USCB Approved for NCAA DII Membership

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WTOC) - According to the athletic department, the University of South Carolina Beaufort, or USCB, has been approved for provisional NCAA Division II membership.

“What a great day for USCB and our entire community,” USCB Director of Athletics Quin Monahan said in a press release. “This is a day we have worked toward and anticipated for several years, and I could not be more thrilled.”

According to the release, achieving full NCAA Division II membership typically takes three years, “provided the athletic department successfully completes each phase of the membership process”. The NCAA committee reviews each school in the process yearly to determine if the institution should advance to the next year in the process. There is not a guarantee to move from one year to the next.

USCB’s first step of applying to become a NCAA institution began in April of 2021 when the Peach Belt Conference Board of Directors unanimously accepted USCB as a provisional member of the league. With USCB’s acceptance into the NCAA, the Sand Sharks are now full-fledged PBC members.

“USCB will be a great fit and tremendous asset to NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference,” said PBC commissioner David Brunk in the release.

The Sand Sharks will now transition into the three-year provisional stage that begins in the 2022-23 season. If USCB successfully passes the annual reviews, the Sand Sharks will become a full and active NCAA DII member in 2025-26, according to the school.

For the 22-23 season, USBC will have dual membership with both the NAIA and NCAA. The Sand Sharks have already been accepted as members of the Continental Athletic Conference (NAIA’s independent conference), and USCB will play in this league for the first year of provisional membership, while still playing a Peach Belt Conference schedule. After each sport’s regular season concludes, USCB will participate in the Continental Athletic Conference tournaments, as it vies for a NAIA Tournament bid. With this move to the CAC, USCB is no longer an active member of The Sun Conference.

USCB will not be able to participate in any postseason tournaments - CAC, Peach Belt, NAIA or NCAA - during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.