Lindenwood University President Dr. John Porter on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, announces Lindenwood University's intentions to move from NCAA Division II to Division I and join the Ohio Valley Conference. Video courtesy of Lindenwood Athletics.
Lindenwood University’s move from NCAA Division II to Division I won’t be easy. Lions football coach Jed Stugart knows from experience.
Stugart was an assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado when that NCAA DII powerhouse made the jump to Division I in 2003.
“There’s definitely a new excitement that comes with a move like this,” said Stugart, who has guided the Lions to back-to-back conference titles and to a pair of Division II playoff berths in their last two seasons. “You look at our facilities and the talent we have around us here in the ӣƵ region and honestly, I think the timing is right for a move like this. It’s going to take a lot of work, no question, but this is something that’s exciting for everyone here.”
Stugart continued: “It starts with the leadership of the university. Our President, Dr. John Porter, and our (Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics) Brad Wachler, they’ve worked hard on this and they’re committed to making it work.”
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Wednesday, in a press conference at Robert F. Hyland Performance Arena in St. Charles, Lindenwood announced that it will make the move from Division II to Division I and will join the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1. The OVC competes in the Football Championship Subdivision of Division I.
Other schools in the OVC are Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and University of Tennessee at Martin.
Three current OVC schools will change conferences next year, with Austin Peay moving to the Atlantic Sun Conference while Belmont and Murray State go from the OVC to the Missouri Valley Conference.
Earlier this year, Southern Indiana, a GLVC rival of Lindenwood’s, announced that it’ll be moving to Division I and joining the OVC. Also making the move to the OVC is the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which previously competed in the Sun Belt Conference.
“There’s been movement throughout all of Division I; these things tend to run in cycles,” OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche said. “We have a long history of stability and feel extremely good about adding Lindenwood to our conference. From our standpoint, this is an opportunity to grow and evolve and look to the future.”
While Lindenwood will be able to compete for OVC championships right away, its eligibility to earn automatic bids to the NCAA championships won’t begin until 2026-27, its first full season of Division I membership.
Lindenwood will join ӣƵ University and SIU Edwardsville as the area’s only NCAA Division I programs.
Wachter said that Lindenwood was first approached in August and that the process moved along quickly from there.
“We conducted some very detailed studies, checked all the boxes and learned that a move to Division I made a lot of sense for us,” he said. “But now that we’ve finished the press conference, the real work begins for us. We have to build schedules and also figure out what to do about our sports that aren’t in the OVC.
“But a move like this, whether it’s perception or reality, definitely opens doors and helps elevate the prestige of the university and its athletic department. Soon, we’ll be the only Division I football program in the ӣƵ area.”
One of the largest athletic departments in the country, Lindenwood supports 29 sports at the NCAA level. Lindenwood has an enrollment of more than 7,000 and more than 700 of those student-athletes compete in an NCAA sport.
