Oakland City

[Tech Boys]

It appears the Mighty Oaks are headed to NAIA. They posted on 01-17-20 two job openings on the NAIA Career Center site and stated "Oakland City University has applied to the NAIA and is waiting on possible approval and full membership in the Fall of 2020." This would mean them leaving D2 after the current Spring 2020 season.

[laker]

Is this because they couldn't find a conference to join?

[Tech Boys]

Is this because they couldn't find a conference to join?

My guess is probably not. I don't know of a reason they could not have joined the GLVC or why they didn't try to be a co-founder of the G-MAC. Since their schedules were 95% non-NCAA opponents I have a feeling they were headed this direction for a while. When did they join D2?

[Inkblot]

My guess is probably not. I don't know of a reason they could not have joined the GLVC or why they didn't try to be a co-founder of the G-MAC. Since their schedules were 95% non-NCAA opponents I have a feeling they were headed this direction for a while. When did they join D2?

1990. They apparently gave up NAIA membership two years later.

[laker]

1990. They apparently gave up NAIA membership two years later.

Good sleuthing. I looked but couldn't find anything, even on their own site.

[Inkblot]

Good sleuthing. I looked but couldn't find anything, even on their own site.

I have two sources for when they joined:

https://web3.ncaa.org/directory/orgDetail?id=1278

https://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch (at which can be found this pdf from their first D2 season: https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/stats...University.pdf)

[Tech Boys]

Good info. It's a little crazy that Oakland City has been D2 that long. Out of curiosity I looked through their men's basketball schedules in the 90s and even then more than 50% of their games were non-D2.

[DJ Silky Panties]

Good info. It's a little crazy that Oakland City has been D2 that long. Out of curiosity I looked through their men's basketball schedules in the 90s and even then more than 50% of their games were non-D2.

[laker]

NAIA announcement

http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/...membership.htm

[ctrabs74]

I'm just finding out about this now and I can't help but wonder why it took so long for Oakland City to finally give up on their D2 pipe dreams. It felt as though they were benefitting from NCAA membership but doing nothing to contribute within the D2 landscape.

[CoachDave]

Oakland City was simply not willing to fund athletics (or incapable of it) to compete in D2. They wouldn't join the GMAC because they conference wasn't willing limit scholarships enough to a point where they would have had any real chance to compete (in the opinion of their AD at the time, that's a whole 'nuther story). They cashed the D2 gender equity check, played a few guarantee games and focused on (sort of) the NCCAA for post-season. It was sustainable, but the NAIA has always been a better fit for them. With St. Mary of the Woods also coming into the River States, they have a conference that is probably a better fit than the GMAC, and they can still play the same schedules they've pretty much always played.