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| D'Youville athletics photo |
D'Youville College has been accepted into NCAA Division II membership and will officially compete as a member of the East Coast Conference.
Since 2001, the university has competed at the NCAA Division III level. The application to reclassify to Division II membership was submitted on February 1, 2020, after careful consideration from the athletics department and administration.
"We are thrilled to hear of our acceptance into NCAA Division II membership," said D'Youville president Lorrie Clemo. "This reclassification has been a high priority project within the university's strategic plan. After extensive internal and external evaluation and research it became very clear that the institution was destined to take this next step."
D'Youville is the fifth school in recent years to announce a departure for NCAA Division II, following Frostburg State University and the College of Staten Island. Texas-Tyler also moved to Division II as well. Benedictine announced it was moving to Division II, but quickly recanted and remains a Division III member. D'Youville has been a member of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in Division III. The school finished seventh of 11 schools in the conference's all-sports award this past season, and eighth of 10 in 2018-19.
The school had to meet certain qualifying factors over the course of the application process, a period which extended until June 1. These factors included demonstrating preparedness on behalf of the athletics department and school in regards to sufficient facilities, staffing, and budget. A verification visit to D'Youville's campus was also performed on behalf of the NCAA.
The approval of D'Youville's membership application begins a provisional membership process—a three year period during which the NCAA will monitor the adherence of Division II rules, at the end of which period the university can be granted full membership.