For 37 years, USI has competed in NCAA Division II athletics. In that time span, the Screaming Eagles have achieved three National titles, two in baseball (2010, 2014) and one in basketball (1994).
Winning a national title is an extremely honorable achievement, which takes hard work, dedication, and even some luck here and there.
USI has also led the GLVC in total National Championships won since the beginning of the conference’s existence. Currently, the Eagles have six teams nationally ranked in the top 25 out of the fifteen sports offered at the university. These teams include baseball; men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s track and field.
With no doubt in the matter, USI is home to some of the top performing athletes in the country, but the question remains, “How can we improve?” Of the nine athletic teams that have yet to win their first championship, what is being done to turn the season that they almost made it to the finals, a national championship season?
The university competes in a conference that includes only three other teams, besides the Eagles, that have ever won a single national championship out of sixteen. With a conference that may lack competition, the athletic department is going to have a harder time attracting more talent to their program.
What brings star athletes to a school varies between academic opportunities, campus life, tradition, cost of tuition, and many other typical determinations that go into consideration when choosing a college, but the main factor is a stellar athletic record.
A good example is the University of Alabama’s football program. The Crimson Tide has claimed fifteen National titles and has no problem bringing in the best talent in the country from year to year. It has even been said that the team is so talented; they could successfully defeat an NFL professional football team.
The reason schools like Alabama achieve such success is due to the fact that athletes want to play for a team, and coach, that have produced success in previous years. For the teams that lack national titles at USI, putting together a successful program in the years to come lies in the hands of the current teams and coaches.
The schools athletic department is given a budget well over $4 million dollars
to achieve the ultimate goal of any NCAA Division II program and that goal is to win. The various USI athletic teams have the resources to put together these championship teams, but seem to come up short is certain areas.
The goal of each athletic team should be to put the best talent on the playing field under the best coaches to lead them to a championship. Over the past decade, USI has shown life in their title achievements but in order to continue their success in the years to come they need to rely on a well thought out game plan to make this happen.
An athletic department that is highly recognized for its achievements in play draws more attention to the university and with enrollment on the decline; this is exactly what USI needs. A successful athletic program that wins championships has the opportunity to flourish in the benefits. These benefits include better advertisement opportunities, increased applications to the University, an improvement in the school’s academic profile, licensing opportunities, and other attributes such as donations and ticket revenue.
So to the future couching staff, and future athletes that are considering bringing their talents to Southern Indiana, the outcome relies on our current student athletes that continue seeking victory.