EVANSVILLE—The messaging was concise and clear. This is a big step in helping the University of Southern Indiana athletic department close the gap with similar institutions.
The school announced on June 24 that it has officially completed the NCAA Division I transition period after three years. The Screaming Eagles will be fully eligible for postseason play starting with the 2025-26 academic school year—the wait had previously been four years before recent changes from the NCAA.
USI athletic director Jon Mark Hall noted that meeting the updated requirements on an accelerated timeline was a grind. However, it was still worth it, considering the potential benefits for every team within the athletic department.
“We’ve talked about it a lot, Hall said. “You feel like you’ve done everything the right way. All the insight from the NCAA has been positive. You can put that chapter behind us and move forward. It’s a big deal. From a recruiting standpoint, it was tough. Now we can put that behind us unequivocally. We know we’ll be able to compete next season.”
The move comes after the NCAA Council adopted new criteria for institutions transitioning to Division I in January. The reclassification period was reduced for former Division II schools such as USI. Previously, the school wouldn’t have been eligible for Division I tournaments until 2026-27.
Any reclassifying university needed to meet specific benchmarks to achieve a quicker transition period. Those included “Division I core guarantees and attestation requirements,” as well as academic minimums and financial aid thresholds. USI announced the following month that it met the latter requirements. The subsequent steps were an internal study in March, an NCAA academic review team on campus in April, and a peer review team in May. An annual report was finalized by the first week of June.
Southern Indiana has won three Ohio Valley Conference team championships (women’s basketball, men’s cross country and women’s cross country) since the transitional period starting in 2022, plus an additional 18 individual championships.
“We know we can compete at this level,” Hall said. “We know we have a great campus, great coaches, great staff and great people. We can now check that last box.”
USI women’s basketball coach Rick Stein recalled preparing for a road trip to Druy four years ago when news broke that the school was applying for Division I membership. He says the move was “the right choice, right timing, and the right league.” His program has been at the forefront of the school’s success, with an OVC regular season and tournament championship—the Screaming Eagles won 23 games last season and advanced to the Super 16 of the WNIT.
This latest milestone in the move helps in recruiting. The school can no longer worry about its inability to compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournaments.
“We didn’t worry about what we couldn’t do,” Stein said. “We were just worried about all the great things we could compete for. The exciting thing now is there’s some added stuff out there and certainly a NCAA Tournament possibility. That doesn’t mean we’re going to get it, but we hope to be competing year in and year out.
“We’ve competed like we’re a Division I institution. But to hear that it went to 3 from 4, it helps the whole institution.”
The move doesn’t solve all the challenges faced by the athletic department.
The Division I Board of Directors officially adopted new roster limits and scholarship changes to align with the recently approved House settlement. One incoming change will be the ability to share revenue with student athletes. Hall said USI will opt into the House settlement that goes into effect on July 1. There will be ongoing and additional discussions on what that means and what it looks like for a school such as Southern Indiana.
But four years after first taking the plunge, the Screaming Eagles can officially say they are full-time Division I members.
“This is step one,” Hall said. “Day one of closing the gap. Somebody else can’t say you can’t make the NCAA Tournament. We’ve closed that gap. Now, what can we do in other areas? We need to continue to make progress and close that gap to move forward.”
The move becomes official effective August 1.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: USI athletics will officially become a full-time Division I member in 2025-26 school year
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
