BY JAKE ZABSKI
With a new division title comes a new set of financial guidelines and standards that the College must adopt in order to meet the likes of competing against Division I Northeast Conference schools.
Some of these schools are the likes of New England colleges such as Bryant University, Merrimack College, and Sacred Heart University.
As the College prepares to accommodate these guidelines, this will mean that venues and athletic programs will need to be revamped and restructured.
A study done between 2012 and 2015 at Georgia State University found that some colleges that changed conferences did not see any major economic or educational improvements on their campuses.
For some colleges, revenue even fell as rivalries changed and were replaced with new, less appealing opponents.
Stonehill’s conference has the potential to see similar results, but Director of Communications and Media Relations Jill Goddard said that the school’s switch to Division I will only help the school financially.
“Division I unlocks financial opportunities that are unavailable as a Division II athletic program, including corporate sponsorship, greater brand exposure which can lead to increased enrollment over time, increased ticket revenue generation, and fundraising opportunities,” Goddard said.
The cost of transitioning to Division I will be offset by several revenue streams, she said.
“The annual tuition increase would not be impacted by the move to Division I,” Goddard said.
Goddard said the tuition costs of transitioning will be offset by fundraising initiatives like the To Be Bold Campaign, ticket revenue generation, increased marketing opportunities, NCAA Division I revenue sharing, and corporate sponsorship opportunities.
Goddard said the school is in a great financial position to make the transition and assures that Senior leadership, the Board of Trustees, the Athletic Department, and the Office of Finance have reviewed the investment protocols to transition to Division I and found that this is the best time to start the transition.
Summit photos by Abby Campbell