By: Justin Donner

CSUSM athletics has come a long way since its inception in 1998 with three original teams. The program now boasts 13 teams, 24 conference championships and three national titles.

Now in 2014, the athletic program is applying for NCAA DII membership and is confident in their resume.

The Department of Athletics has had the vision of taking the university to the next level for a while now, and this is actually not the department’s first attempt. With two previous applications, the department was turned down both times. There were too many competing applications that were better suited in the applicant pool.

“We needed additional funds for operating, we needed to increase our scholarship allocations, we needed to add sports, we needed to build athletic facilities and lastly we needed a comprehensive compliance program,” Director of Athletics, Jennifer Milo, said.

There have been some big changes in the 2014 application that will really make it stand out and have drastically increased the program’s chances. This includes plans for a full court gym on campus that is predicted to be completed by 2016.

An application for NCAA membership is so extensive that the department hired an outside consulting firm to help with the process. When the application was finally submitted on Feb. 1, 2014, the document was a hefty 600 pages. From here, the NCAA will arrange a visit in April to check and see if the application matches with what the program is really doing.

Although the NCAA was not pushing for CSUSM to apply, the CCAA, a conference within the division has been awaiting the application. This conference is full of 11 CSU campuses and UC San Diego. With a large assortment of close competition such as Cal State LA, Dominguez hills and UCSD in the conference, the Cougars will have an easier time scheduling games and it will be better for the overall budget.

“There are so many positives right now in our department.  Really the sky is the limit with what we can accomplish.  We have amazing student-athletes, top notch coaches and a committed support staff to make it all happen,” Milo said.

CSUSM has outgrown its current home in the AII conference of the NAIA, and the NCAA is a logical next step that the players and coaches are very deserving of.