How is it determined what division a school plays?
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Fair question, but a bit difficult in concept I suppose.
The NCAA defines the divisions as D1, D2 and D3. For purposes of football only, they further refine D1, but that doesn't apply to baseball.
The Differences in the divisions is based on primarily school size and the school's philosophy of offering athletic scholarships. D3 schools cannot offer any athletic money. Because of that, all other NCAA rules are pretty fuzzy or non-existant for the D3 schools. They can range in size from 400-500 students to over 10,000. It's a philosophical decision.
The D2 schools are generally in the 900-3500 student range, but there are exceptions to that, particularly in the midwest, where you find larger schools that play D2. For baseball, all D2 schools are limited to (about) 9 scholarships max.
The D1 schools range all the way from 1800 up to 35000 plus. The maximum number of scholarships for baseball in D1 schools is 11.7.
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Now that we have the divisions, we can answer your question. The NCAA doesn't really decide a schools classification. A school can petition the NCAA to enter at a particular level D1, D2 or else they can petition to change divisions. Moving up a division (or 2) is a fairly long process for a school.
Once a school has a classification from the NCAA for a particular division, they can petition to join a conference that competes in that division. They cannot join the conference until the NCAA grants their petition.
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SO ... in effect, the NCAA doesn't determine the division, the school does.
The NCAA defines the divisions as D1, D2 and D3. For purposes of football only, they further refine D1, but that doesn't apply to baseball.
The Differences in the divisions is based on primarily school size and the school's philosophy of offering athletic scholarships. D3 schools cannot offer any athletic money. Because of that, all other NCAA rules are pretty fuzzy or non-existant for the D3 schools. They can range in size from 400-500 students to over 10,000. It's a philosophical decision.
The D2 schools are generally in the 900-3500 student range, but there are exceptions to that, particularly in the midwest, where you find larger schools that play D2. For baseball, all D2 schools are limited to (about) 9 scholarships max.
The D1 schools range all the way from 1800 up to 35000 plus. The maximum number of scholarships for baseball in D1 schools is 11.7.
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Now that we have the divisions, we can answer your question. The NCAA doesn't really decide a schools classification. A school can petition the NCAA to enter at a particular level D1, D2 or else they can petition to change divisions. Moving up a division (or 2) is a fairly long process for a school.
Once a school has a classification from the NCAA for a particular division, they can petition to join a conference that competes in that division. They cannot join the conference until the NCAA grants their petition.
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SO ... in effect, the NCAA doesn't determine the division, the school does.