Growth chart — UVSC on task reaching full Division I status

OREM — Making the leap to major college athletics didn't seem to be in the cards for Utah Valley State a decade ago, but neither was the prospect university status.

UVSC — soon to be renamed Utah Valley University — is trying to do something no other college has, jumping to NCAA Division I straight from the junior college level. Junior colleges in the past looking to play four-year schools have gone the Division II route, such as Dixie State, or a step below to the NAIA.

UVSC administrators didn't know what route they would take right off the bat, but they knew they needed to play against other four-year colleges to increase their visibility in the community.

"We had four-year degrees for about four years, and there was a survey in the community," UVSC athletics director Mike Jacobsen said of a conversation he had with then-UVSC President Kerry Romesburg in 2000. "Eleven percent in the community knew we had four-year degrees. I said, 'If you want people to know you have four-year degrees, we need to be playing four-year schools.' That's when the decision was made to go NCAA."

Division II was the option for the Wolverines at that point, but an NCAA moratorium on new membership gave the college more time to decide what division was the best fit. "If we made our decision then, we would have gone Division II," said Jacobsen.

What changed their minds was the perception of Division II athletics in the area. "We talked to people in the community, and they don't connect to Division II," said Jacobsen. "To them, playing as a junior college is better than Division II ... "

"We decided that to do what we needed to do, we needed to go Division I."

One drawback of Division I is the seven-year process to obtain full NCAA status, with Division II membership taking only four years.

Dixie State, another in-state school making the jump from the junior college ranks to the NCAA, felt that Division II was best for them. "The philosophy of Division II fits us better," said Dixie State athletic director Dexter Irvin.

The Rebels will also have the advantage of being able to compete in NCAA postseason events starting with the 2008-09 school year, while Utah Valley has to wait until the fall of 2009 for any postseason opportunities.

Geographically speaking, UVSC has the advantage of competing with five other Division I schools in the state. Other than Dixie State, the nearest Division II schools are in California, Colorado and New Mexico.