Belhaven University issued the following statement.
Belhaven University is excited to announce that the NCAA Division III
Membership Committee has approved the University for full, active NCAA
membership beginning this fall with the 2019-20 academic year.
Full NCAA membership provides the Blazers' seventeen sports programs
immediate eligibility for both American Southwest Conference (ASC) and
NCAA postseason championships, full NCAA member voting privileges and
access to all NCAA opportunities, awards and recognition.
University President Dr. Roger Parrott noted, "NCAA Division III is the
gold standard for well- rounded college athletics – with its' commitment
to putting first a high-quality student-athlete experience. I'm proud
the stature and integrity of our programs have equipped us to be
enthusiastically welcomed into this highly competitive division of
college sports. I could not be more proud of our student-athletes,
coaches and athletics leadership."
In 2013, the Belhaven University Board of Trustees approved an NCAA
membership process which began with an 2014-15 exploratory year, the
final year of NAIA national affiliation for the Blazers. This was
followed by the NCAA-mandated four year provisional membership process,
during which time NCAA regulations did not allow for NCAA postseason
qualification and competition.
In 2015, the American Southwest Conference graciously welcomed Belhaven
University as a conference member. The Blazers' sports programs began
scheduled competition as an ASC member although unable to participate in
ASC team championships due to NCAA provisional membership rules
regarding automatic qualifier (AQ) postseason bids. During these
interim years Belhaven participated in numerous National Christian
College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship events.
Beginning in 2017-18, the ASC invited Belhaven student-athletes in
individual sports to compete in ASC Championships. Three
student-athletes earned ASC Champion honors in Outdoor Track & Field
in 2018 (JaLeea Bonnell, Women's 100m Hurdles; Aliah McPhaul, Women's
Shot Put; Dagan Nations, Men's Hammer Throw), followed by two more ASC
Champions in 2019 (Ben Adams, Men's Javelin Throw; Carron Prude, Men's
Hammer Throw).
"From the start, our aim was to find a home where our student-athletes
had the best opportunities to compete for championships and to mature as
people created in the image of God", said Scott Little,
Vice President & Director of Athletics. "So many people have
worked tirelessly for nearly six years to achieve NCAA membership. I
salute our student-athletes for their perseverance, especially those who
earned their degrees without ever experiencing the opportunity of the
ASC and NCAA postseason. I am also thankful for our coaches,
administrators, faculty, staff and alumni – those who have served and
supported our student-athletes with great skill and care. The support
and wisdom of Dr. Parrott and our Board of Trustees have been invaluable
as we have walked this road together."
Susanna Reese, senior Women's Basketball Student-Athlete and
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President remarked, "I am
excited for the opportunity to finally be eligible for the postseason
and I am ready to push myself and my teammates for the chance to get
there!"
Head Softball Coach Kevin Griffin
noted, "Full NCAA membership now gives our program instant credibility.
We had a great run in the NAIA and NCCAA, but now we can focus on
competing for NCAA championships and that is exciting for our coaches
and players!"
Men's Basketball Head Coach Jonathan Vines
said, "As we enter into full NCAA membership, I am forever grateful for
the selfless young men who chose to play here during the provisional
years. They established a culture of excellence both on the court and
in the classroom that will serve them well for years to come. Moving
forward, we couldn't be more excited that our players will now be able
to experience the thrill of vying for seeding in the conference
tournament in February, and hopefully an NCAA tournament run in March."
Head Football Coach Blaine McCorkle expressed, "It is very exciting to finally be a full member of the NCAA and the ASC. Our Athletics Director Scott Little
and our entire administration has worked tirelessly to make this a
reality and it makes all our jobs as coaches easier and we can't thank
them enough. We now have something to compete for without an asterisk.
It is now easier to give future Blazers definitive answers as to who we
are without explanation. I know I speak for all the coaches at
Belhaven when I say what a relief it is to have this process behind us
and now we can solely focus as a department on the things that truly
matter such as growing our department, ministering to our athletes and
competing for legitimate championships."
Head Women's Soccer Coach Kimberly Harrell
sent these remarks while attending the NCAA Women Coaches Academy,
"Gaining full NCAA membership is such an exciting time for our Women's
Soccer Program. We are thrilled to be able to compete in postseason
play, as well as for a National Championship. our Student-Athletes and
coaching staff have been waiting fr this moment and will embrace this
opportunity with maximum efforts."
Beth Vansant,
Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance and Administration
stated, "It is an honor to be part of this exciting time for the
Belhaven Blazers. NCAA Division III membership provides so many
opportunities for our student-athletes in and out of the classroom. I
look forward to supporting them in realizing their potential and
competing at the highest levels that DIII provides."
NCAA Division III is the largest division within the NCAA, with nearly
450 institutions across the nation. This comprises approximately 40% of
the total NCAA membership. NCAA student-athletes have access to a
myriad of resources beyond athletics and the classroom, as well as a
voice in discussions through Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
activities on campus, regionally and nationally. For more information
about NCAA Division III, click here.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Belhaven U Joins NCAA
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19 comments:
Lets build a new stadium!
A little surprised that the NCAA didn't examine Belhaven's hiring policy against all from the LGBT community. And its relationship with Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) policy/theology against allowing females in leadership positions.
11:21 the NCAA grants exemptions to to religious institutions. MC has the same policies as Belhaven. Christian universities can join the NCAA.
@11:21 Maybe they did... and don't care. Like most of us.
11:21, Free exercise of religion?! Horrors! The next thing use know people will expect the Constitution to apply to conservatives.
11:21
Majority of the entire Big East conference is made up of Catholic schools. What's your point. Look at Baylor university or Texas Christian university. Just a small exams of a few. Go stir your sh!t pot elsewhere.
I remember when belhaven had full internationals in men's soccer. They won the national title also won it in 2014 I believe. Kids from Africa and carribean mostly. That was a good time.
I thought they were going to mail order degrees. How does joining the NCAA help?
11:21
What is your problem? As you have demonstrated, you have the freedom to express your religious views however you wish. If you don't have any, that is your right also. The folks at Belhaven have the same rights. (It is interesting that so many folks are hell bent on protecting Muslims with all of their baggage but get upset about PCA folks.)
The truth about BU is the education has gone to zero. They are passing students (undergrad, graduate, online, and adult) who can’t write a complete sentence. All the student must do is claim to know Jesus and put a bunch of scriptures from the Bible in his/her papers. There are absolutely NO academic standards that must be met. If you can get a student loan & pay the tuition, you will be a graduate of BU. There was a day when a degree from BU meant something. Now it means nothing. It’s so sad. I wish Dr. P would enforce a higher standard for the students. Heck, I wish he would enforce ANY standard for them.
Actually, I played men's soccer at belhaven and we had a fair number of Muslims on the team and they didn't complain about the Christian role within the school or the classroom. Of course they probably would rather be at belhaven getting a degree and playing soccer rather than being back home in Kenya.
I graduated from Belhaven College as did my sibling, mother and grandmother. Belhaven is going the way of Liberty University- distance learning better known as on line diploma mill. Student loans pay the overhead. But the only way Belhaven can survive.
@10:26
The truth of it all is Dr. Parrott is only interested in the money and has accepted some real poorly educated and qualified students. It's already being expressed around the staff as well as others. The dance department has dropped a great deal in quality to say the least. The place is virtually on par with Virginia college or some crap scam program on that level.
Xanax needed here!
I have participated in distance learning. Academically it was great. I have a friends who are professors who adamantly opposed teaching distance classes as they said the standards would be gutted. Now the professors enjoy distance ed stating that it is equal and in some cases better than face-to-face instruction for maintaining academic standards.
OOoooo... some bruised comments here.
I'm guessing 10:26 couldn't complete their program and had to go elsewhere? And I suppose 8:44 is in their admissions dept, otherwise how could he/she so comment.
11:51 - Some work at home schemes probably pay well. The 'professors' you know who 'teach' long distance in their jammies over coffee no doubt enjoy that sort of job. Especially if they make the same salary while wearing flops, looking out the back patio door.
'Maintaining academic standards' while not coming face to face with 'students'? Bullshit.
@11:51
Bottom line is this. Up until the year 2008 belhaven was a great institution academically speaking. The issue was the adult aspire program and part time classes. I could tell a huge decrease in the quality of students. It was more on par with Milsaps as opposed to currently being on par with antonelli college. The student at 11:51 Clearly is unaware of the rigorous curriculum Bekhaveb had as well as a top notch dance department. You actually compared online learning to traditional education. Too funny. You should attend a 2 year tech school.
@10:50 i guess every institution of higher learning is a tech school now because they offer tons of online degree programs including large research universities. Check the big 4 universities in Mississippi. You obviously do not know what you are talking about. You are probably upset at the diversity of Belhaven more than the academic programs.
@ 11:59
Not sure what you define as diversity. If your referring to diversity of cultures then belhaven has far less diversity than it did 15 years ago. As the dance department was made up of girls and guys from eastern Europe and a number of other places.as was the soccer program the tropical islands Ireland Brazil Europe Mexico Africa as was men's tennis. The school hasn't been an all women's college in nearly 100 years. Thankfully it still remains close ties to 1st Presbyterian church. How diverse do you want it to become.?
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