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UNF athletic officials have been waiting a long time for this.

They’ve witnessed an entire recruiting class play out its eligibility, with no hopes for the postseason.

They’ve witnessed upgrades to Hodges Stadium and proposals to build a $30 million athletic facility – including a new baseball field and tennis facility.

But for UNF Athletic Director Richard Gropper and his staff, the wait is almost over.

UNF is in its final year of the five-year reclassification process of transferring to a Division I school, and in late September, the National Collegiate Athletic Association visitation team is scheduled to visit UNF for a three-day inspection of every facet of Osprey athletics.

The visitation team will then write a report on the progress of the program and various initiatives UNF has taken during the last four years.

“That will be a major hurdle for us to get over, but I’m optimistic we’ll do very well,” Gropper said. “We’ve done a very good job preparing for this.”

At the conclusion of the 2008-2009 athletic season, UNF will receive a final report from the NCAA detailing whether the move was approved, disapproved or approved with certain conditions, Gropper said.
If UNF is approved, it will become a fully vested Division I university.

For the Ospreys, that will mean a chance at the Atlantic Sun Conference and NCAA tournaments, an option that will greatly increase athletic recruiting and ultimately make UNF more competitive, Gropper said.

Each team in the A-Sun Conference carries an automatic bid, so the winner of the conference tournament at the end of the year is guaranteed a right to play for the national championship.

“Not being able to make the postseason took a tremendous negative toll on recruiting,” Gropper said.

“Anyone we’re recruiting this year won’t have to go through that obstacle. It’ll be a tremendous positive for our program.”

Gropper said it would take a couple of recruiting classes for UNF to get back on its feet, but he expects good things in the future.

He also hopes the completion of the transition will draw in more fans not only from the university, but also throughout the First Coast, he said.

“UNF is already a great sell, and this is going to make it much easier to close the deal and bring in a much higher level of athletes,” said Kevin Campbell, women’s volleyball head coach. “With everything going on at UNF right now, it’s perfect timing for the transition.”

However, there will be a few obstacles for the athletic program to overcome.

Gropper announced his retirement in July and will step down as soon as a new athletic director is hired.

President John Delaney has already put together a search committee that will perform a national search, and more than 200 applicants are expected, Gropper said.

Similar to the athletes, athletic officials are expecting stronger applicants with postseason eligibility in sight.

“Moving to Division I should absolutely enhance the pool,” said Karen Stone, chair of the search committee.

“Gropper did a great job for us, and the move to Division I is a huge feather in our cap.”

E-mail Josh Salman at managing@unfspinnaker.com.