(08-28-2018 12:46 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 12:25 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 10:51 AM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 11:32 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 10:27 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  903 traditional enrollment students in 2016.

Endowment, $1.8 million

There's zero chance they will be accepted into D2.

The SIAC has two members -- LeMoyne-Owen and Paine -- with less than 1,000 students, though Paine is apparently in deep trouble. Between the CIAA and SIAC, there's another eight schools with enrollments of between 1,000 and 2,000.

None of which has any bearing on Edward Waters' fitness as a move-up candidate, but it wouldn't be completely out of place if it does, especially since the football coach termed D2 and SIAC membership as a long-term goal.

What current members look like isn't the standard that the membership committee uses. They are looking for "model" programs, not bottom feeders. Look at all the programs that have been approved but struggled through the process, or even those that were rejected. Is EWC better than Georgetown KY or Cumberland TN? Because they weren't good enough. How about Fresno Pacific, Holy Names, Spring Hill, Emmanuel GA? They were approved but had great difficulty getting through the process.

Edward Waters doesn't have a chance.

You probably know more about this than I, and I can't seem to find it myself, but what are the requirements for moving up? If, say, the SIAC wants them and is willing to invite them, does that help Edward Waters' cause, or is it like moving to FBS where you need to have a conference invitation in hand before you're even allowed in?

The D2 membership committee doesn't release qualifications. It would be a problem for them to do so, because then if someone submitted an application that checked all the boxes, yet the committee didn't think they were acceptable, they could get sued.

But, they have said that they have to have a conference sponsor/invitation. They specified that a few years ago when some marginal schools got stranded in independence land. We also know that accreditation problems are a big issue. About 5 years ago, the committee at the time issued a memo that they were looking for "model" members, and that they would look askance at any candidate that hadn't done a feasibility study. Feasibility studies look at what it actually takes to run a program successfully, so we can surmise that the candidate has to have the administrative organization and finances to pull it off. Finances (for private schools) come from either endowments or a slice of each student's tuition, so looking at the endowment and enrollment numbers give you a good idea about whether they have the finances to do it.

That said, the membership of the committee rotates and changes every year. It seems that some years there are people on the committee with differing agendas - an emphasis on expansion or on quality. Some of the more recent ones are hard to understand from my point of view as "model" programs (but what do I know?).

But when it comes down to it, EWC is pretty far below any of the other schools mentioned here. I think this is an instance of a new coach with a dream, who has no idea what's actually required to get approval to transition to D2. Like you, he was probably looking at existing members in the SIAC, some of whom probably wouldn't be allowed in D2 if they were applying today.

teamvsn got the big requirements; conference invite, finances, accreditation. I'll add that the school not be on NAIA or NCAA probation. Generally it comes down to doing your due diligence and having your house in order. I have lost the link to an actual membership application. Here are two more links for detail information:

Becoming a Division II member institution

2018 Division II Membership Application Instructions

I am a D2 person and Edward Waters is not anywhere close to making my personal D2 wishlist. But it's a committee who makes this decision and they have given us a surprise almost every year. I'm still surprised at the Cumberland (TN) rejection and the Georgetown (KY) rejection was later understood when information about their situation became public.