Students and faculty members on campus reflected on the university’s Division I transition a year after the initial announcement. 

The Board of Trustees voted for university athletics to transition to Division I, the highest level of university athletics sanctioned by the NCAA, one year ago Feb. 7, 2022. Following the initial decision, the campus community had a mixed reaction to the DI announcement.

Many students, faculty felt their opinions were not heard in the DI survey sent out to the campus community in December 2021. 

The survey contained an FAQ with 13 questions and answers about cost, student fees and the effects the transition to NCAA Division I would have on the university. Participants could answer “yes,” “no” or “don’t know” to the question, “Based on the information provided in the FAQ, in general, are you in favor of USI competing at Division I level?”

Of the 2,233 participants surveyed, 39% were in favor of university athletics competing at NCAA Division I level, with 49% not in favor and 12% unsure.

Of the 257 participating faculty members surveyed, 22% were in favor, with 60% not in favor and 18% uncertain. Approximately 44% of the 1,381 participating students were in favor, 48% were not in favor and 8% were uncertain.

Of the participating student-athletes surveyed, 45% were in favor, and 45% were not in favor, with 10% uncertain.

“I heard about the transition in high school and was surprised the university took this big step,” said Samuel Dehner, freshman finance major. “I think it’s going well so far, and it really stepped things up.”

“I swim for USI,” said Nihar Vitthanala, freshman mechanical engineering major. “When I was being recruited, we were still in Division II, and when we became Division I, it became a solidifying factor into my recruitment because I really wanted to compete in Division I.”

Vitthanala said USI can be a really competitive school.

“Now that we are Division I, we can show up, show out, get better training, work hard and represent ourselves on a national scale,” Vitthanala said.

Vitthanala said the transition to Division I has been a good thing. 

“There has been a lot more attention towards our school on a national scale,” Vitthanala said. “Jacob Polakovich is leading in DI. He’s like fourth in the nation for rebounds per game. Most people would shrug that off if we were a DII school, but now that we are DI, people start to take notice.”

The 2021-2022 overall for basketball was a win-loss of 18-8 for men’s and 23-6 for women’s basketball. So far, the 2022-2023 win-loss is 13-12 for the men’s team and 10-13 for the women’s team. 

The university has players that are not recognized by the NCAA bylaw 20.7.3.5. Some unrecognized players include Vanessa Shafford, sophomore guard for women’s basketball, shooting 50.5% from three on 4.5 attempts a game this season, and Jacob Polakovich, senior forward for men’s basketball and second in the country for rebounds per game at 13.1.

Logan Craft, senior economics major, said he did not appreciate the tuition spikes, but now it does not seem to affect him much.

“Going to sports games and seeing other schools you know and heard of is really neat,” Craft said.

Erin McIntyre, sophomore pre-dental hygiene major, said he did not like the idea of tuition going up over time but now sees it as a positive for social life on campus.

“Now I feel that now people are coming to sports games, there is a better atmosphere on campus as well as social life,” McIntyre said.

Jane Weatherred, assistant professor of advertising and public relations, thinks other faculty members may be against the decision to go DI.

“I think some faculty are against it because they don’t think it will funnel money into programs, but that’s incorrect,” Weatherred said. 

“When I was at University of South Carolina, I bought season tickets, and every year, I got a letter thanking me for my $500 donation out of the $1,300 ticket price,” Weathered said. “They took that $500 out and put it back into scholarships and programming at the university. I think over time, the transition will be a good thing for the university, from a PR standpoint.”

Jon Mark Hall, director of athletics, said he was anxious and excited at the initial announcement of the DI transition.

“I think we made the right decision. We are still working through the transition and there are still things we need to work out, but we are working through it.”

Hall said he knows everyone wasn’t in favor of making the move, but thinks there is a lot of buzz on campus about it now.

“I feel people are understanding of the decision and I think everyone has rallied around each other,” Hall said. “There is a sense of ‘let’s make this successful’ like how it is with every other decision made on this campus.”