Seattle U goes D I !!!!
Seattle U trustees vote to seek return to Division I athletics
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Seattle University trustees have voted to apply to return to Division I athletics as an independent after being rejected in a bid to resume membership in the West Coast Conference.
Athletic director Bill Hogan would not give details on the decision Thursday, but school officials said previously it would likely take three years to raise enough money for Division I competition.
Under that timetable the Redhawks, who currently belong to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, would not move up from Division II until the fall of 2009 - and then only if the NCAA approves.
Seattle U was an occasional Division I basketball powerhouse for three decades with players such as Elgin Baylor and twins Eddie and Johnny O'Brien, reaching the national championship game in 1958 before losing to Kentucky.
In 1980 the school abandoned Division I because of costs, lack of student interest and a string of improprieties in the program.
One reason for the renewed interest in the basketball success in recent years of Gonzaga University in Spokane, the other Jesuit-run college in Washington state and a member of the WCC. In March the WCC presidents voted against expansion.
Seattle U. competes in 14 sports, eight female and six male, and would have to add one for men to meet Division I requirements.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Seattle University trustees have voted to apply to return to Division I athletics as an independent after being rejected in a bid to resume membership in the West Coast Conference.
Athletic director Bill Hogan would not give details on the decision Thursday, but school officials said previously it would likely take three years to raise enough money for Division I competition.
Under that timetable the Redhawks, who currently belong to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, would not move up from Division II until the fall of 2009 - and then only if the NCAA approves.
Seattle U was an occasional Division I basketball powerhouse for three decades with players such as Elgin Baylor and twins Eddie and Johnny O'Brien, reaching the national championship game in 1958 before losing to Kentucky.
In 1980 the school abandoned Division I because of costs, lack of student interest and a string of improprieties in the program.
One reason for the renewed interest in the basketball success in recent years of Gonzaga University in Spokane, the other Jesuit-run college in Washington state and a member of the WCC. In March the WCC presidents voted against expansion.
Seattle U. competes in 14 sports, eight female and six male, and would have to add one for men to meet Division I requirements.
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