Lennie ZaleskyThe California Baptist University wrestling program -- and all other intercollegiate sports programs at the Riverside, Calif. school -- has taken the first step towards the multi-year transition to NCAA Division I status when the school accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference on Friday.
Cal Baptist -- also known as CBU -- currently is a member of the NCAA Division II, and will remain eligible for all D-II postseason championships through the 2017-18 season. University officials plan to apply for NCAA D-I membership in June 2018. A four-year transition period is required before the CBU Lancer wrestlers and all other student-athletes are eligible to compete in Division I postseason events. The school will be eligible for postseason competition in the 2022-23 season.
The wrestling team, which currently competes in the D-II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, will need to find a new Division I affiliation, the Press Enterprise reported, as the Western Athletic Conference does not offer a conference championship in wrestling.
Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president since 1994, described NCAA Division I as the top echelon of collegiate sports, providing greater exposure to the school and its athletes.
"This represents a great step forward for California Baptist University and Lancer Athletics," said Ellis. "We are honored to join the Western Athletic Conference and to advance CBU to NCAA Division I, the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics. I am confident that moving to D-I as a member of the WAC will further elevate CBU's reputation for excellence in athletics as well as academics."
"This is another step our university is taking to help us achieve a high level of excellence," according to CBU Director of Athletics Micah Parker. "We are excited to go on this journey, remembering the success of the past but building towards an exciting future. It's another opportunity to honor Christ through excellence in athletics."
The announcement comes just five years after CBU made the move to NCAA Division II from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Since then, Lancer athletic programs have thrived overall, placing fourth in the nation among Division II schools in last season's Learfield Directors' Cup, which ranks schools' overall athletic success.
Cal Baptist wrestling has also thrived in recent years. Led by head coach Lennie Zalesky since 2011, CBU placed sixth in the team standings at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships last March. Two Lancers making it into the finals: Brady Bersano, who was runner-up at 157 pounds, and Joe Fagiano, winner of the heavyweight (285-pound) title as a senior at age 26. Fagiano was named Cal Baptist Male Athlete of the Year in June.
California Baptist University is a private, Christian, four-year liberal arts university located in Riverside, Calif. just east of Los Angeles. Founded in 1950 as California Baptist College, Cal Baptist is controlled by the California Southern Baptist Convention, an organization affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. CBU has an enrollment of approximately 9,000 students.
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