Soccer Balls | Photo by Brett Hull | The Wright State Guardian
In order to remain an NCAA Division I team for the 2022 Fall Season, Wright State University (WSU) Athletics needs to add three varsity teams before next fall to remain Division one.
The university sent out a survey to students on Oct.18, researching the effects of athletics on student life at the school in order to make decisions regarding the athletics department.
The university responded that they were pleased with the number of results they have received from its students, but have not yet made a decision regarding the future of the Athletics Program.
“All we are sharing at this time is that the survey just closed and the consultants are beginning to do their analysis of the data. We were pleased to have over 2,000 responses and look forward to what the university can learn from the students’ input,” WSU Director of Communications Seth Bauguess said.
The NCAA waiver
In order to be an NCAA Division I school, a college must sponsor at least fourteen varsity athletic teams.
WSU currently sponsors eleven, after dropping several teams due to financial troubles in previous years. Wright State said goodbye to both men’s and women’s tennis as well as softball.
Because of its monetary difficulties, it received a waiver from the NCAA in 2020, allowing it to drop below the minimum required number of teams for two years.
This waiver expires before the Fall 2022 season, forcing Raider Athletics to make a decision on whether to spend the money to field extra teams, or to demote to NCAA Division II.
Sairaj Pitdl, a WSU fan, said the Athletics Program should do everything it can to remain a Division I school, because of the level of competition.
“I think they should stay in D1,” Pitdl said. “It just makes sense to face better teams.”
For fellow student Shepard Siebel, it’s sad to see the sports he loves not represented by WSU.
“I would love it if Hockey and Lacrosse were added,” Siebel said. “I played both in High School, and I would love to try out for a team here.”
As the Athletics Administration debates the future of Raider Athletics, the clock is ticking until the waiver expires in Fall 2022.
What Sports?
Most likely, the university will try to bring back programs that were dropped in recent years, and that other schools the Horizon League currently field teams for.
With seven sports in Horizon League that WSU does not currently field, the most likely candidates are Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving, Women’s Golf, Softball, and Men’s Track and Field.
When the NCAA waiver was announced in 2020, WSU also announced cutting softball as well as Men’s and Women’s Tennis.
