Vanguard University to join NCAA Division II

Vanguard University officials have announced the school will be joining the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. The transition will come with an initial three-year provisionary period.

School leaders made the announcement after receiving news that the university’s application had been approved in a phone call Thursday morning with NCAA officials.

“We’re excited that the NCAA recognizes the quality of our programs, our commitment to excellence, our dedication to compliance and our deep commitment to the overall student experience,” said Dr. Michael Beals, president of Vanguard University. “The integration of the athletes into the broader Vanguard community, and their leadership in the Vanguard student community, is recognized across Vanguard, and so we’re thrilled at the announcement.

“I’m deeply grateful to the NCAA, but I’m also deeply grateful to the Vanguard University team that has brought about this outcome.”

The baseball field at Vanguard University on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Athletic director Jeff Bussell said discussions about a potential transition for Vanguard from the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics to the NCAA started taking place during the sports shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Vanguard will continue to compete in the NAIA and the Golden State Athletic Conference for the upcoming school year. In the following two years, the Lions will compete as a member of the Pacific West Conference, but the school will be ineligible to compete in NCAA Division II postseason contests.

During that period of NCAA postseason ineligibility, Vanguard is exploring the possibility of joining the National Christian College Athletic Assn. for postseason play. Vanguard would become a full member of the NCAA Division II and the Pacific West Conference in time for the 2026-27 athletic year if it meets all requirements for its provisionary period, as set forth by the NCAA Membership Committee.

“This is, itself, not a full referendum on the NAIA,” Beals said. “We have greatly appreciated our time, we appreciate the schools that we have had competitive and community relations with, deeply respect the athletic programs of these schools, and this was a decision about fit.”

The Freed Center for Leadership and Service under construction at Vanguard University on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The move could restore regional rivalries once seen in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Azusa Pacific, Biola, Concordia and Point Loma Nazarene are among the schools already in the Pacific West Conference.

Bussell said the move would aid the school with scheduling and travel issues.

“When we started the process, I always hear in my meetings that we’re competing academically against Biola, Azusa, Concordia, Point Loma, or we’re competing enrollment-wise for those students, but yet athletically, we weren’t,” said Bussell, who added that joining the NCAA could boost recruiting. “Everything else, we were competing against those schools, but athletically, we weren’t.

“I think, as President Beals said, his vision is to become the premier source of higher Christian education in California. This is a natural step for us to make that jump — compete with them academically, in enrollment, and athletically, through that process.”

The Freed Center for Leadership and Service under construction at Vanguard University on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

As the school prepares for its foray into NCAA competition, construction is underway on the Freed Center for Leadership and Service. The 61,000-square-foot facility will become the new home of the university’s kinesiology program. Scheduled to be completed in spring of 2024, the Freed Center will also include a 2,000-seat gym with men’s and women’s locker rooms, a weight room and athletic offices.

In the past five years, Vanguard has added eight new sports to its athletic department. Bussell said those sports have included beach volleyball and men’s volleyball, each of which won NAIA national championships this past season. Men’s and women’s golf and wrestling, stunt and dance were also added by the athletic department.