This past Tuesday, the NCAA granted full Division III membership to Southern Virginia University. After four years of provisional status, the move will become official September 1 when the NCAA's athletic year officially begins.
Southern Virginia has competed in the Capital Athletic Conference since 2013, and will continue to do so. After the news of the announcement, Southern Virginia Athletic Director Jason Lamb talked about how pleased he was with the move.
"We are extremely excited and honored to become full NCAA Division III," said Lamb in response to the announcement. "D3 is a perfect fit for us because we embody the division's philosophy of valuing the complete educational experience of our student-athletes."
As a full member of the biggest division in the NCAA, the Knights will be able to claim championships and vote on important decisions in the future.
Since their provisional D3 membership began four years ago, Southern Virginia has bolstered their athletic department with wrestling, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and their newest sport, men’s volleyball.
Training and event facilities are important to athletics programs, and Southern Virginia has updated theirs in recent years, adding a new softball field, six new tennis courts and the announcement of an outdoor stadium for football, soccer and lacrosse.
Senior Women’s Athletics Administrator at Southern Virginia Debra Dryden had the perfect summary of the opportunities presented.
"Southern Virginia has always been blessed with incredible athletes, but now there is a better understanding of what the program is trying to accomplish," said Dryden, in a press release from the school. "I think that Division III embodies the original vision of the founders of this university who wanted to develop well-rounded thinkers. Division III student-athletes have a great understanding of where their athletic life fits in relation to their academic life and spiritual life."
The university's first event as a full-fledged member of the division will be men's and women's soccer, both at home on September 1.
