USC UPSTATE TO NCAA DIVISION I--AN ANALYSIS

For those people who haven't heard the news by now, yet another Peach Belt Conference school is leaving the NCAA Division II ranks for the supposedly greener pastures of NCAA Division I, as the University of South Carolina-Upstate became the third current or former PBC member to join the Atlantic Sun Conference. By moving into the A-Sun fold, Upstate will follow in the footsteps of former perennial PBC powers Kennesaw State and North Florida, who not long ago were among the best all-around athletic programs in the D-II ranks.

What is it about NCAA Division II schools choosing to move up to Division I? Is it the perceived national exposure such an institution gets just from competing at the highest level of college sports? Or about the potential revenue a school even from having the school's name show up on the ESPN "Bottom Line" sports ticker during the college basketball season, let alone having a few games carried on regional television? Or is it that Division II is perceived to be a lower caliber of athletic competition? And what factor, if any, did George Mason's improbable run to the NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four play in the decision of a few schools to leave Division II? Whatever the reasons are, Division I seems to be growing at the expense of D-II, as many powerful programs continue to make the move up.

But it doesn't end there. Francis Marion, whose women's soccer and men's golf programs recently completed their inaugural seasons at the D-I level, may seriously consider moving the rest of their sports to D-I status eventually. Just up the road in North Carolina, UNC Pembroke could be a serious candidate to make the move as well, especially with the school reinstating its football program in 2007, which would give it 15 sports, one more over the required number of sports to compete at the NCAA Division I level.

And the moves aren't limited to the Peach Belt Conference, either. In fact, the University of Central Arkansas has already left the Gulf South Conference for the Southland Conference. Other current GSC members such as Alabama-Huntsville, Delta State, and West Georgia, may decide to follow suit with UCA in the years to come. Even Florida Gulf Coast, a school that didn't open its doors until 1997, will move into the D-I ranks within two years.

So, the question that remains to be asked is this. How much attrition will the NCAA Division II level suffer before the caliber and quality of competition do? Whatever the answer may be, D-II South Nation may very well have a different look in the long run.