Indianapolis, IN | The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Membership Committee has validated the College of Staten Island's second year of Division II provisional status, and has given the formal approval for the College to begin its third year within the provisional period window, effective immediately. The approval by the NCAA is based on a series of reports submitted by CSI to the NCAA, outlining the measures put in place parallel to the NCAA move, and after a virtual site visit by an NCAA consulting group that met with CSI President Dr. William J. Fritz and many other members of administration and CSI Athletics' team.
"I am excited that we have earned our way into the third and final year of the provisional process," said Director of Athletics
T.J. Tibbs. "This year presented us with so many challenges and our team worked extremely hard to keep us on track for full Division II membership. Associate Athletic Director
Erin Van Nostrand was extremely integral to our process and worked diligently to provide everything needed for the NCAA, and a special thanks goes to Faculty Athletics Representative
Dr. Christine Flynn-Saulnier and all of the departments on our campus for their support and assistance in the process."
Year two for CSI saw the institution under full immersion into the NCAA Division II landscape in terms of governance, compliance, and of course, competitive schedule. While most of the on-the-field action was wiped away due to COVID-19, CSI did get spring sports back on the field, and teams adopted a full Division II schedule, most of it conference play within the East Coast Conference. Even for those teams who did not play this season, CSI showed effective sport sponsorship and recruitment through rosters and the official launch of scholarship awards to deserving student-athletes. The NCAA noted that CSI continued to successfully measure proper progress towards degree checkmarks, as well as financial aid and admissions protocols, as well.
"The provisional process has been a learning experience for everyone on campus and we could not take this step without the consistent support around campus for our department and our student-athletes," noted Tibbs. "We appreciate the roles they played in enabling us to achieve this penultimate step in the process."
The program is looking forward to provisional year three in more ways the one. Besides it being the final provisional hurdle before becoming a full-fledged member of NCAA Division II and postseason eligible for ECC and NCAA Championships, it will mark the return of several sports that were shelved in 2020-21, among them the entirety of the fall and winter playing seasons. Year three will see Dolphins' staffers attending the NCAA Convention as well Regional Rules seminars as they normally do, and the NCAA consulting team will once again be visiting the campus to assess CSI's progress during the provisional window.
CSI will officially introduce the 2021-22 athletic year in mid-August, with preseason practices getting underway for Men's & Women's Soccer and Men's & Women's Cross-Country. CSI's first official contest is scheduled for September 3, as the CSI Women's Soccer team will open up play at the CSI Soccer Complex against American International College.
For more information on the NCAA Statement, click
HERE.
