williams, however, said he expects the new league to expand quickly.
“NCAA Division II wants leagues of about 16 members, and we will be moving in that direction,” said Williams, who acknowledged that expansion could include NAIA or NCAA D-3 schools seeking to move up. “And, we hope to get up to eight schools competing in football.
“We will be looking at schools in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. As we expand geographically, we want to make sure we don't run into the same problems that made us geographically challenged in the GLVC.
“As a rule, the new league's expansion will be further south and further west.”
Williams said Kentucky Wesleyan's rich tradition in NCAA Division II men's basketball — a record eight national championships — was not at the crux of his recommendation for the school to remain in Division II.
Turner and Williams both have strong ties to NCAA Division III — Turner serving as president of Hardin-Simmons College, and Williams graduating from Augustana College — and Williams believes they are bringing a fresh perspective to helping determine the future of KWC athletics.
“We went into this process with truly open minds, a clean slate, and that may not have been done (at KWC) before,” Williams said. “We looked at every aspect of this independent of history and as objectively as possible.
“The decision needed to be for the benefit of our athletic department as a whole, and I tried to take the tradition out of it to start the process. My question was: In 10 years, in 20 years, would we be better off in a different conference?”
Williams acknowledged, however, that he has heard from members of the community on the issue.
“A lot of people want to know what the process of a change is going to do to the college,” Williams said, “and many of them didn't want a change that would affect the school's history and tradition (in Division II). I certainly understand that.”
KWC has been a charter member of Division II (originally known as the College Division) since 1956.
Beyond new conference affiliation, Williams will continue to promote the “Team KWC” philosophy Turner is promoting.
“The way we're looking at it, every student-athlete at KWC is created equal,” said Williams, whose stationary includes the phrase 'Building Something Special.' “I've been looking at every program to determine how we can give every student-athlete a good experience at this college.
“We are addressing this issue externally, as with the decision to become a member of a new Division II conference, and we are addressing it internally, as well.
“Joining a new conference, alone, won't get us where we want to be. We've got a take care of our own business, too, and that's what we're trying to do here on a daily basis.”
