PHOTO - Bellarmine University Athletics
One of the premiere NCAA Division II institutions in the country has now officially taken the step up to Division I. As the calendar Wednesday flipped to the month of July, Bellarmine University moved its athletic programs to the NCAA’s top level. According to a release from the university, the move makes Bellarmine the only private Division I university in Kentucky, and one of only a handful of Division I Catholic universities in the South.
All 22 of the Knights’ varsity sports programs will now compete in Division I, including 17 of those in the ASUN Conference.
The move to Division I was announced last summer as one of the first major initiatives in the university’s strategic plan.
Bellarmine teams in the following 17 sports will compete in the ASUN, beginning the 2020-21 academic year: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball.
Additionally, men’s lacrosse, which has been a D-I program since 2005, will continue as a member of the Southern Conference. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving will participate in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. Field hockey will join the Mid-American Conference beginning in 2021-22. An announcement concerning the wrestling conference affiliation is expected soon.
(Courtesy Bellarmine Athletics)
