Elon University’s planned merger with Queens University of Charlotte could have lasting impacts on the two schools’ Division I athletic programs.
According to Elon President Connie Book, the plan is to have two separate athletic programs.
“We are going to ask the NCAA to allow us to operate two DI programs,” Book said during a Student Government Association meeting Sept. 18. “The NCAA has, in the last three years, been much more flexible in this regard as universities merge. Our plan is to ask for permission from the NCAA to continue to be one program.”
Elon and Queens will continue to operate two independent athletic programs for the foreseeable future, according to Elon University Assistant Vice President for Strategic Communications and Media Relations Eric Townsend.
“We are grateful for the strong traditions and student-athlete experiences that reflect our shared values,” Townsend wrote in a statement to Elon News Network. “Athletics has long been a source of pride and excellence at both Elon and Queens, and any future decisions will be guided by what best supports our student-athletes and their success.”
According to Travis Smith, a consultant for intercollegiate athletics at Higher Ed Consolidation Solutions, the NCAA will consider a number of factors. Smith said that the NCAA will look at whether the campuses have different registrar offices, financial aid offices and other distinguishing features beyond the distance between the two campuses.
“There has to be a pretty blatant separation to justify having more than one athletic department,” Smith said.
Smith said that athletics is typically the last thing universities decide on during a merger because everything else has to be separate. He said that Elon and Queens will have to hold meetings with NCAA governance staff members and also present to a DI committee that will consider signing off on the merger or not.
Smith said that he would be shocked if the NCAA doesn’t allow both schools to have their own athletic programs.
“I don’t see either campus president or board agreeing to give up their athletic identity,” Smith said. “They’re not big campuses, but they are very much going to be supportive of their athletic identity. So, I don’t see either of them giving up ground on that.”
Other recent mergers across the country haven’t seen the same results that Smith predicts for Elon and Queens.
Villanova University and Rosemont College announced a merger agreement earlier this year, which dictated that this year would be the last year of intercollegiate athletics for Rosemont. In the future, all athletics will be at the club level at Rosemont.
However, Rosemont is a Division III athletic program and Villanova is DI. This differs from Elon and Queens. Rosemont athletic director Ross Trachtenberg said that distinction is important because DIII and DI sports are such different levels of athletics. He said that two DI programs merging, like Queens and Elon, could run into some problems recruiting.
“If they’re separated by mission of the department, level of competition, maybe even what sports are offered, they can certainly coexist in that nature,” Smith said. “It would be very difficult if there was a recruit that was looking at both schools for a sport that was at both schools. I could see that being a challenging situation to work through.”
According to Trachtenberg, mergers that combine athletic programs can provide financial support and cost savings, but it can also lead to a loss of identity.
“It can be kind of a loss of identity of one school compared to the other,” Trachtenberg said. “There’s that feeling of loss, maybe for alumni and employees and even the student body, if they feel like, ‘Which school am I part of?’”
Smith said Queens and Elon are helped by the fact that they are both DI. He said it is usually more chaotic for committees to approve a merger if the two schools are from different divisions. According to Smith, a merger between two DI schools is unique. He said that this process isn’t new to the NCAA, only the fact that it’s two DI schools. Smith said the consolidation and similarities between the two campuses will factor into how seamless this transition is for athletics.
“It’s just that you have to document these things, and they’re going to have questions to answer about the structure and so it has nothing to do with athletics. It has everything to do with the bones of the merger proposal,” Smith said. “Are we going to be consolidating services? Are we going to have the same financial aid people, same system? Are we going to have the transcripts be the exact same, or are they going to say like ‘Elon campus’ or ‘Queens campus’?’’
Smith said that he believes protecting their athletic identity might affect how each school approaches the merger. He said that because athletics is so important to both schools, a merger wouldn’t move forward without a separation between the two programs.
Elon’s and Queens’ boards of trustees are set to review and vote on a definitive agreement to merge Nov. 20.