Notables

The Centenary (La.) Board of Trustees today voted to reposition Centenary athletics into Division III.

Centenary, currently a member of the Division I Summit League, has 854 full-time undergraduates and is located in Shreveport, La. The Gents finished 8-23 in men's basketball, while the Ladies finished 4-25 in women's basketball.

The vote follows a decision and subsequent directive by the board of trustees in its May 2008 meeting to leave the Summit League and pursue other more geographically advantageous conferences. The college is scheduled to compete in the Summit League for two more years with no scholarships affected as a result of reclassification to Division III during the transition period.

“This is one part of an overall wide-ranging plan which will be implemented by incoming president Dr. David Rowe,” said Ed Crawford, the board's acting chairman. “Centenary must and will restructure its overall strategy to achieve financial and academic stability. We on the Board look forward to working with President Rowe as he helps rebuild an even more firmly established Centenary College as a leading institution of higher education in the South and in the nation.”

Birmingham-Southern is entering the third year of its transition from Division I to Division III. The school suspended baseball and men's basketball for one year before starting its provisional Division III membership. A member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, B-SC men's basketball went 11-14 last season, while women's basketball went 15-10.