From the Charlotte Observer of September 17th:

SPORTS BUSINESS
Presbyterian ponders moving up

Blue Hose studying a jump from Division II to larger Division I

DAVID SCOTT

Presbyterian is the latest Carolinas college looking into moving from NCAA Division II to Division I. And that's making fellow South Atlantic Conference member Catawba a little nervous about how the league would look without the Blue Hose.

Athletics director Bee Carlton says Presbyterian, a 1,200-student school in Clinton, S.C., with a strong academic reputation, wants a higher athletic profile. That would come by playing I-AA football against the likes of The Citadel, Furman, Wofford and Charleston Southern.

The school is studying such a move, which would cost the Blue Hose hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, operating expenses, increased staff and facilities. Then there would be finding a conference in which to compete.

"It's a competitive issue for us," Carlton said. "Where do we fit best? I don't want to sound condescending, but we already meet Division I standards academically. We want to find out if we have the ability to compete against schools like Furman, Wofford and Charleston Southern. There'd be exposure for us in playing them, and there's a value to that."

Presbyterian -- which recently opened a 6,500-seat football stadium that could be expanded -- now plays in the Division II SAC, along with other Carolinas schools Catawba, Mars Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate and Newberry. Several other Carolinas schools -- including Elon, Wofford, Gardner-Webb and High Point -- have recently moved from Division II to Division I.

Catawba, located in Salisbury, is using a routine strategic planning review of its athletic department as a way to see if a move to Division I could be feasible.

"We're not really looking at doing anything right now," Indians athletics director Dennis Davidson said. "But we like being associated with a school like Presbyterian, and we don't know what we'd be left with if they were to move up.

"But I think this study will lead us back to where we are now, which is where we want to be."

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Do you ahhhhh......realign?