College Division / Mitch Polin : Switch to Two-Division Format for All Sports Adopted by NAIA Members

With the exception of football, the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics has always operated under a one-division format.

But that will be changing next year.

The NAIA will be forming a Division II, with scaled back competition, for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball, starting as early as fall, 1990. Currently, football is the only NAIA sport with a Division II.

The subject of a Division II for sports other than football had been discussed as early as 1986, and last year the NAIA agreed to submit the proposal to a formal vote of member schools. In February, a vote was taken on the four sports and the new division format was approved by wide margins.

“The closest was (women’s) volleyball, which was about 64%,” said Cliff Hamlow, athletic director at Azusa Pacific University and a member of the NAIA’s executive committee.

Under the new format, schools may compete in Division I in some sports and Division II in others, depending on budgetary qualifications set forth by the NAIA. The qualifications are based on a school’s financial resources and monetary commitments to its programs.

“It’s trying to evaluate the emphasis of your program versus other programs at your school,” Hamlow said.

Schools will have until June 1 to pick their divisions.

Hamlow said that for the most part, the new division structure is a positive move.

“I think that it gives the schools an opportunity to choose what level of competition they want to play at,” he said.

He also likes the concept of schools competing in different divisions, depending on the sport.

“I think that is a plus, especially if you want to emphasize one sport over another in your program,” Hamlow said.

He said a school’s decision on its levels of competition will be a question of priorities.

“You have to ask yourself if the reason you compete in intercollegiate sports is to compete for a national championship,” Hamlow said. “If you say yes, then (competing in) Division II is a good idea.”

Most of the schools in the NAIA District III would qualify to compete in Division II under the NAIA criteria. But Hamlow thinks most of the District III schools will choose to compete in Division I.

“I don’t think it’s going to make any difference here on the West Coast because we’re going to still compete against the same teams all the time,” he said.

Carroll Land, longtime baseball coach at Point Loma Nazarene and NAIA president in 1981 and 1982, said a preliminary discussion among Golden State Athletic Conference teams indicated a preference for competing in Division I.

“In reality, all of us technically fell into Division II, but I don’t think any of us want to play Division II,” he said. “I think we all like the idea of competing for a Division I championship. . . . When we think of being NAIA Division II champion, who in the world is going to give a rip?”

Land said he didn’t see the addition of Division II as a positive step for the NAIA.

“I have been philosophically opposed to it in all my (29) years in the NAIA,” Land said. “My belief is we had a very good thing going where we had approximately 420 schools going for an NAIA championship. I think in the NCAA Division II and III you have less than half that (number).

He said that dividing the schools into divisions dilutes the NAIA.

“I think when you legislate in this way, the question is, ‘Where do you stop?’ ” Land said. “Obviously in the NCAA you have to do that but in the NAIA there are only about 10 schools or so that are comparable to (NCAA) Division I schools (financially).

“In my opinion, we only have a handful of programs (in the NAIA) that are consistently stronger than the rest of us.”

Hamlow said there was more demand for establishing a Division II in the Midwest, where some private schools must compete in the same districts as state schools that have more funds available.

But Land said there are only a few schools that fall into that category.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary for (improving) the level of competition and the budgetary concerns at this point,” he said.

Hamlow and Land both added that it will be difficult to judge the full impact of the legislation until it takes effect next year.

“It’s really a wait-and-see thing for all of us,” he said.

At the start of the baseball season, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were the favorites in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

But with the conference season approaching its midway point, it would be difficult to pinpoint a front-runner.

In fact, at the start of the week only three games separated the teams that were in first and last places in the conference. San Luis Obispo was in first at 8-5 and Pomona was second at 8-6, but the others were not far behind.

Chapman was 7-7, Cal State Northridge 6-6-1, Cal State Dominguez Hills 6-6, UC Riverside 5-7-1 and Cal State Los Angeles 4-7.

The leaders were more established in other College Division conferences.

Cal Lutheran was leading the Golden State Athletic Conference at 9-2 after splitting a doubleheader with second-place Azusa Pacific, 7-3, last week. Defending champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was in first again in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 6-0, and Redlands and La Verne were tied for second at 3-0.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team, which struggled to a 6-28 record last season, might have received a boost with the return of Nancy Fortner as coach.

A member of the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic teams, the 45-year-old Fortner coached Dominguez Hills from 1973 through 1979, and Loyola Marymount from 1980 through 1986.

In her first stint at Dominguez Hills, she guided the Toros to fourth place in the Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s Small College Division in 1978.

At Loyola Marymount, Fortner guided her 1986 team to the Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. title and the second round of the NCAA playoffs in only its second season in Division I. She posted a record of 144-89 with the Lions.

“She is one of the most respected volleyball figures in Southern California, by virtue of her sterling career as a player and her very successful coaching experiences at the collegiate level,” said Dan Guerrero, Dominguez Hills athletic director.

Fortner replaces Jennifer Gorecki, who resigned last December.

College Division Notes

Guard Cathy Gooden and center Niki Bracken of the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team have been named to the Kodak NCAA Division II All-American team selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Assn. Gooden, a senior who averaged 16.2 points and 5.5 assists, was picked for the second straight season. Bracken, a junior, averaged a team-leading 20 points and 8.7 rebounds as the Broncos reached the Division II finals for the sixth time in the eight years of the tournament. . . . Forward Donna Pollema of Biola received honorable mention on the NAIA All-American women’s basketball team. The 6-2 sophomore averaged 19.7 points and scored 41 in a game against Cal Lutheran in February.

Under first-year coach Janis Ruetz, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s softball team is off to one of its best starts at 19-11-1. The Toros finished with a 25-37 record last year. Dominguez Hills has been led by senior pitcher Denise Biller, who is 10-4 with a 0.48 ERA. . . . Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished in the top five for the eighth straight year with its third-place showing at the NCAA Division III men’s swimming tournament in Brunswick, Me., last week. . . . Baseball Coach Carroll Land of Point Loma Nazarene recorded his 500th victory with his team’s 4-3 decision over Biola last week.