BY ALLAN STEELE / STAFF WRITER
Published: Jan. 13, 2017 Updated: 9:38 p.m.
CBU BY THE NUMBERS
History
The Lancers have won 36 national titles and 57 conference championships in their history, with 20 national titles and 33 conference crowns coming since 2009.
Last year
9 PacWest championships in 2015-16
3.2 department GPA in 2015-16
Since transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2011-2012
24 PacWest titles
5 RMAC titles
4 PacWest Commissioner’s Cups (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016)
7 All-Americans
35 all-conference honors
4th in 2015-16 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup
711 PacWest Scholar-Athletes
69 RMAC Scholar-Athletes
25 WWPA Scholar-Athletes
15 MPSF Scholar-Athletes
TRANSITION TIMELINE
2017-18
Continue as Division II member in the PacWest
Eligible for Pacific West postseason competition in all sports.
Eligible for NCAA Division II postseason competition in all sports.
Submit NCAA application and fee no later than June 1, 2018.
2018-19
First year in the Western Athletic Conference
Not eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA Championship.
Not eligible for NCAA Division I postseason competition in any sport.
2019-20
Second year in the WAC
Meet NCAA Division I minimum scheduling requirements.
Not eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA Championship.
Not eligible for NCAA Division I postseason competition in any sport.
2020-21
Third year in the WAC
Not eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA Championship.
Not eligible for NCAA Division I postseason competition in any sport.
2021-22
Fourth year in the WAC
Not eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA Championship.
Not eligible for NCAA Division I postseason competition in any sport.
2022-23
Fifth year in the WAC
Eligible for WAC postseason competition in all sports.
Eligible for NCAA Division I postseason competition in all sports.
NOTES FOR THE TRANSITION
- CBU will be immediately eligible to win regular-season conference championships in all sports sponsored by the Western Athletic Conference.
- CBU will not be eligible for Western Athletic Conference postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA championship. Those sports are: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and volleyball.
- CBU will be eligible for cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field conference championships beginning in 2018-19.
- CBU may participate individually in the WAC men’s and women’s golf championships beginning in 2019, but only as unattached entries. CBU will not be eligible for the league’s automatic team or individual qualifier to the NCAA Division I men’s or women’s golf championship.
RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University announced Friday that it will begin the process of moving to NCAA Division I, college athletics highest level.
The school accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference, which is the first step in a multi-year transition from CBU’s current status as an NCAA Division II member, and will put the small Riverside school in the same competitive pool as UCLA, USC, and cross-town neighbor UC Riverside.
“We’re making this decision based on where we think CBU is and what we think is best for us going forward,†CBU president Ronald Ellis said.
CBU will continue to compete in the NCAA Division II PacWest Conference next season before joining the WAC beginning with the 2018-2019 season. A four-year transition period is required before the Lancers are official members of Division I and eligible to compete in Division I postseason events. The school will be eligible for the postseason in the 2022-2023 season.
Ellis said the timing was right for the move. Division I is the top echelon of collegiate sports and the building blocks have been set at CBU, both on the field and internally. Division I offers more exposure to the school and the athletes, and is also a branding opportunity, he said.
Alexander: CBU's Division I move is anything but a surprise
The announcement comes just five years after CBU made the leap from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, typically a level for smaller, less funded programs, and transitioned to the NCAA and the PacWest Conference.
Since then, the Lancer programs have thrived, winning 24 conference titles and placing fourth in the nation among Division II schools in last season’s Learfield Directors’ Cup, which ranks schools’ overall athletic success.
Cal Baptist is also building a $73 million on-campus arena which is set to open this spring. Ellis noted the new arena was part of series of building blocks set in place to eventually make the move.
“One thing about our university, it’s been my experience, that you are given a directive on where you’re going and then you’re given the resources and encouraged to make that happen,†said athletic director Micah Parker, who was tasked with spearheading the move. “There are expectations.â€
Parker said the move probably won’t be a surprise to anyone who followed the program. Even as an NAIA member, Cal Baptist dominated the competition and competed at a high level, with baseball and softball facilities comparable to bigger schools and even some Division I programs.
Ellis, who came to CBU in 1994 when there were about 800 students, said he envisioned the whole campus growing rapidly, and that included athletics. The first goal was to get a successful NAIA program ready to move to the NCAA. Planning for that move took several years, he said, but when CBU filed its application to join the NCAA in July of 2010, the pieces were in place. He also noted the campus now has more than 9,000 students and is projected to grow to 12,000 by 2025.
The move went smoothly and the Lancers became a force in the PacWest in nearly every sport. The program has won four PacWest Commissioner’s Cups in its five years and won nine conference championships last season.
“We thought we’d be successful in Division II but we didn’t know for sure,†Parker said.
All the while, CBU was looking at the bigger picture, Parker said. The preparation, experience and success of making the leap to Division II helped in planning for the ultimate move to Division I.
“When we went to DII we felt very strongly that we fit,†Ellis said. “It wasn’t like we were going to go and then get there.â€
When UC Riverside moved from Division II to Division I in 2000, the program struggled financially after its budget was cut prior to joining the Big West. UCR’s initiation into Division I was painful because the department never seemed to have enough resources or school backing to fully thrive.
Parker won’t compare CBU’s move to UCR, even as a cautionary tale.
But, as a private institution, CBU doesn’t have the same budgetary constraints as a state or UC school.
“Every school has their issues that they have to deal with,†Parker said.
One issue CBU hasn’t had a problem with is funding. Parker said all CBU teams are currently fully funded to Division II scholarship levels. There will be more scholarships available at the Division I level and the plan is to keep the teams at the maximum allowed.
“We’ll have to do more fundraising,†Parker said. “We’ve done well for DII, but we’ll have to step it up … our intention and plan to fund so we can be successful.â€
Parker said when he hired men’s basketball coach Rick Croy and women’s basketball coach Jarrod Olson, he told them about the possibility of a new arena and a potential move to Division I.
“I told them don’t be unhappy if we don’t have an arena, but I believe we’re going to have an arena,†Parker said. “There’s a possibility that we would be moving up, but don’t come here if that’s the thing that makes you happy … I told them everything I was told when I was hired that was possible to happen, has happened. I think they can say the same thing.â€
Croy, who was an assistant at UCR when the Highlanders made the move in 2000, has built his program into a PacWest favorite. CBU is ranked No. 5 in the country. Olson’s women’s team is No. 8 in the nation in this week’s WBCA Coaches poll and has already guided the program to an NCAA Division II championship game two years ago.
“I always sensed that the university’s constantly trying to move things forward and be better than they were yesterday,†Croy said. “I think the mindset here and direction of the leadership is to strive for improvement and I think this move reflects that. There’s a lot of energy behind it.â€
Both coaches said they don’t expect their recruiting process to change much as the Division I era approaches.
“Some players are going to find themselves on a team they were not recruited toward, as far as a level,†Olson said, referring to freshmen and sophomores that will be playing a Division I schedule in two years. “There’s going to be some growing pains with that. On both of our teams, the type of competitors we have, they’ll embrace that.â€
The move does not require the school to add any teams, but upgrades to the soccer field and baseball and softball stadiums and possibly aquatics are being discussed. The men’s and women’s water polo teams will remain in their leagues, the men in the Western Water Polo Association and the women in the Golden Coast Conference. The wrestling team, which currently competes in the DII Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, will have to find a new Division I affiliation.
After years of planning, Parker said things are just getting started at CBU.
“We’re not going to change who we are,†he said. “We’re going to be changing who we’re competing against.â€
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PROFILE
The WAC's history dates back to 1962, when the original six-team league of Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming began competition.
The current conference makeup is wide-ranging, with schools located in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and deep into southern Texas.
Here’s a look at the conference members.
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
Location: Bakersfield, CA.
Nickname: Roadrunners
Founded: 1965
Enrollment: 9,000
Joined WAC: 2013
The Roadrunners won 30 NCAA national championships as a Division II program and completed the reclassification process in 2009. The Roadrunners have qualified for five NCAA tournaments, winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournaments in volleyball (2014), baseball (2015), men’s basketball (2016) and softball (2016).
CHICAGO STATE
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Nickname: Cougars
Founded: 1867
Enrollment: 4,767
Joined WAC: 2013
The Cougars are in their fourth year as a member of the WAC. The CSU women’s golf team finished second at the PGA Minority Championships last season and posted a school-record 311.9 shooting average. Women’s soccer led the WAC in total saves and saves per game while ranking second among the NCAA Division I in saves per game.
GRAND CANYON
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Nickname: Lopes
Founded: 1949
Enrollment: 18,000
Joined WAC: 2013
The Lopes have transitioned smoothly in a short time. GCU won the Learfield Sports Directors Cup in back-to-back years (2011-12, 2012-13) as the top performing school in Division II. The Lopes won two NCAA Division II National Championships and during their two seasons in the WAC, have won regular season titles in softball (2014), women’s indoor track and field (2014, 2015, 2016), men’s indoor track and field (2016), men’s and women’s outdoor track and field (2016), baseball (2015), women’s tennis (2015) and men’s tennis (2016).
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Nickname: Roos
Founded: 1929
Enrollment: 16,699
Joined WAC: 2013
UMKC is in its fourth year in the Western Athletic Conference in 2016. The Roos won a pair of WAC titles last season in men’s golf and men’s tennis. Antoine Rozner made school history last year, finishing in a tie for eighth at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, while Bryce Miller finished ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning both student-athletes All-American honors.UMKC student-athletes posted a 3.31 cumulative GPA and an 87 percent Graduation Success rate and the Academic Progress Rate of 979 ranked second in the WAC.
NEW MEXICO STATE
Location: Las Cruces, N.M.
Nickname: Aggies
Founded: 1888
Enrollment: 15,490
Joined WAC: 2005
The most senior member of the WAC, New Mexico State won its second-straight WAC Commissioner’s Cup in 2015-16 by claiming WAC Championships in 10 sports with volleyball, women’s basketball, women’s golf and men’s tennis advancing to NCAA tournament competition.
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Nickname: Redhawks
Founded: 1891
Enrollment: 7,755
Joined WAC: 2012
Seattle’s men’s soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16, women’s soccer won its third straight WAC regular season title, and baseball won its first conference regular-season championship last season. In swimming, Blaise Wittenauer-Lee won the program’s first WAC individual title.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Location: Edinburg, Texas
Nickname: Vaqueros
Founded: 2015
Enrollment: 28,584
Joined WAC (as UTPA): 2013
Formerly Pan American University, the school has won 16 national titles and 146 conference titles since 1952. The school boasts six alums who have played in the NBA, including former NBA champion, All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist Luke Jackson, and has had 35 players selected in the MLB draft. The UTRGV women’s tennis team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 after winning the department’s first WAC Tournament Championship.
UTAH VALLEY
Location: Orem, Utah
Nickname: Wolverines
Founded: 1941
Enrollment: 33,500
Joined WAC: 2013
The Wolverines captured four WAC championships (men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s soccer, baseball) last season, running the total to 10 conference titles in three years. Three teams advanced to their first NCAA tournament, with women’s soccer earning its berth with a win in the WAC tournament championship. The men’s soccer team became the first team sport at UVU to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament after finishing second in the WAC regular season and tournament. The baseball team claimed the WAC Tournament to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
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