GSAC considering move to NCAA D-II

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Fresno Pacific and the Golden State Athletic Conference are exploring a possible move from NAIA to NCAA Division II in the next few years.

"I don't know what schools are lined up yet, but everybody is looking at it," GSAC commissioner Cliff Hamlow said.

The main reasons for the 11-member GSAC, arguably the NAIA's strongest conference, to consider the switch are to gain more national exposure and better postseason financial help while upgrading its competition, Hamlow said.

Fresno Pacific athletic director Dennis Janzen said his university is on board with the move. Fresno Pacific has been an NAIA member since 1965.

"Yes, we are looking into the NCAA option very seriously," he said. "The process could be as quickly as two years or as long as four years."

The ball appears rolling on several fronts.

Jim Carr, president of the NAIA, is meeting with NCAA officials today to discuss working more closely together.

An ad hoc committee of GSAC chief financial officers and athletic directors is looking into the financial side of such a move.

The GSAC and NCAA, Hamlow said, plan to meet in the next few weeks to "get a better handle on it." Also, conference athletic directors will gather Aug. 6-7 in Azusa to discuss the plan, said former California Baptist interim athletic director Kent Dacus, whom Hamlow described as the "driving force" for seeking NCAA status.

"It's a bit premature," Dacus said, "but it will be an item for discussion. It's going to take a couple months before we know more and even longer should the process begin to unfold."

Precedent has been set for an entire NAIA conference jumping to the NCAA. The last to do so was the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in the late 1990s, said Staci Schottman, the NAIA's director of communications.

Hamlow intimated the GSAC has outgrown the NAIA, a more loosely governed organization than the NCAA.

He cited the GSAC's domination of this year's NAIA Learfield Director's Cup, which rates the best athletic programs.

Azusa Pacific was No. 1, Concordia No. 2, Fresno Pacific No. 4, Cal Baptist No. 5 and Point Loma Nazarene No. 7. Biola was No. 16.

The GSAC boasted five national champions and four runners-up in 2008-09. Winning titles were Fresno Pacific (volleyball, men's tennis), Azusa Pacific (women's cross country, men's outdoor track) and Cal Baptist (softball). Fresno Pacific also placed second in women's tennis.

Hamlow said that overall strength should be a plus for the conference in talks with the NCAA.

The NAIA is similar to NCAA Division II in makeup. There are 25 conferences with 287 schools in NAIA and 27 conferences with 298 schools in NCAA Division II. The GSAC sponsors 13 athletic teams -- seven for women and six for men. Fresno Pacific fields 16 teams -- eight sports each for men and women.

But the NCAA governs with a stricter hand -- especially through its clearinghouse for athletic eligibility issues -- televises many of its championships and offers greater financial support in the postseason.

All important reasons, Hamlow said, for exploring the NCAA option.

"We'd benefit greatly by being branded as a member of NCAA," he said. "Everyone knows what the NCAA is about. The NAIA is known as smaller institutions."

"Postseason help with expenses also is a big factor for us. The NCAA pays for about 80% -- the NAIA little -- although chances of making champions will be much less."

It's not known what costs the GSAC will incur should it join the NCAA. Conference dues along with travel and game official expenses likely will be higher.

"People are putting together their financial pages now so we'll know what they're dealing with," Hamlow said. "Again, this is just in the talking stages. But we feel we've got a lot to offer the NCAA."

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GSAC Addresses Its Future

The NAIA-affiliated Golden State Athletic Conference decided Friday to begin gathering information regarding NCAA Division II membership.

During discussions held over two days (Aug. 6 & 7), the athletics directors of all 11 GSAC-member schools agreed to initiate fact-gathering processes particular to each campus and report their findings to the presidents of their respective institutions.

A specific timeline for the processes was not established, and neither the individual schools nor the conference as a whole are committed at this time to make application for NCAA membership. In fact, GSAC members have agreed that current on-going talks between administrative staffs of the NAIA and NCAA are important and are looking forward to an established direction of those conversations.

?We are proud members of the NAIA and are grateful for what the association has meant in the development of our conference,? said GSAC Commissioner Dr. Cliff Hamlow. ?We are conducting some homework and charting our future, and nothing more should be construed by our actions. We are unique in our competitiveness and camaraderie, and it is not unusual for us to act together as a conference on a number of activities and decisions.?

Established in 1986 by like-minded institutions, the GSAC members are all Christian colleges located throughout central and southern California. GSAC-member institutions have captured 33 NAIA national championships in the conference?s 23-year history.