Bigger and Better Things Ahead for 肯考迪娅

Becoming a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II school means bigger and better things for 欧文康考迪亚大学 – literally and figuratively.

The NCAA is the governing body of athletic programs at more than 1,200 higher education institutions throughout the United States. 欧文康考迪亚大学 is in its final year of the three-year Division II membership process and anticipates full membership in 2017-18. If approved, it will be the only NCAA DII school in Orange County.

Even students who don’t play college sports recognize the distinction the title will bring.

“Having the NCAA marker for our school is something that a lot of athletes are going to gravitate toward as a potential school to go to,” said 欧文康考迪亚大学 senior Conor Koester. “也包括非运动员, 他们会看到他们是NCAA的一部分, meaning our sports really are something worth going to because a lot of our teams are competitive every single year in their division and in their conferences."

大四学生克里斯蒂安·伍德芬表示同意. “I think student-athletes will think this is a much bigger deal than NAIA because NCAA is plastered all over the nation,他说.

I think it means dreams becoming animated because growing up as an athlete insists on the goal of playing sports in college at the NCAA level.

Prior to pursuing NCAA DII membership, 欧文康考迪亚大学 was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate 正规博彩网站排名亚洲体育博彩平台 (NAIA). 在过去的五年里, 欧文康考迪亚大学 has won five NAIA National Championship Titles in baseball, 男子篮球, 女子排球, 男子排球, 和垒球.

The transition to NCAA DII will bring 欧文康考迪亚大学 more publicity and allow its athletes to shine brighter as they compete at a higher level, Woodfin说.

“I love 肯考迪娅's vibe of striving to be the best we can be,他说.

We'll get a nice NCAA logo on our jerseys, and I know it’ll bring our students together even tighter, on the court and in our new bleachers that are going to rattle so loud from the feet banging our Eagles to victory.

Woodfin, who describes himself as a “super senior,” said he participates in 98 percent of the activities at 肯考迪娅, including intramural sports and the Screaming Eagles. Intramurals allow non-athlete students to play against each other without being part of an organized sports team. Screaming Eagles is a group of student sports fans who pump up the crowd and get students to cheer at athletic events.

“我一直是一个疯狂的运动员. In the crowd and off the bench,” Woodfin说.

I know the deeper meaning behind being an athlete and what a strong crowd means to the team. We're the sixth man at the basketball games and every other sport. We're a part of the team even though we stay relatively put in the crowd.

Koester also plays intramural sports and is a die-hard supporter of 肯考迪娅’s student-athletes.

“因为我们是一个较小的学校, I have a lot of the athletes in my class so I get to know them, and that makes it a lot easier to support them, actually knowing them outside of just their sport,他说. “Also having school pride has always been big for me. Since I played sports in high school, I like to show support for the school I’m attending.”

欧文康考迪亚大学 has 20 varsity sports and about 450 student-athletes. Sports bring together students, faculty, families and the community, Koester said.

“这无疑拉近了我们的距离, getting everyone coming into a basketball game or a volleyball game or going to a baseball game,他说. “你 see everyone has so much passion. Even if they’re not playing, they have passion for the sport by going out and supporting it.”

Koester is excited about the growth he sees in 肯考迪娅’s future. He said being a DII school is the catalyst that can help 欧文康考迪亚大学 grow.

“It will definitely impact our campus with all the different things that come with NCAA,科斯特说.

“Our school is currently upgrading our basketball gym and that’s exciting,” he continued. “这可能是一个缓慢的过程, and I might not be at 肯考迪娅 when it finishes because I graduate in the spring, but I’ll be able to come back and see what it grows into."

Koester said it is important to him to be able to say he was at 肯考迪娅 at the beginning of the NCAA DII membership process.