Playing the transition game
| 2011 SCAC Player of the Year
Drew Leachman did not get a chance to experience the NCAA
Tournament because he was at BSC when the Panthers were
reclassifying to D-III. Birmingham-Southern athletics photo |
Like proverbial snowflakes, no two NCAA transitions are alike. Two programs in the south, Birmingham-Southern and Centenary (La.), are at opposite ends of provisional periods in their transitions from NCAA Division I baseball to Division III. Birmingham-Southern is a full D-III member this season while Centenary (La.) is in Year 1 of its reclassifying phase. Their paths have the same goal as the endpoint, but both have a unique story to tell.
First, an abridged version of the reclassifying routine: The typical protocol for scholarship programs transitioning into D-III is a five-year effort to gain full-member status. In that time prospective institutions undergo an exploratory year in which they are mentored and orientated through the rules, philosophies and regulations of Division III, followed by four years of provisional status. During the provisional stage, institutions pay D-III dues and fees while maintaining yearly benchmarks through various seminars, status reports and reviews. If benchmarks are not met, an institution may repeat up to one provisional year.
Programs in years three and four are eligible to be counted as in-region contests for full D-III member programs. Conferences vary in their inclusion of reclassifying members for postseason tournaments, awards, regular season championships, etc. However, only full-member programs are eligible for NCAA postseason tournaments. There can be no more than four institutions in the same D-III reclassifying class.
Birmingham-Southern has a rich baseball tradition. The Panthers won an NAIA national championship in 2001 and qualified for a D-I regional in 2004 as a member of the Big South Conference (Yes, BSC was a member of the BSC). Birmingham-Southern also won the Big South regular season title in 2006. That’s the year that Birmingham-Southern started exploring its Division III options. That’s also the year that the entire existing baseball program took a bow and exited stage right.
BSC hired Transylvania University’s Jan Weisberg as its 11th head coach in August 2006. Coming off of a championship season, the BSC base had its doubts about the transition in those nascent...
