Good point @anotherparent. Where is the funding/money coming from to go fully into D1? More scholarships for baseball? As I read through some info about Mercyhurst, they apparently already have two sports in D1 and others in D2. D1 Hockey is probably their revenue sport if at all.
Their baseball team isn't exactly tearing it up at the D2 level, so you'd expect them to have challenges at the D1 level. Fortunately, they appear to be joining the D1 NEC conference which has the 29th strongest RPI out of 30 in all of D1. https://www.warrennolan.com/ba.../2024/rpi-conference So, this might not be a significant level change.
"The University's intercollegiate athletics program is comprised of 25 varsity sports, with the Lakers fielding teams in 14 women's sports and 13 men's sports. Two of the programs compete at the Division I level (men's and women's ice hockey) while 22 participate on the Division II stage. Men's rowing is the only varsity sport not recognized by the NCAA as a championship sport, while Stunt has been recognized by the NCAA as an Emerging Sport."