ST PAUL, Minn. — The University of St. Thomas announced Wednesday that it is one step closer to making the jump from Division III athletics to Division I.
In a post on the university's website, St. Thomas said the NCAA Division I Council "advanced support for legislation that clears a path for D-III athletics programs to reclassify to D-I, provided those programs meet certain criteria."
Last fall, St. Thomas announced it had received an invitation to join the Summit League in Division I as soon as the fall of 2021. The invitation came after the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) said St. Thomas would be removed from its membership starting in the spring of 2021, citing athletic competitive parity.
St. Thomas was a founding member of the MIAC, helping to launch the conference in 1920. The school went on to develop storied rivalries in the MIAC, particularly the annual Tommies-Johnnies football game against St. John's University.
In addition to supporting St. Thomas' path to Division I, the NCAA Division I Council also indicated it would support a formal waiver request from St. Thomas to begin the reclassification process sooner.
"We will immediately begin work with Commissioner Tom Douple and the NCAA to formally submit our waiver request," said St. Thomas vice president and director of athletics Phil Esten in a statement. "While I know all of us are anxiously awaiting definitive word on where we will be competing starting with the 2021-22 season, we must remain patient for just a little while longer. As always, I remain optimistic about the future of Tommie athletics, and we look forward to continuing to work with the NCAA on the reclassification process."
If the move is given final approval, St. Thomas would be the first D-III program to make the jump directly to Division I in the modern NCAA era.
