The UC San Diego Tritons had been accepted into Division I of the NCAA. One problem. It was revealed that they had found a way to mask their shady financials that were not ready for D1 from the NCAA. As a result, they have been sent back down to D2, leaving one less team than the Big West Conference previously thought they had.
In steps the University of Alaska Anchorage. The NCAA decided that they need a 50th state of representation in all sports, and thus added the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves to Division 1. To meet the required number of sports for D1, the Seawolves will be adding a second swimming team as previously it was only a female sport at UAA, and tennis teams for both genders. The Seawolves already participated in Division I for men's hockey and women's gymnastics but will move up from Division II in men's and women's basketball, cross country and track & field, and will start their new programs of men's swimming, and men's and women tennis in Division I.
However, the Seawolves will have their work cut out for them as they transition from D2 to D1. Obviously, they do not have the same talent level as D1 schools do, so will not be expected to be dominant straight away. They also may not have as large of a budget as they had to upgrade parts of their athletic programs to meet the D1 quality, and will need more money due to the increase in scholarships that will be available to them. However, the NCAA did decide to throw UAA a bone. Normally schools transitioning to D1 are not eligible to compete in the postseason for four seasons. However, as they really wanted a full D1 school in Alaska, their twelve new Division I programs will be able to make the postseason in their first seasons. Whether they make it or not, is of course a very different question.
The program that people will have the most eyes on by far is the basketball program. The team will be the biggest revenue source for the athletics department and will potentially compete against some of the biggest names in sports. Their games will be featured on national TV and in Jon Rothstein tweets. The college basketball world will keep an eye on how the transition goes for Alaska Anchorage.
In Division 2, the Seawolves were very successful. They have an all-time record of 786-478 (.622) and an all-time conference record of 353-211 (.626). In 1988, the Seawolves reached the final of the Division II tournament, losing a close 75-72 game to the now D1 Massachusetts-Lowell. In 2008, the Seawolves made it to the semis, losing 56-50 to Augusta State. Out of 43 seasons, the Seawolves have made the NCAA D2 tournament 16 times, winning 13 games.
But they are no stranger to D1 basketball either. For 40 seasons, they hosted the Great Alaska Shootout tournament, which had a rich history and included some of the great programs of the sport, such as Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Louisville, Michigan State, and others. The Seawolves themselves had success in the tournament despite their D2 status (much like the Chaminade Silverswords in the Maui Invitational), as their women's team won the tournament a record seven times, and finished runner up six times. The men also were successful, as they finished in 4th place in the 2009, 2010, and 2012 tournaments, and had 14 all-tournament selections in the 11 seasons they participated from 2007-2017.