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| Although most prominent in women's basketball in Division III, Thomas More has had other teams qualify for the NCAA Division III postseason, including baseball. Thomas More athletics photo |
Thomas More has been granted membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics effective the fall of 2019, enabling it to leave Division III, and the NCAA altogether.
The college, based in the Cincinnati suburb of Crestview Hills, Kentucky, was unable to find a conference willing to offer it membership after its unceremonious uncoupling from the Presidents' Athletic Conference was announced nearly a year ago. The school had spent nine years as an independent before joining the PAC in 2005, but with almost every Division III school now a member of a conference, it makes it difficult to find opponents in most sports.
Thomas More has been granted membership in the Mid-South Conference in the NAIA. As a former member of the NAIA, TMC will be immediately eligible for the NAIA postseason. The school will be the third Division III member in recent years to move to the NAIA, folllowing Rust, which left Division III in a similar manner. Green Mountain College, in Vermont, is leaving the NCAA after this season.
The school modified its initial news release to emphasize that it is still considering options for 2019-20. In addition, Thomas More is still under probation from the NCAA stemming from the violation that caused it to vacate the 2015 women's basketball national championship, and remaining in the NCAA for another year will allow the school to run out the clock on that time span.