It is a high school athlete’s dream to go to college at a Division-I school and compete against the very best the rest of the country has to offer.
But the pressures of the business-like sports world of Division I has some student athletes seeking refuge at Division-II Chico State.
The university has seen an influx of Division-I talent making its way onto Wildcat fields, tracks and courts in the past couple of years, something that hasn’t surprised Chico State Athletic Director Anita Barker.
There are several reasons Division-I athletes comes to Chico State and each student has a different story, Barker said.
“The fact that we’re annually competitive and have had success in all our sports gets athletes interested,” she said.
Several things have happened that allow Chico State to provide an athletic environment where students can compete at a high level, Barker said. Among them are the baseball team’s national championships in the late ’90s, the perennial success of the cross-country teams and Chico State’s decision to move into the ever-competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association.
“You can go and participate at the lower levels of D-I and never play for a championship or you can come to a high level D-II school, which I consider us, and compete for a championship,” Barker said.
Most student athletes look for an opportunity to be competitive and play in an environment where they can excel and even play on a national scale, she said.
Men’s soccer player Kyle Crain, who transferred from Division-I San Diego State, said the level of play in the CCAA rivals that of Division I.
“I was an All-CCAA selection last season and not this year so that shows the depth of talent in the league,” Crain said. “There are a lot of guys in the conference who could play at D-I schools.”
Division-I transfer Pauline Ferrall from Eastern Washington University said she was looking for a Division-II basketball program that had a reputation for being competitive.
Before coming to Chico State, Ferrall competed at the lower levels of Division I in the Big Sky Conference.
“I didn’t want to go to just any school,” Ferrall said. “I wanted to go somewhere the competition level was high. Chico isn’t that big of a step down from the Big Sky.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association rule that forces a player to sit out a year if they transfer from a Division-I school to another Division-I school was instrumental in her choosing a Division-II school, which doesn’t enforce a sit-out period for transfers from other divisions.
Chico State has provided a home for athletes who want a high level of competition while escaping the pressures of a Division-I program.
Crain said the pressures of a Division-I scholarship and the Division-I system turned the sport into something different.
“When I was at San Diego it was more of a job,” Crain said. “Day in and day out and I lost the love. I lost the fun part of the game while I was there.”
Making the change from San Diego State to Chico State gave Crain the college experience he was looking for.
“Coming to Chico is an experience that changed my life,” Crain said. “Everyone says these are the best days of your life and I wasn’t happy at San Diego but Chico has saved that for me.”
The small-town feel, the alumni and the fans have all contributed to making Crain’s experience a good one, he said.
“You’re not just coming into a soccer team,” Crain said. “You’re coming into a city, a community and a family and you’re automatically welcomed into it because you play on a team.”
Senior track and cross-country runner Clinton Hayes was recruited by Pac-10 schools UC Berkeley and UCLA, but opted for Chico State directly out of high school after being impressed by the campus, the coaches and the family feel of the athletic department, Hayes said. Cross-country head coach Gary Towne also heavily influenced his decision.
“Gary brought me here and didn’t sell me on anything and said upfront this is a D-II school and we can’t give you a lot of money but we love what we do here,” Hayes said.
Senior transfer from the University of Washington and former Orion staff member Tori Tyler said she had lost the love for running while under the extreme pressures of a Division-I program.
“I probably set too high of standards for myself but I felt I needed to get out of there and find a place where I could enjoy running again,” Tyler said.
Chico State provided a team that was more like a family and that was important, Tyler said.
“Division II is like a family and Division I is like a business and that makes running in D-II much more enjoyable running wise, school wise and well-being wise,” she said.
Women’s basketball coach and former Division-I coach Brian Fogel said Division-II schools offer a better balance of education and athletics than Division-I programs.
“It gives you an opportunity to really connect with the student athlete and enjoy the experience where as at the D-I level you are hired to win and you better win and you better win now,” Fogel said.
Fogel enjoys how Division-II schools look out for their athletes more than those in Division I.
“For D-I it’s very much a business and in D-II it’s a process,” Fogel said. “It’s about preparing folks to be successful for the rest of their lives and it’s the connection that I truly treasure and enjoy.”
When athletes attend Chico State, they will receive the full package as far as a college experience, Fogel said.
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