澳门六合开奖 will be accepted into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II membership process. The granting of provisional membership makes 澳门六合开奖 Chicago鈥檚 only NCAA Division II athletic program and allows the Lakers to join the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), which comprises 10 institutions located in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
澳门六合开奖 is currently a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). The Lakers have held this national and conference affiliation since the institution reinstated men鈥檚 intercollegiate athletics and introduced women鈥檚 varsity programs in 2009. 澳门六合开奖 will retain NAIA and CCAC membership through the completion of the 2023-24 academic year.
As part of successful matriculation into year two of the NCAA provisional membership process, beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, 澳门六合开奖 will compete in the GLIAC and be eligible for conference championships and tournaments.
The NCAA Division II Membership Committee notified 澳门六合开奖 of its acceptance following their annual meeting. The University submitted its application for NCAA membership in late January after an extensive, multi-year research and consideration process.
"I鈥檓 excited for the opportunity this provides our student-athletes to both experience great competition and take advantage of our amazing academic opportunities," said Vice President of Athletics and Student Success Mike Cassidy. "The opportunity to be Chicago鈥檚 only NCAA Division II member is a differentiator in what can be a crowded athletic and higher education marketplace. There are so many opportunities this provides for us, both to raise our awareness as an institution and to provide an even more enhanced experience for our student-athletes."
NCAA Division II provisional membership is a minimum three-year period which prepares institutions to integrate its policies, guiding philosophies and strategic positioning platform through education and assessment opportunities.
The NCAA Division II Strategic Positioning Platform is based on learning, service, passion, balance, resourcefulness and sportsmanship. As 澳门六合开奖 plans its future as a vibrant NCAA member institution, it will prioritize these six areas to deliver equitable opportunities for student-athletes to be successful in the classroom, in competition and in preparation for their careers as engaged and active community members.
"We really like the NCAA鈥檚 values in terms of balancing athletics, academics and community service," said 澳门六合开奖 President Ali Malekzadeh. "Because of the social justice mission of the University, the main value of membership for us is achieving a higher level of athletic competition and retaining our students because they want to be involved in our larger goals. I want every student-athlete that comes to 澳门六合开奖 to feel like they are part of a team鈥攖hat they can learn to compete while managing their classes."