* UC Davis anticipates an invitation to join the Big West Conference, NCAA Division I. Members of the conference are UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, CSU Northridge, University of the Pacific, Utah State, University of Idaho, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
* Graduation rates of Division I student athletes is 58% while in Division II it is 50%. The graduation rate of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (our current Division II Conference) is 38% while the Big West is 56%. The most recent data for UC Davis indicates that student-athletes graduate at a rate higher than the general student body rate of 73%.
* NCAA Division I initial eligibility rules and continuing eligibility rules are more stringent than the NCAA Division II rules. Division I just passed legislation that will require incoming freshmen to present 14 core courses, a minimum GPA and test score higher than Division II. Continuing eligibility will require 40% completion of degree requirements by the end of the second year of attendance, 60% by the end of the third year, and 80% by the end of the fourth year. Division II requires 13 core courses. Division II has no percentage degree requirements for continuing eligibility but requires only that a student athlete pass 36 units towards their degree from season to season.
* In 2000, UC Davis freshman student athletes entered with an average high school GPA of 3.60 and 1,130 SAT scores.
* UC Davis has more NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship Winners (33) than any other Division II school, is in the top 12 for all Divisions (which includes over 1000 members), and is second only to UCLA in the UC system.
* The average undergraduate enrollment in Division II is 3,933, while the average in the Big West is 13,209. UC Davis currently has 21,056 undergraduates.
* Division I student-athletes are generally more ethnically diverse than Division II student- athletes. As an example, in 2000-2001 Division II had 19.9% male and 11.1% female black non-Hispanics, while Division I had 24.3 % male and 14.8% female. Division II had 67.2% male and 76.7 % female white non-Hispanic student -athletes, while Division I had 61.6% male and 70.4% female white non-Hispanic student -athletes.
* The average number of sports offered in Division II is 13.6, while in the Big West it is 17.2. UC Davis currently sponsors 25 sports. The current conference, the CCAA, only accommodates 13 of our 25 sports. The Big West will accommodate 17 of our current sports. UC Davis currently has sports in 5 different conferences and two different divisions. The move to Division I would allow all of our sports to be in one NCAA Division and 17 sports in one conference.
* The per participant expenditure for 2000-2001for UC Davis was $3,686 for male athletes and $$3,361 for female athletes. In Division II the average was $6,286 for men and $6,429 for women. In Division IAA the cost per male athlete was $10,868 and $9,712 for female athletes. In the Big West the cost per male athlete was $13,124 and $11,528 per female athlete. The difference between UC Davis and the other divisions is primarily reflected in the difference in athletic aid awarded per student athlete.
* Athletic aid in Division II averages $699,479 while the Big West averages $1,477,239 and Division IAA averages $2,054,956. UC Davis awarded $500,000 in 2000-2001.
UC Davis is committed to continuing the following core principles in any discussion of the athletic program:
* Student athlete welfare is the highest priority.
* In order to ensure the likelihood that student athletes will persist to graduation admissions standards must not be specially altered or amended for athletes.
* The program strives for a graduation rate for student athletes that reflect the graduation rate of the general student body.
* UC Davis must not retreat from its Title IX progress and will continue to expand its efforts and compliance.
* The program must have sufficient permanent core funding from students and the institution rather than a dependency on external resources and the need to win games to generate revenue.
* The philosophy of teacher coach must be maintained.
* The present broad-based intercollegiate athletic program will be maintained and enhanced. A reduction of the current 25 sports will not be considered.
* The clustering of sports into several tiers, with disproportionate support given to the top tier, will not be considered.
10/24/02
