Broncos will remain in NCAA Division I-A
Oct. 23, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University has every intention of staying at the NCAA Division I-A level, says Kathy Beauregard, director of intercollegiate athletics.
Beauregard's comments to the media on Monday (Oct. 22) were in response to an article published in the Oct. 18 edition of USA Today, which listed WMU as one of 20 schools that are in jeopardy of losing Division I-A status.
According to Beauregard, the Broncos easily meet four of five proposed requirements for Division I-A status. The lone exception would require at least five home football games against Division I-A opponents. WMU frequently plays one of its five home games against a Division I-AA team. Meeting the fifth requirement in the future, according to Beauregard, will not be difficult.
Beauregard says the new requirements, if adopted, will not take effect until 2004. "People think this is something that is going to happen tomorrow, and that simply isn't true.
"We have absolutely no plans other than to be Division I-A and will continue to do everything possible for the Mid-American Conference to continue at that level also," she says.
For more information, visit the Broncos on the Web at <www.wmubroncos.com>.
Media contact: Daniel Jankowski, 616 387-4138, daniel.jankowski@wmich.edu