Winston-Salem State’s intercollegiate athletics program will remain a Division II institution.
The decision was announced by Chancellor Donald J. Reaves Sept. 11. in a statement released to the media.
The process to remain in Division II will begin immediately, but WSSU will continue to compete in the MEAC at the Division I level through the 2009-2010 season.
Dr. Reaves praised the vision of former WSSU chancellors who had supported the move to Division I but said that the resources to complete the reclassification were not available.
“This decision is probably the hardest one I have ever had to make because I believe that WSSU belongs in Division I,” Chancellor Reaves said.
At a special called meeting, the University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support the Reaves’ recommendation.
“If there were any reasonable way to complete this transition without diverting resources from competing academic priorities, I would have recommended that we stay the course.
“Over the past two years, we have continued to be concerned that budgetary constraints would not allow us to successfully complete the transition,” Reaves said.
“As the athletics deficits continued to mount, there appeared to be no rational way we could continue the process.
“Our goal now is to complete the move to NCAA Division II and find a conference home for our athletic program before the 2010-2011 season begins.
We have been reviewing all of the options in our region and our preference would be to return to the CIAA.
‘We will, however, have to complete the reclassification process with the NCAA and file a letter of interest with Commissioner Leon Kerry at the CIAA, ” Reaves said.
The spending side of the budget for the WSSU athletics program has grown during the three-year period of 2005-2006 through 2008-2009 from approximately $2.88 million to $5.58 million while total revenue grew from $2.07 million to $3.77 million.
Just for the fiscal year that ended June 30, the athletic program generated a deficit of approximately $1.8 million.
The increase in expenses was directly connected to the transition to Division I which requires that an institution field a minimum of 14 teams and add substantially more resources such as scholarships, coaches and facilities.