Fargo, ND – A sports consultant says it would be a good move for NDSU to reclassify to Division One.
The report from Carr Sports Consulting found that a move to Division One is compatible with the university's recent efforts to achieve new levels of academic and research excellence. Bill Carr says there are four critical
considerations--the amount of time the transitional period would take, the financial concerns, the requirement of facilities, and the conference affiliation.
Carr Associate Gerald O'Dell says the firm developed five steps N-D-S-U should take to reclassify its status.
"For North Dakota State to reclassify to Division One-AA--it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of people working together. We have five points of recommendation. One--if the decision is made to reclassify to Division One-AA, it's imperative that institution consensus be reached as to the goals and objectives of the University's athletic program. And that the program be adequately funded so we can be successful."
O'Dell says the second step is for the alumni association to formalize working relationships; third--a thorough cost benefit analysis of fundraising activities must be performed prior to decision to reclassify; fourth--athletics should assess potential external financial support; fifth--student fees should increase.
"Our recommendation is simply that those enhancements of support services should be in place before a decision is made to reclassify to Division One-AA."
N-D-S-U Athletics Director Gene Taylor says he is excited about the report.
"We're excited about moving through the process of potential Division One reclassification. I'd also like to add that when I stood before you here in July, this was one of my first goals to get this ball rolling. And I think this is the first step in doing that in answering the Division One decision."
Carr Associates says there will be a five year period required for N-D-S-U to go through the reclassification process. The group says there are two more phases N-D-S-U need to go through--assessing the market and developing
a strategic plan from the data found in the feasibility study and assessing the market.