MOBILE, Alabama -- Spring Hill College and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference appear to be an odd pairing at first glance. But Jim Hall, SHC's director of athletics, said the more college administrators studied the athletic landscape, the more they realized the Badgers and the SIAC were a good fit.
On Tuesday afternoon, Spring Hill announced it plans to apply for membership in NCAA Division II. The SIAC announced it would accept Spring Hill as a league member if that membership application is approved by the NCAA.
Spring Hill has been an NAIA member since 1959 and plays in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
The SIAC is composed of 13 historically black colleges and universities. Spring Hill will follow Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., as non-HBCU schools that have joined HBCU conferences. Chowan started playing football in the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 2008.
"To us, being a pioneer, breaking some ground is not something we are afraid of," Hall said. "We believe this move is right for the athletic department and for the school, and we're not going to let any negative perceptions that some people may have keep us from doing what we think is right for the school."
SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore formally notified Spring Hill that its application for membership had been accepted after the league members' presidents met on Aug. 20. Hall said the SIAC initiated the conversation about the Badgers joining that conference.
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