The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced yesterday that the Council of Presidents has approved the applications of four institutions, including IUPUC, for membership effective July 1, 2022. Formal approval was voted upon by the NAIA Council of Presidents on April 10 at the NAIA Convention COP Business Meeting. All four schools received unanimous recommendations from the NAIA Membership Committee.
Schools must meet membership criteria that include financial stability, sports sponsorship, accreditation, and a commitment to character-driven athletics. Athletics facilities, enrollment numbers, retention rates, and overall financial commitment to athletics are also taken into consideration.
“As the landscape of college athletics continues to shift, we are proud to add these four new members to our association,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “Each of these schools bring something unique to the NAIA and we are happy to add institutions that are such a good match within our five core character values.”
IUPUC will launch its athletics program this fall with men’s and women’s cross country, followed by baseball and softball in the spring of 2023. IUPUC will be adding men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s golf for the 2023-24 seasons.
“Bringing intercollegiate athletics to IUPUC has been a project several years in the making, and we are very excited to make that dream a reality through our membership in the NAIA,” said Reinhold Hill, Vice Chancellor and Dean at IUPUC. “We could not have made this happen without the support of the Columbus community at large and we look forward to success both on and off the field through this shared endeavor.”
In addition to hiring Zach McClellan in January as the Athletic Director and head baseball coach, IUPUC has added several more people to the athletic department staff including Kyle Hawkins as the sports information director, Harvey Scruggs as marketing specialist, Scott Bickel as associate head baseball coach, Tim Hoeflinger as men’s and women’s cross country coach, and Tommi Stowers as the head softball coach.
“The pieces are coming together very quickly and we are very excited about competing in the NAIA beginning this fall,” said McClellan, who attended the NAIA annual conference last week. “We already have 27 student athletes committed to IUPUC for the upcoming year, and each day we are talking to students who want to help shape the history of IUPUC through athletics.”
IUPUC is currently in the process of applying for conference membership and hopes to join IU East, IU Kokomo, and IU Southeast in the River States Conference. In the meantime, they are working to secure facilities, additional coaches, and most of all student athletes to fill the rosters.
For more information, please contact Kyle Hawkins at vkhawkin@iu.edu.