Division I wannabes are popping up all over

And they’re all interested in the same conference.

The Southland Conference likely holds the key to Incarnate Word’s dreams of moving its athletic program into NCAA Division I.

[…]

UIW students participating in a survey would support by nearly a 2-1 margin the school’s planned transition to Division I, according to results published Wednesday afternoon.

But according to the Student Government Association survey, a majority of students would not support proposed fee increases to fund the move.

The survey said 63 percent supported the push for Division I status, but 56 percent did not support a fee increase of $100 per semester.

A university official said there were 401 respondents, approximately 10 percent of the full-time undergraduate student body.

Other schools in the Division II Lone Star Conference contemplating the move up to Division I include Abilene Christian and Angelo State, SLC commissioner Tom Burnett said Wednesday.

“We’ve heard from those folks and a few others,” he said. “It’s an interesting time with the interest in Division I from some longstanding Division II members.”

We heard about UIW a couple of months ago. HBU has already taken the plunge. UTSA started out in the SLC before moving up to the WAC. I wonder at what point it will cease to make sense to be a Div II program in Texas because there aren’t enough nearby peer institutions to schedule. Which is good for the SLC, and presumably for the conferences that pick up the schools that feel like they’re getting too big for it.

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