Collegiate Consulting Announces New Division II Reclassification Study

ATLANTA – (Sept. 22, 2020) – Collegiate Consulting has been retained by Fisk University to conduct a Division II Reclassification Study. In response to COVID-19, there have been many changes within college athletics. Some institutions like Fisk University are using this time to foster more success when athletics return to normal.

According to U.S. News and World Report, Fisk University is ranked #6 among historically black universities. Fisk University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and has enrollment of slightly less than 900 students. The Fisk Bulldogs sponsor ten sports (five men’s and five women’s) at the NAIA level.  Last year, there were 24 Fisk University athletes that were named to the Association of Independent Institutions Academic All-Conference Team. Prior to the 2018-19 season, Fisk announced the hiring of former Georgia Tech All-American and NBA player Kenny Anderson.

The Division II application deadline to apply is February 1, 2021.  If Fisk moves forward with an application, it will submit its DII Feasibility Study, a DII-specific Athletic Strategic Plan and the application questionnaire.  If accepted into the three-year membership process, Fisk will be notified the first week in July 2021 and would begin its first year of the membership transition for the 2021-22 athletic year. 

Collegiate Consulting will compare Fisk to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC), who has recently added Savannah State University and is considering Edward Waters College.  The study will assess Fisk regarding Division II rules and guidelines as well as benchmark Fisk to the SIAC member-institutions both institutionally and athletically.

In the past decade, Collegiate Consulting has conducted more than 30 Division II Feasibility Studies and has had 16 institutions, who have moved forward with an application, make a successful transition to Division II – including Simon Fraser University; Lee University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

About Collegiate Consulting: Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Collegiate Consulting is a comprehensive solutions-based intercollegiate consulting firm focused on offering athletic departments, conferences and associations a single-entity resource across an extensive platform of services. Since their inception in 2005, Collegiate Consulting has worked with over 550 institutions on projects such as reclassifications like Fisk University’s, feasibility studies, operational studies and strategic planning.