Just eight months ago, Fisk University discontinued its membership in the NCAA under the pressure of mounting deficits and an inability to generate revenues from athletic events and fundraising.

On Monday, the university announced that it will join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, (NAIA) beginning with participation in men’s and women’s basketball this fall. Fisk was a member of the conference until 1975.

This repositioning of the university’s athletics program is a conflicted measure, but a hopeful one. Just months ago, the school was looking to transition all athletic competition to the club level, which officials said would save the university hundreds of thousands of dollars and encourage wider student participation. And while the association with the NAIA will save the university money in respect to its previous affiliation with the NCAA, doesn’t Fisk now have to begin a concentrated effort to promote sports again?

An effort that was previously too difficult to undertake in Division III competition?

The truth is, Fisk was not offering athletic scholarships prior to their withdrawal from the NCAA to save money. Did they suddenly find money to support recruiting and retaining scholarship athletes in another conference? The truth is that students and community members were not overly engaged in Fisk’s primary money-making sport, men’s basketball. Will membership in the NAIA reignite excitement in the program, and generate more ticket sales?

Maybe Fisk’s mentality is to start spending money again in the NAIA to make a little money, and that mentality could pay off. Xavier University (La.) is a prime example of how switching conferences can pay off in the long term investment that is intercollegiate athletics. Hopefully, the tradition of Fisk athletics is enough to earn the school a running start in its new league affiliation.

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