MCC announces NJCAA Division I transition for women's athletics
The Marshalltown Community College Department of Athletics has announced its official transition to NJCAA Division I status for all women’s athletics beginning in the fall of 2014.
Photo Gallery Press Conference Video
The Marshalltown Community College Department of Athletics has announced its official transition to NJCAA Division I status for all women's athletics beginning in the fall of 2014. All three MCC women's athletics teams- volleyball, basketball, and softball will complete the 2013-14 season at the Division II level before making the switch.
The three women's athletic teams at MCC will join all three men's sports at the Division I level. The transition will provide more equitable opportunities for both the men's and women's teams at MCC. Currently, women's athletics at the Division II level may receive athletically related aid/scholarships for tuition, fees, and books. With the move to the Division I level, female student-athletes will now be able to receive athletically related aid/scholarships for room and board as well.
The shift to Division I will create stronger recruiting advantages throughout the state of Iowa for all three sports.
The volleyball team will leave the 11-team Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Division II conference and will join the Division I league that consists of Iowa Western and Indian Hills. The women's basketball team plays in an eight-team league but will shift to the Division I conference that currently consists of two teams- Northeast and Iowa Western. The softball program will finish its final season in the eight-team conference before joining Indian Hills, Iowa Western, Muscatine, and Southeastern in 2015.
The process for the transition began in January 2013. Every two years, the NJCAA allows its member institutions to choose their level of sponsorship. A decision was made throughout the MCC campus that all sports will compete at the Division I level starting in 2014.
MCC Director of Athletics and Student Life Dan Huntley announced the decision at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. "We are ready to face the challenges in front of us but feel that the positive results of this decision will stand tall for the future of Marshalltown Community College Athletics."
Huntley provided insight into the future participation in the ICCAC. "MCC is now only the third community college in Iowa to sponsor all of their athletic programs at the DI level, joining Iowa Western and Indian Hills. We look forward to enhancing our rivalry with these two institutions while building new rivalries with institutions in neighboring states."
"Today is a big day for our athletic department," Huntley continued. "We are making this decision to provide the best athletic and academic environment we can for all of our student-athletes."
