The NCAA’s Division I Strategic Vision and Planning Committee announced Wednesday a potential five-year method for Division III universities to become Division I members and revealed its willingness to consider a waiver from St. Thomas and the Summit League, which the university said it would pursue.

“We will immediately begin work with (Summit League) Commissioner Tom Douple and the NCAA to formally submit our waiver request,” Phil Esten, St. Thomas vice president and director of athletics said in a statement.

The Summit League announced its intent to file a waiver in October on behalf of St. Thomas that would allow the university to begin the reclassification process.

Though the NCAA was originally supposed to meet April 23-24 to decide on the waiver, the decision was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Division I Council will vote on the proposed plan by April 2021.

Under the proposed five-year method, one year must be spent in a pre-application process which would include submitting a strategic plan, conducting a study for D-I requirements, securing a formal D-I conference invitation and establishing school policies and procedures reflecting a “commitment to Division I principles.”

Once the school has fulfilled pre-application requirements, it may submit the application and begin a four-year reclassification process. During reclassification, the committee would review the school’s progress each year.

The proposal is expected to be reviewed by Division I members, who would then provide feedback.

It remains unclear if this proposal would allow St. Thomas to join the 10-member Summit League, or how quickly St. Thomas would be allowed to join.

“While I know all of us are anxiously awaiting definitive word on where we will be competing starting with the 2021-22 season, we must remain patient for just a little while longer. As always, I remain optimistic about the future of Tommie athletics, and we look forward to continuing to work with the NCAA on the reclassification process,” Esten said.

The Summit League currently has 10 members– University of Denver, The University of Missouri – Kansas City, University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, University of Nebraska Omaha, Oral Roberts University, University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University.

“We still want St. Thomas regardless how many years it takes—one year, two years, five years. St. Thomas is going to eventually be a part of our league. It’s just a matter of when,” Douple said in October.

No team in the history of the NCAA has made the move from Division III to D-I. Traditionally, the NCAA rules do not allow D-III schools to reclassify directly to D-I, typically requiring a school to function as Division II before committing to D-I.

St. Thomas was involuntarily removed from the MIAC in May 2019. It announced its intention to move to Division I after the university was invited to join the Summit League in October.

The Summit League does not include football or hockey championships. St. Thomas has been looking to join the Missouri Valley Conference or the Pioneer League for football.

Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.