Allen University makes the move to NCAA Division II

Allen University is the newest provisional member of the NCAA’s Division II, effective for the 2020-21 academic year.

The school announced the move Wednesday.

“I am proud to be able to do my part to help this vision become a reality,” Allen football coach Teddy Keaton said. “I am elated at the growth we are experiencing, and to move to Division II in four short years is exciting.”

Allen, a small historically Black college in downtown Columbia, brought back its football program ahead of the 2018 season. The Yellow Jackets football team has 121 student-athletes for the fall, including 87 returnees and 34 newcomers.

Allen is currently a Division I member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The school joined the NAIA Appalachian Athletic Conference in the fall of 2016.

Allen student-athletes compete in football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track & field, and women’s volleyball and men’s wrestling.

The move to Division II will require a three-year membership process, and it’s possible the Yellow Jackets could land in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference alongside Benedict College, their longtime athletic rivals and Columbia neighbors.

“This leap into Division II speaks not only to our growth as an institution but also to the caliber of success our student-athletes are capable of, on and off the field,” Allen President Ernest McNealey said in a statement from the school. “This opportunity will increase enrollment numbers due to the national recognition and exposure we will receive for athletics and academics.“