Bellarmine to Division 1

It's been in the works for a while now, but is "official." Bellarmine will be going D1 and joining the Atlantic Sun conference in the '20-21 season. Vote unanimously approved by ASUN Presidents. Press conference scheduled for tomorrow at 11:30 am.

That's a big move. Good luck to them. How many varsity sports are we talking here?

Interesting. They recruit heavily from in-state. I wonder how much that will be immediately impacted.

2018/19 Bellarmine Men's Basketball Roster:

Ben Weyer (Newport Central Catholic)

Alex Cook (Male)

Daniel Ramser (Trinity)

Cobe Penny (Anderson County)

Skyler Hunter (Calloway County)

Willie Schurfranz (DeSales)

Harry Moberly (Model Laboratory)

2018/19 Bellarmine Women's Basketball Roster:

Bailee Harney (Covington Holy Cross)

Breia Torrens (Butler Traditional)

Mikayla Berry (Owensboro Catholic)

Presley Brown (LaRue County)

Mallory Schwartz (Ryle)

Katie Downey (North Bullitt)

Kathleen Scott (Bullitt East)

Lauren Deel (North Bullitt)

Liza Tibbs (Dixie Heights)

Ally Mayhaus (Covington Holy Cross)

Danielle Feldkamp (Mercy)

Stephanie Still (Bullitt Central)

That's a big move. Good luck to them. How many varsity sports are we talking here?

Men and Women: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field

Men: Baseball, Lacrosse, Wrestling

Women: Softball, Field Hockey, Volleyball

No idea if they are all going.

Interesting. They recruit heavily from in-state. I wonder how much that will be immediately impacted.

Given they can't participate in any NCAA tourneys for four years, I'd guess you won't see an immediate big impact.

What a coincidence, I will be on campus there Wednesday. I've always heard good things about Bellarmine.

Men and Women: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field

Men: Baseball, Lacrosse, Wrestling

Women: Softball, Field Hockey, Volleyball

 

No idea if they are all going.

This move is being made primarily for basketball (and the continuation of their lacrosse program), but my understanding is that you aren't allowed to be Division 1 in basketball or football without being Division 1 in everything else.

I wasn't very clear on this league and who was in it, but looking at this list, I can imagine Bellarmine and Lipscomb becoming a nice little rivalry very quickly if Bellarmine can continue to step up its game.

Obviously it's a big part of WHY they're being brought up, but it's a shame Belmont isn't in this league anymore.

Big move. Big commitment because you have to go D1 in all sports. But, for those like me who might initially question this move, has there ever been a school that left NCAA D1? If there has, I couldn't find any info on it. That answers the doubters. There must be good reasons to go D1 and to stay D1.

Big move. Big commitment because you have to go D1 in all sports. But, for those like me who might initially question this move, has there ever been a school that left NCAA D1? If there has, I couldn't find any info on it. That answers the doubters. There must be good reasons to go D1 and to stay D1.

Only thing I can think of remotely similar to it is the University of Idaho is in the midst of going back to the FCS level from the FBS level in football. That is still considered "Division 1," though.

Big move. Big commitment because you have to go D1 in all sports. But, for those like me who might initially question this move, has there ever been a school that left NCAA D1? If there has, I couldn't find any info on it. That answers the doubters. There must be good reasons to go D1 and to stay D1.

The only modern example I can think of where a school dropped from Division I is Birmingham-Southern College, which admittedly had an odd athletic journey. They moved from NAIA to NCAA Division I in the early 2000s, then dropped to NCAA Division III in 2006.

There are a handful of schools that were grandfathered into Division I in certain sports (think Johns Hopkins lacrosse) who have since moved all of their sports down a division. Hartwick's soccer program recently moved from DI to DIII and New York Tech moved from DI to DII in baseball a couple of years ago.

Beyond that, you'd probably have to go back to the early 1970s when the NCAA officially created divisions (instead of the long-standing university and college divisions) to find a team that dropped from high-level to lower-level athletics.

Excellent, now I can be indifferent to my alma mater at a higher level

What a coincidence, I will be on campus there Wednesday. I've always heard good things about Bellarmine.

I love Bellarmine’s campus. Great part of town.

What a coincidence, I will be on campus there Wednesday. I've always heard good things about Bellarmine.

I used to live about three blocks from there along Norris Ave., which is the street that runs along the backside of the campus. It's a cool place in a great part of town. Has to be tough on students trying to find non-campus housing though. Housing can be unfortunately expensive in that part of town.

I love Bellarmine’s campus. Great part of town.

I used to live about three blocks from there along Norris Ave., which is the street that runs along the backside of the campus. It's a cool place in a great part of town. Has to be tough on students trying to find non-campus housing though. Housing can be unfortunately expensive in that part of town.

Daughter has a Governor's Scholars reunion, so after dropping her off I'll probably explore that side of town a bit. I have about 7 hours to kill.