Mercyhurst University making the
transition to Division Ⅰ
Mercyhurst University makes a
shocking announcement to transition to Division Ⅰ athletics
By
Ryan Mosher
ERIE,
Pa. (April 14, 2024) — Mercyhurst University announced on April
4 that they will be leaving the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) on
July 1, the start of the new academic year, to make the transition to Division Ⅰ,
playing in the Northeast Conference (NEC).
Mercyhurst
are not complete strangers to the top level of collegiate athletics. The Lakers
men’s and women’s ice hockey programs have played at the Division Ⅰ level since
the 1999-2000 season. The men’s team has made the NCAA tournament three times,
while the women have made 14 appearances, even making the Frozen Four on four separate
occasions.
Dr.
Robert Zullo spoke on the matter. Zullo has worked in sports marketing for the
University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech athletic departments, as well as
in athletic administration at the University of Georgia.
“They
have been successful and competitive in Division Ⅰ level hockey, but that is
just one sport. Now you are moving up for men’s and women’s basketball, football,
all of the sports. You are recruiting a different type of student athlete who
could get a potential full ride from other schools,” Zullo said.
One
of the biggest reasons why Mercyhurst made the jump was to boost their
enrollment and finances. Mercyhurst has only 2,801 total students, with 2,446
of them being undergraduates. In the introductory press conference on April 4, 2024,
Mercyhurst University President Kathleen A. Getz said “We considered an array
of perspectives in the ever-changing field of higher education, including
effects on enrollment, retention, student-life, university finances, alumni
engagement and local economic development.”
In
2019, Mercyhurst implemented a plan around the William Vorsheck Jr. Athletic
Complex, where they renovated every on-campus competition facility, including
four new locker rooms and a new turf field with lights.
“They
have made renovations in recent years that will really help with enrollment and
help with recruitment, so they feel like they are strong in that area,” Zullo
said.
Mercyhurst
will have an edge on schools in the surrounding area when it comes to their athletic
facilities and they must use this advantage when marketing to students, donors
and sponsors.
“I
think the approach they will take from a marketing standpoint is they will tout
themselves as the only Division Ⅰ option in Erie, and a lot of times we
overlook how big Erie is relative to places like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Buffalo. Erie is still a substantial community in terms of size, so that is the
approach I think they are going to say is there is still Gannon and that is Division
Ⅱ, but now we are Division Ⅰ,” Zullo said.
The
Erie population is over 94,000 and 11.6% are of the ages 18-24, the age of the
common college student. Mercyhurst will need to dominate that area to help
build their enrollment.
While
finances are most likely one of the biggest reasons that Mercyhurst is transitioning,
it will also be one of their biggest challenges at the next level.
“Where
they are going to have some challenges with finances is instead of their opponents
being in a proximity of an easy bus trip, you are going to start to see more
overnight trips and that will increase hotel expenditures across all of the teams.
You might have to have some flights as well to play in places like Chicago. It
is much easier to get to Erie down to IUP than it is to get from Erie over to a
metropolitan area,” Zullo said.
Zullo
believes that Mercyhurst will be facing an uphill battle in more than just athletics.
“It
also is going to have some increases in finances with respect to scholarships,
so they need to account for that. Not just for the initial year, but every year
there after to make sure they are giving the coaches the resources they need to
recruit people who can compete at that level,” Zullo said.
Mercyhurst
will most likely struggle to recruit outside of Erie and the surrounding area
because their competition will now have a larger pool of resources to use, especially
with Name, Image and Likeness.
“If
you are a student athlete and Pittsburgh University is recruiting you and Mercyhurst
is recruiting you, then Pitt is going to win. Even if Duquesne University and Mercyhurst
are recruiting you, Duquesne is in the city with more resources, and they are
going to win,” Zullo said.
Mercyhurst
will also not have the media attention that even mid-major school receive.
“You
can tell that player that they are going to be on ESPN+, you are not going to
be on ESPN2. ESPNU, ESPN Classic or ESPN. But my question would be what is the
difference between playing on ESPN+ and a school’s livestream on their website?
I do not think the revenue that they are going to make on ESPN+ is going to be
so substantial,” Zullo said.
Mercyhurst
was founded in 1926 by the Sisters of Mercy of the Erie Catholic Diocese. They also
just got promoted to a university from a college in 2012. This shows that they
are a relatively new school and do not have the history of high salary programs
that their competition does.
This
limits the size and quality of their pool of donors.
“You
have other schools that have MBA programs, medical schools, law schools and engineering
schools. They are graduating people with higher salaries, and they have been
doing it for a longer period of time. Mercyhurst will essentially be playing
catch up and that is going to be very challenging,” Zullo said.
Although
the donors may not give as much as those at larger schools, they are still imperative
to the growth of Mercyhurst as a university and their athletic program.
“Sometimes
it can be donor influenced… at the end of the day, the donors are still the
ones writing the checks for the chemistry building, the new dorms and the
student union, so sometimes you have to work and go with them,” Zullo said.
