Friday, July 25, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - The NCAA Division II Management Council officially admitted Concordia University-Portland (Ore.) into its three-year membership process during its annual meeting earlier this week in Indianapolis.

The Management Council was acting on a recommendation from its membership committee which recommended approval of the application of Concordia to join the NCAA earlier this month.

That action was the final step for Concordia to become a full-time member in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

Concordia will begin the three-year membership process this fall as one of five schools in the 2014-15 first-year candidacy class.

Cal State San Marcos, Concordia (Calif.), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical and Oklahoma Baptist round out the five-member class of successful applicants.

The Cavaliers, who were approved for membership in the GNAC last fall pending the NCAA’s acceptance of Concordia, will continue to compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) during the 2014-15 season.

Concordia will begin competing in the GNAC in 2015-16, but will not be eligible for NCAA post-season play until the fall of 2017.  The NCAA will continue to review each school during the candidacy process to determine if the institution should repeat any year of the process.

Concordia joins 10 other institutions, which are located in five states and one Canadian province, as full-time members of the GNAC.