Division II
Encyclopedia
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
. It offers an alternative to both the highly competitive (and highly expensive) level of intercollegiate sports offered in NCAA Division I and to the non-scholarship level offered in Division III. Divisions II and III were formerly known collectively as the NCAA College Division.
Nationally, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
televises the championship game
NCAA Division II national football championship
The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the NCAA College Division and a poll determined the final champion....
in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
televises the men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
championship, and ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
televises the women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
championship. CBS College Sports broadcasts six football games on Thursdays during the regular season, and one men's basketball game per week on Saturdays during that sport's regular season.
Membership
Division II schools tend to be smaller public universities and many private institutions. Athletic scholarships are offered in most sponsored sports at most institutions, but with more stringent limits as to the numbers offered in any one sport than at the Division I level. For example, Division II schools may give financial aid in football equivalent to 36 full scholarships (whereas each school in Division I FBS, the highest level, is allowed 85 individuals receiving financial aid for football), although some Division II conferences limit the number of scholarships to a lower level. Division II scholarship programs are frequently the recipients of student-athletes transferring from Division I schools; a transfer student does not have to sit out a year before resuming sports participation as would be the case in the event of transferring from one Division I institution to another (with the exception of footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
players transferring from a Division I FBS school to a Division I FCS school, who also do not have to sit out a year). Currently there are 282 either full or provisional members of Division II.
All Division II schools must field athletes in at least ten sports, with male and female competition in a given sport counting as two different sports. In addition, all coeducational schools must field athletes in at least four sports in each gender. Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
became the first institution outside the United States to enter the NCAA membership process. This occurred after the Division II Membership Committee accepted the institution’s application during a July 7–9 meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. Simon Fraser, located in Burnaby, British Columbia, began a two-year candidacy period September 1, 2009. Prospective members also must complete at least one year of provisional status before being accepted as full-time Division II members, meaning the Canadian institution could become an active Division II member by fall 2012.
NCAA Division II conferences
- California Collegiate Athletic AssociationCalifornia Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe California Collegiate Athletic Association or CCAA is an intercollegiate athletic conference in the Division II of the NCAA. All of its current members are public universities, and all except for UC San Diego are members of the California State University system.It was founded in December 1938...
- Central Atlantic Collegiate ConferenceCentral Atlantic Collegiate ConferenceThe Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the States of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.The conference was founded...
- Central Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationCentral Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationThe Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is a college athletic conference, mostly consisting of historically black colleges and universities. Recent addition Chowan University is the first non-HBCU to play in the conference. Conference teams participate in the NCAA's Division II...
^ - Conference CarolinasConference CarolinasConference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference , is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Conference Carolinas reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in...
- East Coast ConferenceEast Coast ConferenceThe East Coast Conference is a collegiate athletics conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the States of Connecticut and New York.-History:...
- Great American ConferenceGreat American ConferenceThe Great American Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II, and is scheduled to begin play in the 2011-12 school year.- Members :...
^ - Great Lakes Football ConferenceGreat Lakes Football ConferenceThe Great Lakes Football Conference began operations in the 2006 season, with six institutions competing. A previous incarnation of the conference was disbanded after the 1999 season.-Members:*Kentucky Wesleyan College...
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceThe Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a competitive intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Member institutions are located in the midwestern United States in the States of Michigan and Ohio, with affiliate...
^ - Great Lakes Valley ConferenceGreat Lakes Valley ConferenceThe Great Lakes Valley Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes at the NCAA's Division II level. Member institutions are located in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin....
- Great Northwest Athletic ConferenceGreat Northwest Athletic ConferenceThe Great Northwest Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which has historically operated in the Northwestern United States, but also currently includes four schools in areas not usually considered part of that region—two in Alaska , one in eastern Montana The Great Northwest...
^ - Gulf South ConferenceGulf South ConferenceThe Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
^ - Heartland ConferenceHeartland ConferenceThe Heartland Conference is an NCAA Division II college athletic conference founded in 1999. The majority of members are in Texas, with additional members in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.-Member schools:...
- Lone Star ConferenceLone Star ConferenceThe Lone Star Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico...
^
- Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationMid-America Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationThe Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and effective in 2012 in Oklahoma in the Midwestern United States. The conference was formerly known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic...
^ - Northeast Ten ConferenceNortheast Ten ConferenceThe Northeast-10 Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont...
^ - Northern Sun Intercollegiate ConferenceNorthern Sun Intercollegiate ConferenceThe Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with two members in South Dakota and one member each in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. It participates in the NCAA's...
^ - Pacific West ConferencePacific West ConferenceThe Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...
- Peach Belt ConferencePeach Belt ConferenceThe Peach Belt Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. The PBC was formed in 1990 with seven charter universities as the Peach Belt Athletic Conference, and took its current name in 2000.-Current members:The league currently has 13 full...
- Pennsylvania State Athletic ConferencePennsylvania State Athletic ConferenceThe Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference that participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. The conference is composed of 16 full-time members within Pennsylvania and one associate member in New York...
^ - Rocky Mountain Athletic ConferenceRocky Mountain Athletic ConferenceThe Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
^ - South Atlantic ConferenceSouth Atlantic ConferenceThe South Atlantic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II...
^ - Southern Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceThe Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a College athletic conference consisting of historically black colleges and universities located in the southern United States. Formed in 1913, the SIAC is a member of the NCAA and participates in Division II athletics...
^ - Sunshine State ConferenceSunshine State ConferenceThe Sunshine State Conference was originally formed in 1975 as an NCAA Division II men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 14 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball,...
- West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceThe West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but has now expanded into Pennsylvania...
^ - Division II Independent schoolsNCAA Division II independent schoolsNCAA Division II independent schools are four-year institutions that field intercollegiate teams in football and other sports, but which are not formally affiliated with any athletic conference.-Full Division II member:...
^ Conferences that sponsor football
The newest D-II conference is the Great American Conference, made up of the Arkansas-based institutions formerly in the Gulf South Conference and three Oklahoma schools previously in the Lone Star Conference. This league was accepted as a Division II member conference during the 2011 NCAA Convention in January.
The Great Lakes Football Conference will disband after the 2011–12 school year. It is effectively being absorbed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is adding football in fall 2012. The initial GLVC football members include all four current GLFC members.
Interaction with other divisions
The NCAA does not strictly prevent its member institutions from playing outside of their own division, or indeed playing against schools that are not members of the NCAA, but it is discouraged in many sports.NAIA
Many Division II schools frequently schedule matches against members of the National Association of Intercollegiate AthleticsNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
, which consists of colleges and universities across the United States and Canada that promote competitive and character-based athletics that is controlled by its membership, as opposed to the NCAA that serves as a regulating body.
Division I
Division II schools also frequently schedule "money games", usually in football and men's basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, against Division I schools.
In football, D-II teams once occasionally played football games against schools that are now in Division I FBS, but this practice has ended because under current NCAA rules, FBS schools cannot use victories over schools below FCS level for establishing bowl eligibility. Today, D-II "money games" are exclusively against FCS schools, whose postseason eligibility is less seriously impacted by scheduling a D-II opponent. In basketball, where conference tournaments play a large role in determining postseason participants, D-I schools have less of a penalty for scheduling an occasional D-II opponent, resulting in more "money games".
In any event, the D-II school is almost invariably the visiting team, and is invited to play with the almost-certain knowledge that it will be defeated but will receive a substantial (at least by Division II standards) monetary reward which will help to finance much of the rest of the season and perhaps other sports as well.
In recent years, "money games" in men's basketball have also included preseason exhibitions against D-I programs, typically in the same region, that do not count in official statistics for either team. Under NCAA rules, Division I teams are allowed to play two exhibition games in a season, and must host these games. However, prior to the 2011–12 season, two D-I men's programs in Missouri, namely Missouri
Missouri Tigers men's basketball
The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Missouri in the Big 12 Conference. The Tigers are located in Columbia, Missouri. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2011. The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team plays its home games at...
and Missouri State
Missouri State Bears men's basketball
The Missouri State Bears men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are currently coached by Cuonzo Martin who has been head coach since the 2008–09...
, received NCAA waivers to travel to D-II Missouri Southern State University
Missouri Southern State University
Missouri Southern State University is a public, state university located in Joplin, Missouri. Missouri Southern State University was formerly Missouri Southern State College and is also known as Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo for short. Established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College, Missouri...
in Joplin
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
, a city devastated by a May 2011 tornado
2011 Joplin tornado
The 2011 Joplin tornado was a devastating EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, USA late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak sequence and reached a maximum width of in excess of during its path through the southern part of...
, for third exhibition games. Both games were played as fundraisers for tornado relief efforts. Under normal circumstances, these exhibitions can still provide the D-II program with a financial boost similar to that of an in-season game.
Also in basketball, two of the best-known early-season tournaments for D-I schools, the Great Alaska Shootout
Great Alaska Shootout
The Great Alaska Shootout is an annual college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features colleges from all over the United States. The University of Alaska Anchorage hosts the tournament every Thanksgiving. Tournament games are played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage...
and Maui Invitational
Maui Invitational Tournament
The Maui Invitational Tournament is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving Week in Lahaina, Hawaii at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui. It is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu, which participates yearly along with a field of seven...
, are hosted by D-II schools, respectively Alaska–Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
and Chaminade
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private co-educational university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Marianists, Chaminade is located in the historic Kaimuki district of Honolulu. Chaminade offers...
. Both D-II hosts compete in their respective events.
Non-revenue sports competition
Matches between the three NCAA divisions in non-revenue sports are often quite competitive; the difference in the level of competition between the two divisions is often considerably less in these sports than it is in footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and men's or women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Indeed, in some sports, among them ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and men's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, there is no Division II national championship. In hockey, many schools whose athletic programs are otherwise Division II compete in Division I, and men's volleyball has no NCAA-sanctioned divisional structure (as opposed to the NAIA, which includes men's volleyball in its divisional structure). In any sport that does not have a Division II national championship, Division II members are allowed to award the same number of scholarships as Division I members.