Are you still waiting for the day when Aquinas will have a football team? The day when Aquinas reaches the athletics big time?

Keep waiting.

The last decade or so has been good for the Saints having captured of 11 of the last 12 WHAC All Sports trophies. This trophy is a gauge of the success of our overall athletic program. Every year, the trophy is awarded to the school that earned the highest finishes in each sport—first place earned the most points and so on.

While it’s still early, the Saints are in the lead for the trophy again. Men’s and women’s soccer, as well as men’s and women’s cross country, all faired extraordinarily well this season.

With this sort of domination, many wonder if it is time for the Saints to move up in the world.
Currently, Aquinas is a member of the NAIA as are all of the other members of the WHAC. The NAIA consists of over 50 teams of similar size and situation, some have football, others not.
Where is there to go from here?

The most intriguing option for Aquinas College is joining NCAA Division III. D-III is generally comprised of smaller schools, ones that can sponsor five sports for each gender with “primary emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition” according to the NCAA official website.

The Saints, in all likelihood, would join the MIAA conference, one of the oldest conferences in college athletics. The MIAA includes some familiar faces—Adrian, Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo College, Olivet, St. Mary’s Notre Dame and Tri-State. Throughout the non-conference seasons, Aquinas often competes with any number of these schools already.
However, there is already one thing Aquinas offers that these schools cannot — athletic scholar-ships.

Aquinas athletes could only receive academic funding as any other student would. Money in general is a major factor for membership. Just to be a provisional NCAA D-III member, a five year process, the fees are just under $15,000.

Athletic Director Terry Bocian has no doubt that the Saints could compete at D-III or even Division II.

And while Bocian does not rule out the possibility of Aquinas as an NCAA school some day, he underscores the importance of Aquinas being able to provide athletic scholarships to athletes. In the meantime, funds are being focused in other areas. Bocian one day hopes that Aquinas could perhaps be a D-II school and offer scholarships.

Many are also quick to point out that Aquinas is still waiting to bring home a NAIA National Champ-ionship despite their domination of the WHAC. Even cross country and track, powerhouses in their sport, have yet to break through.

For now, Saints football dreamers will keep dreaming and the Saints will keep winning.