As the NCAA Division II membership process comes to fruition, Oklahoma Christian University’s Athletic Department looked back on the progress and changes they have made throughout the three-year period.
“I think it’s been the biggest undertaking I’ve ever been involved in,” Director of Athletics Curtis Janz said. “It’s also been the biggest learning curve. The things we do now are so much better. I think the biggest change is the development of the student athlete.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II membership process is a multi-year endeavor with two years of candidacy and a one-year provisional period. Oklahoma Christian began this process in the 2012-2013 school year.
Prior to NCAA, Oklahoma Christian was in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which had less regulations and less competition.
“For athletes, we always want to compete against the best,” senior Eric Randall said, a forward for the men’s basketball team. “It’s a way to see what kind of athlete you are and how good your team is and things like that. The pursuit of the school to aim for the best competition we can play is something that is really encouraging for athletes.”
In the last three years, the Athletic Department has added several personnel to focus on the student athletes, including Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance Mike Farris, Assistant Athletic Director for Student Athlete Well Being Teresa DeBoard and Director for Academic Excellence in Athletics Dean Findley.
“It’s not just changing the teams we play, it’s more about how we do everything,” Janz said. “Our focus is on different things. We’re doing a lot of the stuff now and we’re going to be more intentional about it next year — about student-athlete development. It’s going to be character development, spiritual leadership and eventually career development.”
Janz said the NCAA Division II program has rules that Oklahoma Christian previously never thought were necessary, such as including structured rule education for coaches, booster regulations, limit on practice and games and other procedures that make athletics run more efficiently.
“We had rules in the NAIA, but it was really pretty simple,” Janz said. “I think we’ve always done things right, now we just have a system where everyone is playing on a more level playing field. That’s a huge thing that drives all of this.”
According to Mike Farris, the Athletic Department has remained true to the mission of the university as a whole throughout the process.
“Compliance with NCAA rules is important for all schools to ensure an even playing field and to maintain core values of institutional control and ethical conduct,” Farris said. “At Oklahoma Christian, we value not just wins on the field or court, but the way in which we win and the way that we conduct ourselves.”
The advancement into Division II does not change the quality of athlete Oklahoma Christian strives for, according to Janz.
“Part of our focus is to continue to bring in good students that are good athletes,” Janz said. “I think we remain true to who we are and recruit the right people academically, socially, spiritually and then it’s our job to help them learn to compete in all of those areas. … In some areas you’re just competing with yourself and in some areas you’re competing against an opponent.”
Randall said current student-athletes have an important role as an example to incoming athletes throughout this membership process.
“I think that the work ethic is more demanding at a Division II level,” Randall said. “I think our job, as kind of the transition guys, was to show them what it takes to be successful at that level and what the work ethic is like.”
The Division II membership also changes the way Oklahoma Christian can reach students across the country, according to former admission counselor Teresa DeBoard.
“I think it brings an air of excitement and a whole different level of competition,” DeBoard said. “Like anything, there’s growing pains because when you jump in, you’re kind of bottom of the totem pole. But we’re working our way up, and I think it’s something that’s going to be progressively really exciting for our school.”
Janz said becoming an NCAA member will allow athletics to focus on other aspects of Oklahoma Christian’s athletic program in the future.
“This has been the focus for the last four years about getting in,” Janz said. “Then it becomes what we want to be known for. It’s unrealistic that we’re going to jump in and add our name to that list that is known for winning championships in Division II.”
Next year has its own challenges if Oklahoma Christian passes the provisional year in the membership process, according to Janz.
“Through this process, I think it’s been important to allow coaches to figure out the competitive change,” Janz said. “Next year, we’re going to have to do some real evaluation on if we’re figuring it out.”
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