NAIA Approves Stillman College for Membership

KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Council of Presidents is pleased to announce the approval of four institutions for membership in the NAIA, effective July 1, 2016. The announcement occurred at the 75th Annual National Convention on Tuesday (April 19). The current NAIA membership total now stands at 252 total institutions.

The four new members are Crowley’s Ridge College (Ark.), Silver Lake College of the Holy Family (Wis.), Stillman College (Ala.) and University of the Virgin Islands. Two other institutions – University of Antelope Valley (Calif.) and Benedictine University at Mesa (Ariz.) – were both approved into the active membership category for the 2016-17 academic year. Both of these universities will now be allowed to participate in postseason competition, be included in the national awards programs and vote in the Association business.

“We are very excited to welcome these four new institutions into the NAIA and pledge to be a part of their growth,” Jim Carr, NAIA President and CEO said. “Our association offers a different approach that places student-athletes at the center of all decision-making and focuses on character at the core of sports. These institutions recognize the value NAIA brings and desire to be a part of this great organization.”

Crowley’s Ridge was affiliated with the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), Silver Lake College was affiliated with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), Stillman was an athletic member of NCAA Division II and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and Virgin Islands was associated with Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria (LAI), which is comprised of 21 universities that each offer a minimum of six women’s sports and six men’s sports. Virgin Islands is the only public institution of the group.

Silver Lake is the oldest of the group, as the 2016-17 academic year will serve as the school’s 36th year of intercollegiate athletics. Stillman will enter its 17th season, Virgin Islands will enter its 11th and Crowley’s Ridge will enter its eighth as a four-year school.

The NAIA Membership Committee reviewed each institution’s application and determined which institutions would move to the next stage of the process. Those institutions then participated in a campus visit by a Membership Evaluation Team. The recommendations of each campus visit were supported by the Membership Committee, which then were presented to the Council of Presidents for final approval.

The NAIA is in the fifth year of the current membership process, where institutions are only able to apply for NAIA membership on an annual basis. Membership applications must be received in the NAIA office by Oct.1 each year to receive consideration for the following year. Institutions applying to the NAIA must meet membership criteria that include financial stability, sports sponsorship, accreditation and a commitment to character-driven athletics. The Membership Committee also reviews enrollment numbers, graduation percentages, retention rates and overall athletics budgets.

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