UC San Diego expected to announce move to Division I

UC San Diego is expected to announce a move to Division I and the Big West Conference on Monday, according to a report from the San Diego Union Tribune.

The move has been a long time coming for the Triton athletic department, which has been flirting with the Big West for years now. The conference twice rejected the school — first in 2010 then again in April 2017 — but sometime since then, a supermajority of league members decided to vote yes.

In May 2016, UCSD students voted to approve a fee hike to fund Division I athletics. A faculty vote overwhelmingly supported the decision as well, the Union Tribune reports.

Now, a six-year process awaits UCSD: first, two years to elevate athletic scholarships to Division I levels, then a four-year transition period in which the Tritons will play Division I athletics but will not be eligible for the postseason.

Mid-Major Madness took a look at the university’s Division I hopes earlier last year and detailed the steps it was taking to hopefully gain admission in the future. You can read that story here.