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Thursday, December 7, 2000
The Official Campus Newspaper
Volume 4 No. 4
The BIG move: Life in Division 1
Katherine Burch
Pilot editor
The administration of
Gardner-Webb after looking at
several different scenarios,
decided that they would pro
pose becoming a NCAA
Division 1 member.
The Gardner-Webb
University Board of Trustees
decided in October of last yeai'
to allow the transition of the
University into the NCAA divi
sion 1 from Division 2.
Chuck Burch, Vice
President of Athletics, stated in
an article early in the semester,
“I would say it’s been difficult.
We had set schedules that
increased travel and the num
ber of home games dimin
ished.
“As we go through tran
sition it has been difficult to
go from Division 2 to
Division 1. “No one expected
an easy transition period,”
added Burch.
No one did expect an
easy transition, least of all
the athletic teams. The hard
games and practices are
nonetheless learning experi
ences on where to improve.
“I believe this will help
the University,” said coach
Tony Setzer of the men's
soccer team in the midst of
some doubts throughout the
University.
Setzer believes it will
help bring in a higher caliber
student athlete and make
GWU more noticeable.
The overall process will
take some time, at least two
years, which will be painful
in some ways and easy in
others.
Some of the principles
that the University must
maintain and attain during
this two-year period are out
lined by the NCAA. Among
these principles are institu
tional control, student ath
lete welfare, sportsmanship
and ethical conduct, sound
academic standards, ama
teurism and rules of compli
ance.
Those in the middle of
this process are the student
athletes, coaches and the
sports programs. They must
endure the long hours of
travel and grueling practices.
Angell Benson, women's
volleyball coach said, “It
was difficult traveling so
much. It was also hard to
motivate the team because
there was no team confer
ence.”
Most of teams traveled
to compete next door in
South Carolina and as far
away as New York. For
example the volleyball team
had games at home near the
end of the season but the rest
of the season they traveled.
“It is a two-year process,”
said Burch.
After the declaration is
made to become Division 1,
an institution must begin to
follow the NCAA Division 1
rules and regulations, and is
given two years to come into
compliance with these new
rules and regulations.
Burch states that the
University will be eligible
September 2002, upon its
compliance with the set stan
dards in relation to schedule
and rules and regulations.
Currently the school is
not a Division 1 program
and it will not be until the
second year, according to
NCAA rules.
“The program in the sec
Photo by Joy Marinelli
Freshman Tommy Boyton dribbles up the field in a soccer match this Fall. Division I status has changed life
for many student-athietes and teams at GWU.
ond year can be counted as
Division 1 opponent for the
teams to meet schedule
requirements,” said Burch.
There are pros and cons
in this transition, which
helps and hurts the student
athletes and coaches.
The downs of going
Division 1 is the tight sched
ules and the hours spent
traveling. Also, the fact that
last year many of the athletic
teams according to Burch,
were beginning to gain some
footing and success in the
SAC conference.
“Success goes down,
with competition against
teams with deeper athletic
pool,” said Burch.
As for the overall team
success, Burch stated, “After
losing four games in a row
self doubt creeps in...for
coaches and students expec
tation to win helps them
keep the right kind of mental
attitudes.”
“Its been exciting to see
kids competing well against
them (Division 1),” said
Burch. “It has been difficult,
we knew that first couple of
years we would be without a
real home and had some
foresight into future.”
Most of the coaches had
the mental attitude needed
for the adjustment.
Cross-country and track
coach Bryan Fetzer
described the “right kind of
mental attitude.”
Fetzer described that any
situation can be smoother
when you have the notion in
mind to make a smooth tran
sition.
This smooth transition
was not easy for all the
teams. The soccer team was
left with a final season
record of 1-16.
“I know that we are dis
appointed with the results.
Every team goes through
this transition,” said Setzer.
“Players see what it takes.
“You can't take away the
experiences,” said Setzer.
This experience is how to be
a better athlete and learning
to win or lose.
The experience for the
football team was much better.
The team ended at 7 and 4, a
season to remember.
The team that most
expected to do the worst
actually did the best. How
could GWU possibly expect
to win against schools with
more money and better
recruits: the natural athletic
abilities of a team with a
great chemistry.
SEE Division 1 Page 6