Posted August 25, 2022 at 5:49 AM EDT
In May, Queen’s University of Charlotte announced plans to move its athletics program from the NCAA Division II level to Division I, the highest level. It’s part of a four-year turnaround that will see the Royals join the Atlantic Sun Conference. The change begins this month when the women’s soccer team hosts UNC-Wilmington. To help make sense of the move, Queens Sports Director Cherie Swarthout joins Morning Edition host Woody Cain.
Woody Cain: Let’s start with the elephant in the room. Why did the university decide to make this move and why now?
Cherie Swarthout: Yeah, well, that’s a good question. And certainly, we’ve had tremendous athletic success on the road and especially in the last six to seven years as a Division II institution. But this is a big move beyond the athletic department.
This is part of our strategic plan to promote the overall development of the university. And moving to Division I allows us to grow our brand. You know, it allows us, as you mentioned, with A-Sun to travel to different places, some big cities, expand our footprint and build opportunities for other people to understand who Queens is and what Hope to come to Queens. Student and faculty staff and move the needle there.
Cain: Touch on it briefly, excuse the cliche, but the Royals have been something of a big fish in a small pond. The men’s basketball program has seven straight NCAA tournament appearances. You won more than 30 games last year. Swimming and diving are among the best in the country with six national titles. Lacrosse and track have had a lot of success, but you will be one of the few Division I programs in the entire country with less than 2,000 students. Can you compete with some of these bigger programs? Most of them are great.
Swarthout: Yeah, it’s probably going to be one of the smaller Division I schools in the country. But we’re a small Division II school, so we feel like we have a big foundation to be able to make that transition and be able to compete with other Division I institutions.
Cain: Tell me about the four-year transition period I mentioned at the beginning. How does that work?
Swarthout: Well, as you mentioned earlier, as of July 1, we were a Division I transfer center. So it was a four-year process. There are certain standards that we have to keep going in these four years, not only from the A-Sun but also from the NCAA.
As we continue to move the needle in some key areas; In some of these key areas there are some of our infrastructure improvements that need to happen, some of our scholarships are areas, just budget areas, you know, really in everything you would consider the whole athletics department the body continues to develop it up to this level.
Cain: Well. This is a question I hear a lot, and I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times, but most people haven’t heard the answer. Will the queen play more football?
Swarthout: We get this question a lot. You are right. You know, several years ago, we actually looked at the possibility of doing football in and around Division I. But we chose not to add football. And that is not the case. It is a frequent question. But now we have 26 NCAA games and a good club commitment. And this is where we will stay.
Cain: I read that you have a decade of average 3.0 GPA in all your sports. This is something that should be appreciated. But are you confident that such academic success can be maintained as you grow older?
Swarthout: Well, really. And I appreciate you bringing some attention to that. It is one of our key pillars. We are proud of it. We’ve actually had a 3.3 cumulative GPA over the past four years. We spent a lot of time on that. We’ve added some academic support staff, but we’re hiring student-athletes who are first-time students.
And that won’t change for Queens. That is our tradition. My philosophy is that you can do both and you can really do both, and you don’t have to compromise academics for athleticism or vice versa.
Cain: You’ve been a college basketball coach, so I’m curious when you go to recruit student-athletes, how different is it when you tell them you’re going to play Division I and Division II?
Swarthout: Well, that’s a great question, probably for our coaches. Yes. I am a former Division I basketball player at Michigan State and coached for ten years at Illinois State. So a good question for them. I think it has changed the conversation as you mentioned, big fish in a small pond and now maybe a small fish in a big pond.
But we are still, again, going to pay a lot of attention to a great student who is also a great player.
Cain: Let’s get this over with. You mentioned the landscape a moment ago, and as I’m sure you’re well aware, the overall landscape of college athletics is changing rapidly. We’ve seen all the recent talk about conference mergers, and TV dollars driven by football. Where do you see all this going and does it affect you? I mean, obviously, you don’t have a crystal ball, I don’t think. But where do you see this going? I mean, it’s a hurricane right now.
Swarthout: Of course it is. And that’s one of the reasons we chose to go to Division I when we did, instead of leaving a wide area, you know, changing, kind of moving under our feet. You know, I think we have to adjust. We have to be smart. We have to continue to focus on our student-athletes and our professional athletes because, at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.
So, as it changes with the NIL and the mass adjustment and all these different parts, we’re very focused on what our core values are and we make decisions accordingly. And sometimes we can stretch, and sometimes we can’t, you know, maybe do the same things that some of the Power Five can do.
Queens University will become a national brand associated with Charlotte and we want to be a part of that. ASUN.
Is Rutgers a black College?
Rutgers-Newark is one of the top universities in the country. The 7,700 undergraduate student body is 18 percent African-American, 24 percent Latino, 25 percent white and 21 percent Asian — including many students from India, Bangladesh and Middle East.
Is Rutgers liberal or conservative? “Rutgers is a liberal school and the government supports all speech, however students during the course do not understand this and if the speech is conservative they will yell at you before you finish speaking. On the same subject : Women in Sports: Covers NJ female players of all levels.”
Is Rutgers a party school?
The list, compiled by College Prowler, takes into account the schools that students say have the toughest workloads and the schools that students say have the best party grounds. The College Prowler also lists Rutgers as the 14th largest party school out of 1,373 colleges.
What is Rutgers university known for?
Things to be proud of Read also : College Football Rankings: RJ Young’s Top 25 Preseason 2022.
- University of History. Founded in 1766, Rutgers is the eighth oldest college in the nation. …
- Name of Academic Excellence. …
- Famous Faculty. …
- New Jersey Service Commission. …
- Master in Health Education. …
- Special Education at an Affordable Price.
Is Queens a d2 school?
Queens (NC), Lincoln Memorial is the best Saturday of the DII basketball season. On the same subject : Source: ACC, Pac-12 Discuss ESPN TV Partners After Major Ten Action. Top 25 matches and conference shows fill the schedule for Saturday, January 13.
What part is Queen’s University? The Royals have 26 NCAA Division II athletic teams that participate in the Southern Conference Athletic Conference.
Is Queens College a D2 school?
Queens College competes in Division II of the NCAA and hosts 15 eligible varsity men’s and women’s teams.
Is Queens University a d3 school?
Queens University athletics will move to Division 1.
What division is Queens University of Charlotte wrestling?
Queens University of Charlotte Royals Scholarships for Wrestling. Need-based and academic scholarships are provided for student-athletes. Scholarships are available for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA and NJCAA.
What area is Queens University Charlotte? Queens is currently a member of Division II and competes in the South Atlantic Conference.
Does Queens College have wrestling?
2021-2022 Men’s Wrestling Schedule – Queens University of Charlotte Athletics.
What conference is Queens University of Charlotte in?
| Queen Queen | |
|---|---|
| University | Queens University of Charlotte |
| Mass | ASUN conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Sports director | Cherie Swarthout |
