Among the myriad reasons involved, common sense ultimately dictated Thomas More College’s move to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Not dollars and cents. Not ego-driven agendas and inflated images of self-worth. And, finally, not an obsession to be connected with the most corruption-riddled organization in sports this side of FIFA, the NCAA.
Instead, the leadership of Thomas More traveled the road of common sense and pragmatic thinking in making the decision to leave the land of NCAA Division III athletics for the NAIA. The Crestview Hills school made it official last Tuesday in a press conference, with Thomas More acting president Kathleen Jagger, outgoing president David A. Armstrong and athletic director Terry Connor fielding questions.
After the preliminary statements of goodwill concluded, Armstrong — who recently accepted the position of president at St. Thomas University in Florida — spoke up about Thomas More’s move to rejoin the NAIA on July 1, 2019. It was Armstrong who a year ago announced the Saints would leave the Presidents’ Athletic Conference — Thomas More’s home since 2005 — in search of “new partnerships” once the 2017-18 academic year concluded.
David A. Armstrong
Armstrong’s assessment is 100 percent accurate, but also very telling. Thomas More reached out to various leagues and conferences in both NCAA Division III and Division II, considering every option. Problem is, none of the Division III conferences within reasonable travel distance were interested in expanding to include Thomas More.
Why? You will have a better chance at finding life on Jupiter than getting anyone to answer that question with an on-the-record response. But it’s obvious none of the regional-friendly Division III conferences wanted Thomas More.
The prospect of playing in Division II made no financial sense for Thomas More, not with the extravagant costs for transitioning up a level (increased coaches/staff salaries, waiting several years to be postseason eligible, athletic scholarship maximums higher than the NAIA, extended travel time, etc.) and then paying the bills for entry fees and yearly membership dues. And there was no way Thomas More could feasibly remain an independent in NCAA Division III beyond the upcoming season.
That left one rational option — the NAIA.
Before we proceed, please cast aside the jokes about the NAIA and its bad reputation — unless you’re also willing to point the telescope of self-righteousness at the scandal-infested NCAA. As I pointed out in a column in April, Division II has developed an NCAA outlaw-type image during the past 30 years, with several elite programs winning national championships — only to later be placed on probation for major violations of the rules. Look up the NCAA infractions history for Kentucky Wesleyan, Southern Indiana and Lynn (Fla.), just to name a few. It’s not pretty.
The never-ending hypocrisy displayed by money-hungry NCAA Division I programs speaks for itself. So if you’re going to say the NAIA stands for “National Association of Ineligible Athletes,” — a moniker the organization was unfairly labeled with in the late 1990s by many NCAA types — don’t forget to acknowledge the four words that best describe the NCAA are “No Clue At All.”
NAIA OR NCAA DIVISION II? THE SCHOLARSHIP DEBATE
But doesn’t the NAIA also give athletic scholarships, you ask, just like NCAA Division II? Yes, the NAIA awards athletic scholarships. And so will Thomas More once it begins competing as a member of the NAIA.
“We will be offering scholarships. That’s something we’re working through currently, how to exactly do all the scholarships,” Connor said. “We’ve been heavily involved with our enrollment office, president Armstrong, and Dr. Jagger. Everybody on campus has been involved in that.”
“As I’m saying that, my CFO [vice president of finance and operations] Rob Munson is staring at me,” Connor added with a laugh, nodding toward the back of the room during the press conference, no doubt thinking of the additional money needed for athletic scholarships.
NCAA Division II members also give out athletic scholarships, but at much higher numbers. NAIA football programs are allowed 24 total scholarships, while Division II teams can give up to 36. That’s a lot more cost to compete at the Division II level in just one sport, with the 12 additional scholarships allowed.
In both men’s and women’s basketball, NCAA Division II programs can give out as many as 10 scholarships. Beginning in the 2020-21 academic year, NAIA schools will be allowed to award eight scholarships for each basketball program. Once again, it’s more cost efficient to play basketball in the NAIA than Division II.
Whether the Thomas More administration decides to award the maximum allotment of athletic scholarships is another issue, but the option is available and less expensive than NCAA Division II. The Saints also have the advantage of being located in the Greater Cincinnati area, which is loaded with potential recruits who could qualify for academic aid instead of needing athletic scholarships. Check back in a couple of years to see how that works out.
An added bonus for Thomas More is the fact every team will be immediately eligible for both the Mid-South Conference and NAIA postseason tournaments. The Saints will also have full schedules in the Mid-South Conference, beginning next year.
Thomas More captured 57 championships while a member of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, so the winning culture is already established within the athletic department. The Saints are experts in stocking the trophy cases inside the Connor Convocation Center.
“We’re used to winning championships, and to be able to compete for championships in that first year is very important to us,” Connor said of Thomas More being immediately eligible for regular-season and tournament championships in the Mid-South Conference.
Thomas More football players celebrate a 75-6 win over Mount St. Joseph in 2012. The Saints retained the Bridge Bowl traveling trophy in that series, which Mount St. Joseph canceled after the 2013 season.
All that aside, both the NAIA and Mid-South Conference demonstrated they wanted to be associated with Thomas More. Connor pointed out that several officials from Mid-South Conference schools attended Thomas More’s press conference to show support for their newest member.
“It just speaks volumes for what we’re going into,” Connor said. “I came back from the NAIA convention and said, ‘The [convention] room was cheering and people were clapping when it was announced Thomas More had been accepted into the NAIA.’ That was pretty neat to experience.”
Bottom line? It was time for Thomas More to find a more welcoming venue than NCAA Division III. The relationship had soured, for whatever reason, and change was needed. You knew something wasn’t quite right when Mount St. Joseph, an NCAA Division III program just across the river in Cincinnati, canceled the Bridge Bowl football series with Thomas More for vague reasons four years ago.
It certainly had nothing to do with the fact Thomas More won the final six games against Mount St. Joseph, including the last two contests by scores of 75-6 and 59-13, right?
Of course not.
“You’ve got to go where they want you.”
Which is exactly what Thomas More has accomplished by joining the NAIA.
Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport
Don: Nice article. We have the same feelings toward the NC2A. T.M. should compete very well in the Mid-South.