According to its athletic website, a historic decision has officially cleared the path for Minnesota’s largest private university – the University of St. Thomas – to become the first program in the NCAA’s modern era to reclassify directly from Division III to Division I college athletics. The NCAA’s Division I Council approved a motion granting St. Thomas the ability to make the unprecedented jump. With the decision, the Tommies officially accepted invitations to join the Pioneer Football League, as well as other conferences for the other sports St. Thomas offers. Following their final year in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Tommies will begin competing in their new conferences in the 2021-22 academic year. A Division III football powerhouse, in the last decade alone, St. Thomas football has finished NCAA runner-up twice, won seven MIAC championships and had 11 Academic All-Americans. The program has won 19 NCAA playoff games in the last 11 years and regularly graduates over 90% of its players.
***Report courtesy of tommiesports.com***
