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Athletics Approved for NCAA Division II Provisional Year

By July 12, 2010December 17th, 2021No Comments

7/12/10

Maryville University has been granted permission by the NCAA to advance to the Provisional Year, the final step and last year before Maryville’s 17 intercollegiate teams are fully reclassified from Division III to Division II.

Maryville successfully completed Candidacy Year Two in 2009-10 and was recently invited to enter the final provisional year. The University’s readiness to become an active member will continue to be evaluated. At the conclusion of Provisional Year, Maryville must be invited to active Division II membership.

“This is another step in Maryville’s three-year journey to reclassify to NCAA Division II,” said Tony Duckworth, director of athletics. “I am thankful for the commitment the entire Maryville community has invested into this transition. The provisional year will be another welcome learning experience for our great university.”

Moving to Division II is an important step in the Maryville strategic plan, called “Tradition and Transformation: Maryville’s Strategic Plan for 2014,” unveiled by President Mark Lombardi, PhD, in January 2008. The plan calls for expansion of prospective student recruitment throughout the Midwest while raising the University’s profile, enhancing the vibrancy and diversity of campus life experience.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference is one of the premier DII conferences in the nation. Maryville was admitted to, and began competing in, this conference in the fall of 2009.

Maryville University had been a member of NCAA Division III since 1978; 2008-2009 was its final year of affiliation with the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Over its 32-year history, the Saints made 15 appearances in NCAA post-season tournaments. Most recently, the women’s basketball 2008-09 team set the NCAA Division III record for most consecutive conference wins with 92; a streak that ended with a win.

About Maryville University
Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a four-year, private university located in west St. Louis County. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Colleges in the Masters-Midwest category, Maryville University students may choose from 50 academic programs, including degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Among recent graduates, 82 percent are employed or attending graduate school. More than 16,000 Maryville alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.

Catherine Boelhauf