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Westminster College will begin the transition to becoming an NCAA Division II school starting the 2015-16 academic year, the school announced Tuesday.

The NCAA approved the school to begin the three-year transition process from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to the top level of collegiate athletics.

Currently the Griffins compete in the Frontier Conference of the NAIA, but will start competing in the NCAA Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with the start of the fall sports season.

"We are pleased to be approved for 'Candidacy Year One' in NCAA Division II and become part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference," said Steve Morgan, president of Westminster College, in a press release. "The Westminster community looks forward to participating in the RMAC and completing the transition to NCAA Division II active membership status. "

The 2015-16 season is "Candidacy Year 1" of the membership process, during which Westminster will compete as a provisional member of the conference, but will not be able to compete in RMAC or NCAA postseason competitions. The school's candidacy will be reviewed each year for at least three years, and if approved, will be eligible to compete in NCAA and RMAC postseason events during the 2018-19 season.

Shay Wyatt, the Westminster College Director of Athletics, said that this process has been in the works upwards of ten years, and that it's finally coming to fruition.

"It's something that we felt would further enhance Westminster College and what we're trying to do as an institution," Wyatt said.

Wyatt noted a number of benefits associated with the move, including the brand recognition that comes along with being a member of the NCAA. He also noted more practical benefits as well.

"Certainly there's a lot of member benefits in terms of grants, in terms of reimbursements, postseason travel, expenses covered, and just a lot of the student-athlete type resources that come with the NCAA," he said.

The school applied for NCAA Division II membership after receiving and accepting an invitation to join the RMAC and compete in a conference featuring schools from Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, New Mexico, and now, Utah.

Westminster will return to the conference it was a member of from 1967-1979, competing against schools such as Regis University, New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis College, Chadron State College, Colorado School of the Mines, Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State, to name a few.

One of the biggest factors in terms of the Westminster athletic teams, joining the NCAA allows all but one if its teams to be in the same conference, therefore making travel easier and giving the teams more consistent in-conference scheduling.

Men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, track and volleyball will all compete in the RMAC, but men's and women's skiing will remain a member of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association.

"It doesn't mean we won't have some challenges," Wyatt said. "But what it does is it puts all of our sports under one conference umbrella, which we're really excited about because it brings a lot of continuity."