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North Georgia in, final year of NCAA provisional status waived By DAN BROWNGood things come to those who wait and for North Georgia College & State University athletic director Randy Dunn, thankfully he didn’t have to wait too long. The Saints athletic department received word last week that they are officially members of Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Dunn received word by phone stating that their final year of provisional status as members of the Peach Belt Conference and NCAA had been waived, granting the Saints full fledged membership into the “Blue Oval Club.” This means that all ten intercollegiate teams that comprise North Georgia athletics are now eligible for postseason play beginning this fall. “I am just ecstatic,” Dunn said in a released statement. “I am just so proud we were able to make the transition after just two years as a provisional member. This is a tremendous opportunity for our university, coaches and student-athletes.” For Dawson County High School graduates and current North Georgia athlete Steve Johnson, a member of the North Georgia Saints baseball team, and incoming freshmen Heidi Cranford and Chealse Samples, who will play softball in the spring, this means getting a chance to compete on the big stage. The post season. “This will mean so much to our student athletes, to know that their season won’t end the first week of November, the last of February or or the first week of May,” Dunn said. “The incentive of post season play will provide a tremendous boost to all our sports teams, and not just our teams, but the entire school and the community as well.” North Georgia went through two years of play without the possibility of post season play, and was a member of NCAA Division II as a provisional member until a vote from other NCAA Division II institutions led to full-active membership in the association. “I think two things helped in our transition,” Dunn said. “I think the attitude that we took as a staff, and the commitment on everyone’s part to meet the expectations set forth by the Peach Belt Conference and the NCAA helped ease us through the transition to our new status.” North Georgia will now become eligible to compete in all Peach Belt Conference championship tournaments that award an automatic bid to NCAA Tournament play. For the past two years, the Saints have been prohibited from competing in some of the league’s biggest events such as the annual basketball, baseball and softball tournaments because of the automatic bids. North Georgia will now have the opportunity to earn their first automatic bid with the PBC women’s soccer tournament in early November. |
