Orem » The wait is over. Utah Valley University is an official member of NCAA Division I.

UVU officials announced at a news conference Wednesday that NCAA Membership Services had unanimously agreed to relinquish the school's provisional status and accept it into NCAA Division I. Before beginning its seven-year provisional period in 2002-03, UVU was a junior college.

The NCAA's decision, which UVU was notified of Tuesday, allows the program's teams and athletes to be eligible for NCAA postseason competition.

"We've learned a lot from the past. We're excited for the present because we're going to accomplish a lot of great things," UVU athletic director Mike Jacobsen said. "But the thing that really excites and motivates us is the future because Utah Valley University has no bounds.

"We can compete at the very highest level in the state of Utah and the highest level in the country, and we have the ability, the potential and the caliber of student athletes and coaches that are really going to allow us to do that," Jacobsen added.

UVU, which is entering its second year as a regional university, has been a member of the Great West Conference since 2008. UVU's softball team will begin playing in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference in 2010, and the wrestling program competes in the Western Wrestling Conference.