After years of ups and downs, the Savannah State University Athletics Department is preparing to move back to Division II. This move comes when the school, in general, is facing financial issues.
On April 17, university President Cheryl Dozier announced that the athletic program planned to move from National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I to Division II, pending approval by the NCAA.
This will not be Savannah State’s first time competing on the Division II level. Prior to joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the school had been part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) members before transitioning to NCAA Division 1 in 2002.
The reclassification of the school’s division will end Savannah State’s relationship with the MEAC. The decision to shift conferences for Savannah State was made in hopes that Savannah State can best serve its student athletes while remaining fiscally and financially responsible. As for now, Savannah State awaits the NCAA’s decision to take the next step in the process.
The faculty and staff maintain that their main priority is to find another situation for the betterment of students and the institution.
Senior administrators are in communication with the NCAA and the MEAC to develop a plan to have the most effective transition.
Savannah State made the decision to move from Division II to Division I in 1998. SSU’s first season as a Division I institution in came in 2002 when the NCAA granted the Tigers full membership. The Tigers became MEAC members 2010.
The shift from Division I to Division II allows for Savannah State Athletics to remain in competition, save money and get back to tradition.
The athletic program operates with a $5 million budget. According to a 2013 NCAA study, schools that participate in the Football Championship Subdivision had an average athletic budget of about $10 million. A Division II school that offers football had an average athletic budget of $5.3 million, which better fits Savannah State.
The SIAC, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), and the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) are all possible Division II fits for the Savannah State Tigers.
There are some people who do not like this move by Savannah State, but this move is intelligent and should be applauded for it.
The move to Division II not only saves money, but it also keeps the athletic program up and running. Division II athletes are just competitive as Division I and are matched in skill with their opponents. According to the NCAA, Division II features a high championship participant ratio- 1 championship opportunity for every 7student athletes, the highest among all three NCAA divisions.
Division II also offers a “partial scholarship model for financial aid in which most student athletes’ college experiences are funded through a mix of athletics scholarships, academic aid, and need based grants/employment earnings.
“Division II athletes also get their share of television exposure. The NCAA has produced regular-season Division II television broadcasts in football and women’s and men’s basketball. The CBS Sports Network has aired more than sixty games featuring more than one hundred Division II schools in a regular season national television broadcast. Also, almost all Division II championship finals are either broadcast live or live-streamed online.”
The move to Division II could also benefit Savannah State in terms of its team’s success. Division I student athletes tend to be the biggest, fastest, and strongest college athletes in the country.
A lot of Division I schools just don’t have the funds to prepare their student athletes at the highest level to compete. Teams like Alabama’s football program have an advantage over others because of their funding and access to resources such as their amazing training facility.
The move could also mean more even match-ups between Savannah State and other teams in the Division II conference. There have been some years competing under Division I where some Savannah State games have not been competitive. Since the move to the MEAC in 2010, the Savannah State Tigers football team has not had a winning season. Switching to Division II would ultimately level the playing field of competition that could potentially lead to more winning seasons.
Continuing to compete under NCAA Division I would have meant that Savannah State might have had to discontinue the athletic program due to a lack of funding. According to the NCAA, Division 1 schools manage the largest athletic budgets and offer the most generous number of scholarships.
Out of the three NCAA divisions, Division I offers the most scholarships to student athletes. Savannah State is just simply not in position to fund millions of dollars like the other big Division I schools.
Moving to the SIAC, which offers a good fit regionally and competitively, makes the most sense for Savannah State. All 14 schools in this conference are located in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and Ohio. This means that the athletics teams will not have to travel as far as they do now competing under Division I. Flights will most likely not be needed as travel expenses are expected to be cut. The Tigers were members of the SIAC from 1969-2000.
The school’s announcement to go from Division I to Division II seems to be a smart and efficient one.
Their priority towards the betterment of students should be applauded. The move ultimately saves money in the long-run while making sure that the athletics program stays competitive. The shift could also possibly mean more winning seasons and more event attendance for Savannah State.
Everything is better when you win.
It is not about the most popular choice; it is about the right choice.